Dylan Capshaw was one of the youngest brick-and-mortar store owners in the country when he introduced all-in-one flower and coffee shop Stemistry to Scottsdale last year at age 15. Now, almost a year and more than $300,000 in sales later, he's about to open a second location in Phoenix.
The new location — in the 124-year-old Teeter-Carriage house at 618 E. Adams St. — is set to open on Mar. 26 and be open from 7 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
“I am so excited to finally open the store in downtown Phoenix,” Capshaw said. “It’s been a lot of work to get it open, and we look forward to welcoming the community in and sharing our passion for coffee and flowers."
Capshaw endured a competitive five-month interview process to secure the historical building in Heritage Square. To embrace its history, Capshaw envisioned a special menu to honor the legacy of the square’s original landowners.
“We looked at all of the original property owners and tried to make drinks with flavor profiles that matched their personalities,” he said. “It's all in an effort to preserve the history of the Square.”
Stemistry offers pre-made bouquets and a build-your-own bouquet bar, where patrons can pick out flowers, pay by the stem, and craft their floral masterpieces. Flowers can be bought by the stem for as little as $2.
Staying consistent with the company’s floral theme, the coffee lab infuses flowers into different ingredients used to make drinks. This past year, Stemistry sold over 2,000 rose lattes, Capshaw said.
“Our most popular drink is our rose latte, which is rose extract in a latte, topped with rose petals,” he said. “Valentine's Day was our busiest day ever. We did just around $15,000 in revenue just for that day. I think we had to have our flower distributors make three or four separate trips to our stores.”
Along with coffee and tea drinks, Stemistry offers a full food menu that includes breakfast and lunch sandwiches, pastries, and desserts.
At the Heritage Square location, previous property owners who will have coffees named after them include Katherine Baird, Edward Haustgen and Eliza Teeter. Prices for lattes range from $3 to $7 and are consistent in both stores.
Capshaw said he hopes his Phoenix customers will learn to enjoy the outdoors and he is taking advantage of his close proximity to Civic Space Park. Stemistry will soon offer a picnic package for $50 to $60, letting customers rent out loaded picnic baskets.
“Since we're in the city park, we wanted to let people go outside and experience the nice environment," Capshaw said. “For a set price, you can rent out a picnic basket. We fill it with coffee and food, and then you can set up somewhere in the park to enjoy a date or relax outside.”
Learning from experience
Since opening the first Stemistry at 9015 E. Via Linda in Scottsdale, Capshaw said he has learned how to manage inventory, payroll and expenses. Juggling both high school and a full-time business, Capshaw said he is grateful for the mentorships he’s received from notable businesspeople such as billionaire entrepreneur Mark Cuban, restaurant owner Sam Fox and Grimaldi’s Pizza owner Joe Ciolli.
“The biggest piece of advice I could give is to form a routine,” he said. “If everything has a routine or a set way of doing things, it's easy to duplicate in a second store.”
Capshaw also has previous experience from founding two nonprofits — For the Frontline and Capshaw Wildlife. His work and dedication with those made him Time magazine's Kid of the Year nominee in 2020.
But now, Capshaw said he hopes to continue expanding in Arizona.
“We're are currently in negotiations for a third location which I believe will be in Scottsdale, but it has not been confirmed yet,” he said.
He also wants to expand online, so flower connoisseurs across the country can experience Stemistry.
“Many people don't know that we sell online,” he said. “So now that we have these two brick and mortars up, I'd love to grow that online sector a little more, keeping it affordable and an easy option for someone who might not have a Stemistry near them.”
Capshaw said he is truly passionate about flowers and coffee and aims to own the business for the foreseeable future. His mission is to engage the community by creating a safe place where people can relax and meet new people.
“I think we're really starting to get our name out in the community,” Capshaw said. “We're starting to see many more regular people coming in to do homework or have meetings, which was always my goal. So it's really nice that we get to expand out in Phoenix and have that new community to align ourselves with.”
