(energetic music) ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ ♪ Hey ♪ - Welcome to "Shot of Ag."

I'm your host, Rob Sharkey.

Hey, do you know much about bull riding?

Do you know much about running a cafe?

Doesn't seem like they would go together, but we're gonna have fun figuring out how it does.

Today we're talking with Rafael Vidal from Peoria, also the manager of Cafe Santa Rosa.

How you doing, Rafael?

- I'm doing good.

How about yourself?

- I'm doing pretty good.

You're the general manager of Cafe Santa Rosa.

- Sure thing.

- So what do you have there?

- So that is my family's coffee shop.

We started in 2020, which great year to start a- - That, is it covid?

- Covid.

- Yeah.

- Yep.

- That didn't work out so well, did it?

- No, but we were supposed to start March 16th of 2020.

But I think it was a couple days before that that we got the stay or lodge in place order, the shutdown order.

So we had to push everything back to July, survived covid, survive the indoor dining ban.

And here we are five years later.

- Your parents, I mean, why would they start a coffee cafe?

- So it goes back to 2012.

My dad bought a coffee farm back in that year, and back then we used to go to Columbia to visit family a lot.

- Well, just stop a second.

(both laughing) Your dad just bought a coffee farm?

- So we were couch surfing and everything when we go down there.

So we wanted a place to call our own, and the place just happened to grow coffee.

- Okay.

- So, yep.

So then the people that basically took care of the farm, they told my dad, "Hey, you know, like this is export-grade quality coffee."

And then just took three years, and Dad was able to export his first batch of coffee from there to here.

And we sold that coffee to 30/30.

- [Rob] I don't know what that is.

- Coffee.

- Oh, okay.

It's a coffee shop, used to be here.

They closed, but then one of the founders came back and opened up Intuition Coffee.

- Gotcha.

- Yep.

So from there, Dad just fell in love with everything coffee.

He learned how to roast coffee.

- [Rob] Oh, he is all in after that (laughs).

- Oh yeah, he's all in.

And then after that, it took right until 2019, and we got a call saying that there was an opportunity to open up a coffee shop.

And Dad asked if I would be in, he asked my mom if she'd be in, we agreed to it, and we opened up our coffee shop.

And the reason behind that was that we did everything all the way till serving the coffee.

So we grow the coffee plant.

We harvested ourselves, export, import here to the US.

We would sell it green, we'd sell it roasted, and now we can serve our own product.

So it's a fully integrated.

- From field to finish, I don't know.

- Something we say farm to cup.

- Farm to cup.

Well, that's a lot better than what I came up with.

So your parents were from Columbia?

- Yep.

- Okay.

- Both Mom and Dad were born there.

Dad came to study at Bradley University in '82.

He studied electrical engineering, got his degree, went back to Columbia, and then that's where he met my mom.

And then he actually got a job up here, was able to come back here with my mom and my sister.

- Okay, this stuff smells fantastic, by the way.

- Thank you.

- I mean, I don't know if maybe you opened it a little bit on purpose or something.

It smells amazing.

Do you like coffee?

- Sure do, coffee addict.

- Did you like coffee before all this went down?

- No.

(both laughing) So before, I went to a college out in California, Fresno, California, a school called Fresno Pacific University.

And the guys, my roommates there, we all just drank the cheapest instant coffee.

- [Rob] Folgers.

- I think Nest Cafe or the store brand.

- And the percolator.

- Oh no, instant.

- Oh my gosh.

- Any cents we could save, we do it.

- That's awful.

(both laughing) Okay, so you grew up, you went to Richwoods, you said?

- Yep.

- And then where'd you go to school after that?

- Fresno Pacific University.

- [Rob] Why?

- I was playing soccer out there.

So if we back up a bit, I went to Richwoods up until my junior year, and then I had a chance to pursue soccer down in Columbia as well.

- Are you good then?

- Used to be.

- Yeah?

- Yep.

- Not so much anymore.

- Old age caught up to me.

(both laughing) So I played down there for a couple years, and that's really where I learned the coffee farm business.

And then after two years, I came back here, I got the opportunity to play college ball out in California.

And once I graduated, I decided to come back here.

- Okay.

Lot of lot of cowboys at Richwoods High School?

- Don't think so, no.

(both laughing) - How did you get into that?

- It's always been part of me, I guess.

At first, I didn't really embrace it, but anytime I'd be driving through the country or whatever, I'd always be on the lookout for cattle.

- Yeah?

- Oh, always, always.

And I'd always joke with my dad, like, "Man, it'd be so great to just to live out in the country and everything."

And he's not really into it, so he'd always just say, "Nah, you just had, you need a good TV to live out in the country."

