Veteran-owned Serenity Sips – a family business that is percolating some great ideas

THE WOODLANDS, TX – When former United States Army veteran and medic Celeste Potter received a traumatic brain injury in a horrifying accident, the daunting road to recovery was enough to make anyone want to give up, stay in bed, and let the world pass them by. But the wife and mother was determined to regain her life – both personally and vocationally – and embarked on a journey that would bring her and her family to a sense of serenity.

Celeste and her husband Ryan are co-owners of Serenity Sips Bar & Wellness Emporium, enjoying a prime location at 26411 Interstate 45 between Woodlands Parkway and Rayford Sawdust. Serenity Sips initially presents itself as a homey, cozy coffee shop, but merely taking three steps inside the doorway reveals there is so much more: craft coffees and snacks, holistic products on display, wellness tech sessions, a Veteran’s Wall honoring service members past and present, a layout and appointments for enjoying quiet time to conducting a business meeting, a covered patio, and even a private room set aside for small conferences and meetings, extra-quiet relaxation, and even a movie night.

The couple brought an updated sense of the phrase ‘family business’ when they opened their doors to the public, with Celeste’s father being the main force behind the build-out of the location, her sister as the operations manager of the business, her mother handling the accounting duties, and even her eldest son whipping up a mean cup of coffee as a master barista.

Celeste and Ryan sat down with Woodlands Online, shortly after their grand opening celebration, for a talk about what inspired Serenity Sips, the sense of family and desire for inner peace that drives their business savvy, and the journey the family took after an accident nearly cost Celeste her life.

“We wanted to do something as a family,” said Celeste when asked about the origins of Serenity Sips. “The thought process actually started with my career in wellness tech and grew with my accident. I got hurt about four years ago when I had a speaker fall on my head. It was from twelve feet up, so it was about 45 lbs of pressure. I had a lot of nerve damage, spasms, and things like that. My body just started to just not respond well to things because of all the medicines they were putting me on.”

At the time, Celeste worked for a functional medicine doctor. Her desire to alleviate the issues of so many medicines being introduced into her system led her to try stem cell therapy and seeking alternate avenues for recovery. “One of the things that really kind of helped turn things around was using the HOCATT, a machine that essentially is helping your body to eliminate the things that are in there that possibly you wouldn’t have been able to get rid of on your own,” said Celeste. “Because I was injured, I couldn’t exercise and thus couldn’t burn calories or spend a whole lot of energy. The HOCATT heats up the inside of your body like a sauna, and then it has PEMF – Pulsed Electromagnetic Therapy – that also helps.”

Besides the physical medical issues, Celeste also contended with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, more commonly known as PTSD. “I’d look up everywhere I went. All of these things compounded into just trying to find things that help me relax and help me to feel better. So over the years I just found things that kind of helped. And then when Ryan and I started talking about doing something together, it was like, well, why don’t we look at a coffee shop that can bring people together? That was kind of it. My niece loves coffee. My daughter and I love tea, so we pursued the possibility of creating a place where you could come for the coffee and tea and stay for the other things.”

The strong sense of teamwork is clearly evident when Celeste and Ryan sit side by side. Though Ryan had essentially retired after decades in the logistics field, he jumped in with both feet alongside his wife in this new venture filled with unknown variables.

“I like to call what we pour ‘handcrafted drinks’ because your coffees and your teas are going to take 5 to 8 minutes to make. Even all of our syrups are handcrafted,” he said.

While the ambience of the shop is one of relaxation and reflection, the decor is quaintly retro in feel, with walls dotted with black-and-white photos of celebrities from decades ago (along with one currently living dog mascot snuck in amongst them).

“Our whole thought process was to present a place like it was back in the ‘50s and ‘60s. People could go somewhere and have something to eat or something to drink and not have to worry about what was in their food and drink. Nowadays, we don't know half of what our food contains. The companies that we've partnered with are all about the same things. So our products don’t come in a box in the bag from a factory somewhere. Everything is handmade. So you're getting a handcrafted coffee or tea. They may not taste exactly alike every single time because they are made lovingly by hand and individually for you.”

While most other coffee establishments rely on high volume and quick turnaround times, complete with pre-brewed wares and drive-up windows, Serenity Sips eschews this business model.

“We respect those models and we’re not trying to compete with anybody. We’re trying to be our own brand. We’ve done our best to have a unique presentation so that people can come here and then tell everybody else about this place,” said Ryan.

It’s clear that Serenity Sips isn’t just a place for health and wellness and for coffee; it’s also a place where a student can come in and do school work, or a businessperson can conduct a meeting, or a hiring agent can do interviews for job interviews. The private room can accommodate groups like book clubs and support groups and even families looking for a private getaway of togetherness.

On top of running the business of brews, Celeste also works for Dr. Mila McManus of The Woodlands Institute of Health and Wellness, a popular functional medical practice in the area. The collaboration between the two allows for enhanced wellness journey services.

“What we’re trying to focus on is delivering something that you really feel good about putting in your body. We make our own house made almond milk, so that the oils aren’t in there. And the oat milk is the same without oils or additives or anything like that,” said Ryan.

One standout of the establishment is the Veterans Wall, dedicated to those who have served our country. As a veteran herself, Celeste is aware that body and mind both have to be able to heal to maintain balance and maximum efficiency.

“I was actually in my undergrad at Sam Houston State University and decided I wanted to go to med school. I always plan things out. So my plan was that I would go to grad school before I went to med school. I needed to do something different. I had always wanted to go into the military, but I have children, and it’s not generally looked at positively for a mother to decide to go in the military. I went through that. But in the end, my family supported me in making that decision. I was gone for, I guess, almost a year. I was listed as a healthcare specialist, but it’s a combat medic. You’re being trained to do all things in the field, like how to do IVs and thorax. And we'd even have to do eviscerations and sutures and things like that. It was really cool to me because I learned so much. Like, you know, being around it in a different aspect like I had been around healthcare. I’ve worked in healthcare since 1999. So just kind of seeing it from an active standpoint, it was really cool.”

As she wended through her military career and grad school, she opted out of pursuing medical practice and instead learned about the business administration aspects of the field, which led to her working with McManus.

When asked about if the serenity of Serenity Sips outweighs the stress of running a business, Celeste was candid. “It gives me hope for beyond like today. You know, like something that I know that my family is part of with me. And I tell them all the time. Like, am I stressed out? Of course, like, you know, this is our personal savings. It’s on the line for all of this. But without my family, without that team, we wouldn’t even be to the point that we’re at. So it’s definitely giving me that peace, knowing that I have my family with me; because if we’re going to make it, we’re going to make it together.”

When it comes to reaching out to the community, the Potters have taken it a little more literally than most; they have a mobile cart and are taking it out to various locations in the area, booking a special event in December where a med spa is having a book signing event.

“We were talking to another coworker. She came in and she was saying how they’re planning a wedding reception because her daughter decided to elope. And I was quick to point out we could bring their breakfast and coffee to them,” said Celeste.
Visitors to Serenity Sips may also find themselves the object of the affection of Go Go, the family dog who provides invaluable service to Celeste. Whether you’re a solo coffee drinker looking for a quiet nook to contemplate, a family looking for some laid-back fun, a business person in search of a second office, someone in need of healthy food and drink or holistic products or services, you owe it to yourself to try Serenity Sips.

Photos