Scars And Stripes Coffee Getting Muddy To Help Veterans

Chad Watts has met thousands of veterans through his work at Veterans Affairs, but one comment he heard still resonates to this day. 

"One of the hardest things I ever heard was, 'I come back to a room of familiar faces but feel like a stranger,'" said Watts, co-founder of Scars and Stripes Coffee. 

Chad recognized that the problem was in re-integration, and that's how Scars and Stripes Coffee got percolating. 

"I said what if we built a sales team just comprised of veterans only," said Watts. 

Chad along with Oklahoma Army National Guard Lt. Col. Brad Dean started the company in 2018. 

The beans are roasted locally at EOTE. 

Scars and Stripes empowers veterans by giving them a high-quality product to sell and the platform to engage with customers. 

Most of the in-person sales are made at farmers' markets. 

"That is what's actually resonating with customers, is getting those veterans face-to-face, and let the customer hear the story," said Watts. 

But Scars and Stripes' mission is about more than just money. 

"Just to know that they're not out of the fight anymore, that they're still part of a team, will change the veteran landscape." 

And speaking of landscapes, it's going to be a messy one coming up at the Scars and Stripes Mud Run on Saturday, June 5.  

The 5k trudge through the mud at Lost Lakes Adventure Park will be the first big fundraiser for the company. 

"We're trying to get as many veterans out to see what we're doing to get around us obviously, but more importantly, we're raising money for seed money for our veterans," said Watts. 

If you're not a runner, you can always walk it. 

You can sign up by clicking on this link.