And then unbeknownst to me, Mom grew up on a dairy farm.

- Oh, in Columbia?

- In Columbia.

- Oh.

- Yep.

And I think that's where I got it from.

- [Rob] Yeah, It's your fault (laughs).

- Oh, yeah.

- Okay, so what, I mean, what did you just start, because you're into rodeoing.

- Right?

- How did that all start?

- So, the degree I got in California, it's a exercise science degree, exercise physiology.

And I just always wanted to push myself to the limits.

And I remember as a little kid, I saw a documentary about bull riding.

And I told my mom, "Hey, Mom, I wanna do that."

And you know?

- Well, stop a minute, because if you saw a documentary of bull riding, you probably knew that it's a very tough, tough sport.

- Oh, yeah.

- And you were fine with that?

- I was perfectly fine with it, yep.

And granted, I was about, I think I was eight or nine at the time.

So Mom told me, "Okay, well when you're older and you have your own car and you can drive yourself."

- And, so, yeah, you always tell the kids that.

- Yeah, exactly.

- "When you're older."

- Right, so one day, I was at work and opened up YouTube to watch something while I ate lunch, and bull riding came up, and I watched it, and it just rekindled my passion for it again.

So I called, well, my now friend Matt Wright, a rugged cross cattle company up in Grand Ridge.

And I told him I wanted to learn how to ride bulls.

And he invited me to his house.

He gave me all the safety gear and put me on a bull.

- [Rob] Just like that?

- Just like that.

- How long that first ride last?

- Full eight seconds.

- Really?

- Really.

- Must not have ticked that bull off.

- Oh, no, was tame.

- Did he literally just stand there?

- Oh, he ran around, did a lap in half round the arena.

- So there are places you can go to learn how to be a bull rider, right?

- Yep.

- But this was just a buddy of yours?

- No, it's one of the bull riding schools.

- Oh, it is?

- Yep.

- Okay.

Alright.

So you're learning from someone that knows how to teach.

- Yeah, oh, yeah.

- And you went up there with full intentions of, I'm gonna be a bull rider.

- That's what I thought at the time.

And then I realized, well, you know, like it's a young man's game.

Lots of the boys at the practice, they go from as young as maybe 9 or 10.

And for the most part, the oldest ones are 20.

So, here I was at 25 at the time, kind of an outlier.

And it's rough on the body, so.

- Yeah, I don't know the names, but I think like the world champions are like 21.

They're young.

- Right, oh yeah.

- And I don't know how old they go.

- It's rare to see someone pass 27.

- You ever, you do the barrel racing, you can go old there.

- You can.

(both laughing) - So did you actually do, compete at rodeos?

- Never competed in a rodeo itself, but last summer I started working with the rodeo circuit.

And so we have a local rodeo circuit here in Illinois.

It's run by TJ Dodd and his brother Andy Dodd.

And they partnered with Matt, who taught me how to ride bulls.

So we go from as far north as Ottawa, down to Fairfield, Illinois.

Out west we go as far as Chilhowee, Missouri, and east we go as far as Crescent City, Illinois.

- So what are you doing there?

- So we have to set up the whole arena.

- Oh, yeah.

- Yeah.

Then I was, this past year, I was mainly in charge of taking care of the animals, putting them back in their pens once they were done bucking, feeding them, giving them water, just general upkeep.

- [Rob] Then how heavy are those barrels?

The ones that the clowns get in?

- Not too heavy, maybe.

- But the bulls, they just knock to living tar outta 'em.

- Yeah, I mean, they're only 150 pounds if that.

- No, that's a lot of weight, young man.

(both laughing) How old are you?

- 27, 27 years old.

- Okay.

(both laughing) - Yeah, so the reason I say it's not that heavy, the panels we use for the arena, they're each, I'd say 200 to 250 pounds.

- [Rob] I suppose they have to be, right?

- Yep.

- An angry bull is nothing you wanna mess with?

- Oh, no, no.

- Okay, do you enjoy it?

- I love it.

- Yeah?

- Oh yeah.

It's the most fun I've had in a while.

I remember one day we were down in Fairfield, this was a Thursday, I believe.

We were down in Fairfield, and we sat everything up the night before.

We had a nice relaxing day.

And then rise, the rodeo starts, starts training on us, just torrential downpour.

So everyone looks to TJ, he's the boss.

And we all like, everyone's asking him, "Are you guys gonna stop?"

He just looks around, just keep on going.

- [Rob] No lightning, you're good to go.

- Yeah, basically.

- Yeah.

- I think there was lightning, but maybe a couple miles away.

- You're cowboys.

