Mark Bell of Sur Coffee and OB Beans Believes in "Doing Good" Through Coffee
By hosting monthly SIP & RIPs up in Huntington Beach, a wonderful partnership has been born with Sur Coffee, the coffeehouse fueling many of our morning meetups in Orange County. Owner Mark Bell also runs OB Beans, a business located a little closer to us down in San Diego. Both stores focus on "doing good," a phrase that, according to Mark, is more than just a mantra, but a compass, guiding the businesses forward in meaningful directions. With a business model focused on community outreach and giving back, Mark and his team have fostered significant relationships (often turned friendships) worldwide, affecting positive change in underserved communities, at home in Southern California and beyond.
At First Light Surf Club, we share that same commitment to doing good and fostering meaningful connections within our own community. That’s why our partnership with Sur Coffee feels so natural, their purpose resonates deeply with ours, and we’re truly stoked to team up with them in fueling mornings and building community together.
We spoke with Mark to uncover what makes his coffeehouses unique, the roles surfing and fatherhood play in his life, and how he keeps his central mission of "doing good" alive. Read on to discover this special, behind-the-scenes story.
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Q. Can you briefly introduce yourself?
Mark: My name is Mark, I typically introduce myself as the “janitor” because I do a lot of cleaning up and fixing things company-wide, haha. I’ve lived in California for the past 20 years, and have an amazing son who loves to surf.
Q. What initially sparked your passion for coffee, and how did that lead to the opening OB Beans and Sur Coffee?
Mark: I came from the non-profit world and was so inspired by my friend Tom, who started a few coffee shops and a roastery in Mazatlan, Mexico, to support his humanitarian work in the community down there. A few friends and I dreamed about starting something like that in Ocean Beach to support the non-profits we were all involved with. We wanted to create a community hub that specialized in high-quality, direct trade coffee roasting and doing lots of good with it.
Q. Both Sur Coffee & OB Beans emphasize “doing good” in some form. What does that mission look like in everyday operations?
Mark: Doing good is more than just a cool mantra; it’s our compass, and it takes a lot of different shapes in the company. From working directly with farmers and helping them support their families and communities, to our everyday interactions with our regular customers, it's all about using something simple we all enjoy every day to make an impact in people’s lives. We partner with local schools, support community events and contests, and are involved with several non-profits, like helping start a community center and free daycare in Baja, Mexico, that helps single moms who work in the fields and their kids. We’ve partnered with organizations that have brought clean water to some of the developing countries we get our coffee from, others that mentor homeless teens in inner city San Diego, one that built a skatepark and school in Africa for kids, and a group that uses surfing for leadership development, water safety, and positive change.
Q. It’s clear from your mission statements that direct trade has been important to you since the beginning. Why is this such a core value for you, and how do you choose which farms to partner with?
Mark: From the moment we stepped on our first coffee farm and witnessed firsthand how much effort, work, and passion went into growing, harvesting, and processing each bean, direct trade became extremely important to us. We’ve spent the past decade traveling around the world, connecting with farmers and cultivating long-term relationships with them as we build trust and friendship. That takes a lot of extra time and money. There are a lot of roasters out there that just buy from brokers, which is fine. But for us, it’s not just a business deal; these are our friends. In fact, me and the OB Beans boys were all invited to the wedding of one of our coffee producers in Guatemala. We were the only gringos there, but it was important to him because of our friendship. Many of our producers have met my son, and we’ve watched each other's kids grow up. Pretty special how coffee takes a global community to produce, and creates opportunities for these kinds of relationships all over the world.
Q. Sur Coffee and OB Beans are both staples in the surf community. How has surfing shaped your life, and what has it been like to weave that passion into your coffee shops?
Mark: I’ve been surfing for over 30 years and try to go almost every day. After I surf, I usually go with our crew to get a coffee. Because we are located on the coast, lots of our employees and regulars are all surfers. It’s not something we necessarily tried to be; it was just something that happened because that is who we are. It’s our community. It's interesting too that a lot of the countries we get our coffee from have incredible waves, which is another thing that connects us. We recently took a trip down to Central America with my business partner, Adam Watts, and pro surfer Kalani Robb. We were able to hit multiple coffee farms together and score some incredible waves while we were down there. Feels like surfing and coffee just naturally go hand in hand for us.
Q. How does going for a surf and being in the ocean affect your mood and well-being?
Mark: There is something so centering about being in the ocean – almost spiritual. There are so many positives from just getting your bare feet on sand and grounding, to paddling around and getting exercise (and maybe a cold plunge in the winter, ha), it's something that really makes your day so much better. I also go with a small group of friends, which always makes it more fun.
Q. What are the biggest challenges of owning and operating two coffee companies, and how do you balance the identities of OB Beans and Sur Coffee while keeping them true to their own communities?
Mark: When we started OB Beans, we thought we were just going to do the one shop and be done. It took everything we had to get it open, but after a few years of incredible support from the community, we were approached by my business partner in San Clemente about starting something similar up there for the community. So we decided to come up with a name that could be used in different communities. Even though there are two different names and logos, it’s still the same ethos and culture, and the same incredible quality coffee. Each shop takes on the culture of its community and looks slightly different, but all feel very familiar as well. It’s a balance of standardizing quality, but adapting to the community. Communication and keeping everyone on the same page can be a challenge at times, and that is an area we have really grown in recently.
Q. What’s your go-to coffee order?
Mark: If I’m in the shops, I typically get a cortado. I drink black coffee at home from our roaster's club.
Q. As a passionate surfer, entrepreneur, and father, how do these roles fuel each other to make you a better business owner, surfer, and dad, and what lessons do you hope your son takes away from watching your hard work in the water and through the work you do?
Mark: I’ve always tried to keep life pretty integrated. Surfing with my son since he was three has been such a gift, and I’ve brought him along to farms and surf spots all over the world. He’s grown up seeing different cultures, meeting amazing people, and learning by experience.
When we started OB Beans, I had sunk every last penny I had into getting it open. I remember that Christmas only able to afford to get him a $9 Pokémon card he asked for. At the time, I felt like such a failure. But honestly, those years built us. He saw us digging trenches for the plumbing while he played with his toy cars in the dirt we dug up, and now 10 years later, he’s working as a barista at Sur Coffee. He’s seen the grind, the sacrifice, and the payoff. A lot of life lessons aren’t taught, they’re caught — and I think he’s caught some pretty good ones along the way.
