Cherokee County entrepreneur, Al Lopez, U.S. Army Vet, CPA with an MBA. Al spent decades in VP and C-level positions for some of America’s biggest brands like Frito Lay, Dole, and Russel Corp. After retiring early, he traveled back to his hometown of Copan, Honduras and his family’s 4th generation coffee farm. Now, as Chairman & CEO/Co-founder of Alma Coffee, Al is using his retirement to build back into the next generation.
After growing the farm for generations, Al’s oldest daughter, Leticia Hutchins, and her husband Harry Hutchins, walked away from promising careers at Chicago’s top CPA firms to refocus their careers on building and growing the family farm. Now, 5th-generation coffee farmers and 1st-generation coffee roasters and retailers, the Lopez-Hutchins crew are working hard to grow their family farm, Finca Terrerito, and coffee brand, Alma Coffee.
“Farming is no easy task, almost everything is unpredictable and a plentiful harvest is never guaranteed BUT it’s the foundation of everything! We put our entire hearts and souls into our farming because it is the start of everything. We guarantee an amazing cup of coffee because we have nurtured the seedlings through every stage of their life up until they are served to you”