- Yeah, exactly.

- Y'all don't worry about anything, do you?

- No, not really.

- Do you always wear the hat?

- Always.

- Can I touch your hat?

That's why we ask, that's why we ask.

Well, hold it up for people.

- Sure thing.

Sure thing, so, yeah.

It's just goes with me wherever I go.

- It's turkey feather.

- Turkey feather, yes, sir.

- And is that the beard, turkey beard?

- Oh no.

- What is that?

- This here, it's just the hat band.

- No, this thing right here.

Yeah, yeah, just part of the hat band.

- Oh, okay.

- Yep, keeps all together.

- All right, well, I won't touch it.

- I appreciate that.

- Well, what kind of hat is it?

Is it made of gold or something?

- No, no, just a wool and beaver felt.

- Beaver felt?

- Yeah, beaver felt.

- Okay.

- Yes, sir.

You can put it back if you want.

I won't touch it.

- Sure thing, I'll take your word for it.

(both laughing) - I won't mess with you because you also know like how to beat a person up, don't you?

- Yeah, so after my soccer career ended down in California, I was looking for something to stay active.

And I fell in love with martial arts, watched UFC one time.

- Oh yeah, that'll do it.

- Yep, and, well, no one's gonna believe this, but when I was six or seven, my mom took me down here to the River Plex for swim classes.

The guys I train with now, at the time, they were training there in the River Plex.

So here I am just waiting for my sister's swim class to be done, and I'm just watching them train.

And I went up to Mom, and I told her, "Mom, Mom, I wanna do that."

And again, she gave me the, "When you're older, when you have your own car, when you can make your own decisions."

And watching the UFC fights that night, it was the night Connor fought Khabib.

- Oh yeah.

- Watching the UFC.

- That was one to remember, wasn't it?

- Oh, sure was, it was, set the bar high as far as first UFC events go, and yeah, I just fell in love with it.

I searched jiujitsu gyms near me out in Fresno, and there was one two miles away.

It was called Dethrone MMA.

- Oh, cool.

- Yep.

And I went in, and I absolutely got mauled, my very first class by the coach's son.

- Oh yeah, I imagine.

- Yep.

He was 16 years old, maybe five foot six, 130 pounds at the time.

- And he just whipped the tar outta you.

- Oh, yeah, just mopped the mats with me, and I fell in love with it, didn't look back.

- Back in the day, they'd all trained in Davenport.

- Right, yeah.

- Iowa.

I don't know if that place is still going or not.

- Sure does, sure is, yep.

- All right, so you get whipped by a kid.

And you stuck with it though.

- Stuck with it.

- So what did you learn, what styles?

- Brazilian jiujitsu is mainly what I focus on.

- That's the one that generally the winners are all trained in that, right?

- Yep, exactly.

And then because that's mainly groundfighting, there's, groundfighting isn't much use if you can't get someone to the ground.

So that's when I started to train judo.

I earned my black belt in judo.

It'll be two years in July when I got my black belt.

- That is hard to do, I'm assuming.

- Yeah, yeah.

- Like how many years did it take?

- Took four years.

- Okay, do you have to like beat up a dragon or something?

- I mean, if that's the way it feels like.

Okay (laughs).

- But.

Yep, and then, yeah, so I got my black belt back then, and then this past, well, February of '24, I got my purple belt in jiujitsu.

So that's the middle belt.

So I have about five years to go till I got my jiujitsu black belt.

- And you're going keep going, whether you're gonna do it?

- Good Lord willing.

- Get your black belt.

- Good Lord willing.

- Okay, I watched Cobra Kai.

- Okay.

- Yeah, so that's karate.

- Yep, that's karate.

- I think they can take you.

- We'll see.

- He does this crane kick where he goes like this.

You seen that?

- Oh, yeah.

- They say you can't defend against it.

- No, you can't.

I don't know if you saw one of the deleted scenes, season one Johnny went over to a jiujitsu gym, and they were gonna throw down.

But I think a cop got in the way and ruined all the fun.

- Johnny could have taken them.

(both laughing) - We'll agree to disagree on that one.

(both laughing) - Jiujitsu though, that is a, believe me, I don't know what I'm talking about, but it's the theory is to get your opponent on the ground so you can't have those big attacks, right?

- Right, you know, and the whole idea of it, it was perfected, if you would, I don't like to say invented 'cause these things have been, these techniques have been around for thousands years.

But it was perfected by a Helio Gracie down in Brazil, and he was maybe 130 pounds.

So he had to learn how he's gonna fight against someone bigger than him.

He got them on the ground in leverage and technique.

And that's how he would control an opponent.

- That Gracie family too, they could fight from their backs.

