San Fransisco's newest coffee place Native Twins Coffee
San Fransisco has recently been lucky to get a new hot-spot, Native Twins Coffee. As may be telling from the name, this new Lower Haight District coffee shop was started by some fellow twins. Twin sisters, Jen and Ashley Rubin, are not new to running a business, they have already run a successful granola company Native Twins Granola that sells all over the Bay Area.
We had to know more about the secrets behind their success and how being twins have affected them in their ventures. Read on to be inspired by these supertwins.
Who are you and what do you do?
We are Jen and Ashley Rubin, identical mirror image (Jen a lefty, Ash a righty) twins from Mill Valley. We will be 27 on 3/5. We run 2 businesses together; a granola company and a coffee shop both called Native Twins.
Native Twins Granola: We created a super light and crispy granola blend with all-natural ingredients in 4 different flavors - Vanilla Almond is our top seller followed by Apple Cinnamon. Then we have Strawberry Maple and Blueberry Walnut. They are all gluten-free and vegan; baked in olive oil, sweetened with maple syrup + coconut sugar and made with oats and puffed brown rice. We currently sell in about 50 grocery stores in the Bay Area.
Native Twins Coffee: This is our most recent venture, we always had a dream of running a coffee shop together and came across the opportunity to take over a small coffee bar in the Lower Haight district of San Francisco on Divisadero.
We spent the last month remodeling the shop to give it our own vibe and ambiance (retro, minimalist, with wood). Our beverage menu will have espresso, coffee, tea, chai, matcha and some other specialty drinks. Our food menu will have our granola served over milk or yogurt. Plus a toast menu consisting of savory or sweet toppings on a thick-cut bread and a variety of pastries from a local bakery.
How did you get started?
We never went to college, always had a drive to do something in business with food. Did our research and started selling our granola in local farmer’s markets.
What's your favorite twin moment?
When people do a double-take.
Do you see being a twin as a strength or weakness?
Both. It’s a relationship most people don’t understand. We talk everyday about almost everything and that makes us a strong team. A major weakness is that it can be tricky for others and even ourselves to recognize our individuality and independence because we are so close and often dependent on one another.
Did you always want to be in business together?
Yes.
What do you think is the biggest misconception about twins?
That we are EXACTLY the same and there is nothing different about us.
What is the cheesiest twin joke anyone has pulled on you?
“There’s two of you!? I better get out of here before I get sprung twice!” - random guy at 711
Is there any advice you wish you had received from other twins growing up?
Don’t share a bedroom!
You will be compared in every way almost every day, don’t take it too personally!
Twin Rapid Fire Questions
Who is the bossiest?
Jen
Who is the messiest?
Ashley
Who is most active on social media?
Ashley
Who is the more shy twin?
Both
Who is the more adventurous twin?
Jen
Lastly, is there an evil twin?
Both
Another fun fact about the Native Twins is that their older half-sisters are also identical twins! (Pictured below)
Thank you, Jen and Ashley! We are so excited to see fellow twins having so much success and at such an early age. It is truly inspiring to see that hard work pays off. Kudos to you! Can't wait to try the avocado sandwich and matcha latter at Native Twins Coffee next time we are in San Fransisco. <3
You can follow the twin sisters on Instagram: @nativetwinscoffee and @nativetwinsgranola and on Facebook: Native Twins Coffee, and Native Twins.
Make sure to check out the Native Twins Coffee when in San Fransisco. Located on:
262 Divisadero StSan Francisco, CA 94117
b/t Haight St & Page St
Lower Haight
Have you already been or are you planning to visit? Let us know in the comments!
We love getting to know to fellow twins and this one is a part of our twin interview series (check out the others, including with the Dancing With the Stars Slater twins here and Refinery 29's Lucie Fink and her twin sister Allie here)
Twinning Store was established by twin sisters K & E in Los Angeles in July 2017. We sell clothing for twins, because twins rule! The store is made for twins by twins. Follow us on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
