Lisa Kostiuk-Deshazer became the first employee of the stand that proceeded Prestige Espresso 15 years ago. Though she didn’t know it at the time, this was the beginning of Prestige Espresso’s legacy of being a friendly, familiar place to get coffee served window-side. 13 years later, she took the stand into her own hands and renamed it Prestige Espresso.
Kostiuk-Deshazer's daughter, Serenity Lundquist had worked for Kostiuk-Deshazer under the stand’s original ownership. When they learned that the owners were planning to close the stand, the mother-daughter team jumped in to buy the business together.
As Kostiuk-Deshazer and Lundquist prepared themselves to take over the coffee stand, they selected a name appropriate to their style of customer service: comical and honest. They named the stand after “Prestige Worldwide” from the popular movie Step Brothers.
The dynamic of bringing a mother-daughter relationship to the workplace is a situation family members often think twice about. The idea was daunting at first for Kostiuk-Deshazer as well, but their close-knit relationship has made them uniquely intertwined and a strong match as business partners.
Lundquist grew up alongside Kostiuk-Deshazer as she worked in coffee stands and became one of the girls to work the stand when she turned 16. Considering her life-long entanglement with coffee stands and the women’s close connection, it should be no surprise that their coffee concoctions taste nearly identical, which happens to be part of the appeal to their regulars – consistently stellar coffee.
For the past several years, a 12-ounce iced mocha and a peanut butter cookie has been the first order of the day at 5:30 a.m. Kostiuk-Deshazer’s longest-running customer, however, has been frequenting the windows of the coffee stands she’s worked at for the past 15 years. She attributes their continual return to a commitment to quality, consistency and honesty.
Kostiuk-Deshazer says her favorite thing about the business is connecting with people in the community. “You just build a friendship with them that way,” said Kostiuk-Deshazer.
Kostiuk-Deshazer and Lundquist’s commitment to give back to the community they serve goes beyond the stand, including sponsoring Everett High School’s drama club, Save-a-Mutt and other community events and programs throughout the years.
After 15 years of serving up delicious drinks and community connections, Kostiuk-Deshazer and Lundquist look forward to continuing to serve their long-time regulars, as well as making new friends. Pro tip: Kostiuk-Deshazer says their white chocolate mochas tops the charts as the most popular drink on their menu.
Visit Prestige Espresso at 2726 Rucker Ave., Everett, WA 98201.