- Yep.

- That's, I always thought that, you know, usually when they get a guy down on top of him, it's, you're gonna get grounded pounding all, with those Gracie's, I think they did better on their back.

- Oh, definitely.

- Yeah, this is a farm show.

(both laughing) - You'd be surprised how many times I've had to wrangle cattle, and it's come in handy.

- Oh, I bet it has, yeah.

So with the rodeo, I mean, you want to farm someday.

- That's my dream.

I want to have my own cattle ranch.

I've taken to wagyu beef.

I think that's the way to go.

And selling direct to consumer, keeping the farm to table line, farm to table.

- [Rob] Yeah, no, you're right.

- Yep, and then, so that'd be what I would do.

And then throw in the bucking horses, the bucking bulls.

- Now you wanna keep up with that too?

- Oh, yeah.

- Open your own school.

- Maybe one day.

- Yeah, that'd be cool.

When we started our XM radio show, I challenged my wife to get me first generation farmers, 'cause it's almost like a unicorn.

Right?

- Right.

- Well, she found 'em, she found a ton of 'em.

And then we'd interview, and I'm like, "Oh, these aren't first generation."

There was like you hippie dippy, direct to consumer and all this stuff.

And then you talk to 'em, and it's like, man, they do have it figured out.

They're making bank doing this stuff by actually growing something and selling it directly to the person, unlike my farmer like myself that sends it to elevator or, you know, some big conglomerate.

- Sure thing.

- So yeah, I think the people that can really figure that out, seems like using a lot of social media to kind of get the customers in there, get involved so they feel like they're part of raising that animal that plant or whatever.

- Right, definitely.

- Yeah.

- And another big part, especially on the coffee side for us, so our coffee farm is 25 acres, which you say that here in central Illinois, you have a 25 acre farm, someone looks and just says, "Well, that's nothing."

You can probably do a passing your combine in maybe 15 minutes on 25 acres.

- So this gets moving right along, but, yeah.

- Yeah.

You know, and down there we don't have any tractors.

We don't have any equipment, everything's done by hand.

So on top of that, you know, you have the mountains and the elevation where coffee grows.

So we're talking 10% grade inclines.

So by selling direct to.

(both laughing) Yeah.

And you know, those people that harvest the coffee, they have 200 pounds on their back.

They're going up those hills like nothing.

So by selling direct to consumer, we're able to send a portion of the profits back and pay a little bit above the standard wage to the harvesters and just help them and thank them for helping us.

- I heard by the time you get like the third generation coffee growers that they've evolved to where one leg is actually six inches longer than the other so they can walk on the hill.

- Right.

- Is that true?

- Exactly right.

I mean, I don't think it's supposed to be public knowledge, but.

(both laughing) - Alright, so this actually came from your family's farm in Columbia?

- Sure did.

- Okay, and this is, it feels like it's ground.

- Yep.

- Already.

- So I just ground it up.

I didn't know if you guys had a coffee grinder or not.

- We do.

- Oh, okay.

- Is this mine?

- Yeah, it's for you guys.

- Sweet.

Yeah, I'm not sharing this with the crew.

They always want stuff, you know?

Can I, well, it's mine, I'm gonna open it.

Can you just pull it open?

- Right there at that little pull tab right there on the top.

- Oh yeah, slick.

- And then it's resealable as well.

- Okay, I just wanna make the crew jealous.

All right, now we pull it apart.

- Yeah, it's just like a little Ziploc bag right there in the front.

- Oh, I gotcha.

I'm trying to make it harder than it is, aren't I?

Yeah.

- A little bit.

- Oh, goodnight.

You guys wanna a whiff?

Wanna whiff?

He wants a whiff.

See this is, watch this.

Yeah, go ahead, take a whiff.

- [Staff] Guess what I think through the mask.

- Get behind the camera.

You see what I gotta deal with?

That's fantastic, so.

- [Staff] No, smells very good.

- With coffee, right?

- Yep.

- Is it, what's more important, the coffee bean or the water?

- Which came first, chicken or egg?

- Yes, yeah.

- I'd say they're both equally important.

Of course, if you don't have good coffee to start out with, the water's not gonna magically make it 10 times better.

At the same time, the water can ruin a cup of coffee.

But I'd say maybe 55% coffee, coffee's important, 45% to the water.

- Mm-hmm, and so there's a dozen different ways to make coffee.

- Yeah.

- What is, if you had to, if you're at home making a cup of coffee for yourself, how would you do it?

- Just regular coffee maker, believe it or not.

And then if I don't have access to that, I was just having Colorado doing a internship on a cattle ranch out there.

So my plan for coffee out there was, if we don't, if we're out on the range and don't have access to anything, just grab a pot and make some cowboy coffee.

Just boil the water, throw the coffee in there and let it boil.

- And that's it?

- That's it.

- And that's good?

- Gets you through the day.

- I watch the old westerns, and they're like, they want it to be like syrup.

- Yep.

(both laughing) - Do you put cream and sugar in it?

- I just usually do it black.

- That means you have good coffee then, right?

Yeah, some of that stuff, like if you go to a meeting, those are the worst.

And they got the percolators in that.

Literally you have to put 50% coffee, 50% cream, and 50% sugar.

- Yeah.

- You do the math.

(both laughing) - Right.

I think honestly, I just got used to black coffee though, from my time down there in California.

And then being on the road for the rodeo circuit.

We'll stop at the Casey's or something, and I'll just grab a black coffee - Casey's coffee?

- Casey's coffee.

Well, so I broke my nose about 10 years ago playing soccer, not fighting.

- Okay.

- Yep.

And it affected my sense of smell, my sense of taste.

So, it's not as keen as my dad's or anyone who really knows about the coffee.

So lots of time for the tasting, I have to rely on my dad and my mom.

- Oh.

- Yep.

Because otherwise kinda all just tastes the same to me.

- So who's coming into Cafe Santa Rosa?

Is it people that are like coffee expert, coffee snobs, or just soccer mom going to pick up her kids?

- I mean, we honestly welcome anyone and everyone.

- Well, I know you'll welcome people.

You never gotta kick people out.

But I mean, what is it, what do you think the average customer is?

- I'd say probably the young adult to maybe 45 range, you know, 20 to 45, just looking for a place to relax, have a nice cup of coffee.

- Are you saying anybody over 45 is old?

- Oh, not at all.

They're just not as young maybe.

I don't know if this is gonna land me in some hot water.

- Don't worry.

The only belt I have is the one holding up my pants.

(both laughing) So I think you're safe.

I'm not touching your hat, and I'm not ripping on you too much.

(both laughing) Well, what do you want people to know about Cafe Santa Rosa?

- So, us being vertically integrated like that, we are one of, I've only found two other coffee shops in the whole US that supplied their own coffee.

One's out in Arizona, the other one's out in New Jersey.

And then there's us.

So we are totally unique.

We have complete control over our product.

And you know, if someone were to walk into the coffee shop today and say, "Hey, can I see where this coffee came from?"

I can pull up Google Earth, show you exactly the lots it came from.

So I think that makes us one-of-a-kind.

Now our, not not our downfall, but maybe a weakness if you wanna say, someone comes in looking for, maybe they like Guatemalan coffee or African coffee.

Well, I'm sorry, we don't have that, but I can offer you the Colombian coffee that me and my parents grew.

- There is one other in Kansas, there's a guy by, he goes, farmer Derrick online.

- Okay.

And he, for an hour told me that how Colombian coffee was, that's a pinnacle, that's like your Cuban cigar.

- Yep.

- And he gave me a bag, and I didn't, I didn't drink it for like a year.

And then he found out about that, I truly hurt his feelings.

(both laughing) Rafael Vidal from Peoria, Cafe Santa Rosa.

Again, where's that at?

- It is located at 1327 East Kelly Avenue.

That's in Peoria Heights, Illinois, used to be the Betty Jane Brimmer Center for Performing Arts.

- Oh, okay.

Do you have social media website?

- We do.

You can find us on Facebook @CafeSantaRosa, Instagram, CafeSantaRosa_CO, and cafesantarosa.co is our website.

- No, TikTok?

- Not yet.

I was setting one up, but.

- And then there's like, they're gonna pull it, and they don't pull it.

- Well, yeah, you know, but.

- You don't put too much effort into it.

- Well, not only that, but not to age myself here.

I couldn't figure really out how to do it.

- I've got a TikTok.

It's not rocket science.

(both laughing) - It is for me.

Maybe it's 'cause I'm on an Android phone, so.

- So am I, your excuses are running out.

- That they are.

- Well, Rafael, I want to thank you for coming in today.

Very interesting story.

I love your passion for agriculture, for ranching, and that I hope that, I hope that continues in the future.

I hope that's what you get to do.

If you could pick anywhere around to start a ranch, you could wave a wand, where would it be?

- Honestly, I think maybe around here it.

It would be either around here, central Illinois, or out in Cody, Wyoming.

- Awesome.

Rafael, thank you so very much for coming.

Everybody else, we'll catch you next time.

(energetic music) (energetic music continues) (energetic music continues) (energetic music continues) Thank you for watching today's trip across the field.

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