Corey Wertenberger, Dazzle Coffee co-owner, stands in his Round Rock location’s drive-thru window. Wertenberger started Dazzle Coffee with his business partner Mike Scheschuk in 2006.[/caption]

Corey Wertenberger, co-owner of Dazzle Coffee, said he loved growing up as a farmer's son in rural Washington. But he said he never considered becoming a farmer himself.

"My father said, 'You are going to do much better at surviving if you use your brain rather than your brawn,'" Wertenberger said.

Wertenberger earned a psychology degree at Washington State University. He said after two jobs in which he did not feel fulfilled he found his true calling: coffee. Wertenberger started working for Starbucks 15 years ago and moved to Texas.

Wertenberger said he loves Central Texas and can imagine growing old in the area. He said the area is the "best combination" of a rural, farm-based community like the one in which he grew up that also has access to a larger city.

"It's a great mix," he said.

He liked working for Starbucks and planned a career with the company, Wertenberger said.

"But eventually one day I thought, 'I'm done working for other people,'" he said.

Wertenberger said he took time off after his job at Starbucks to think about what career he wanted. He said he still wanted to make coffee, but he also wanted to open his own location with a drive-thru.

"I started to develop my own menu [and] my own design," he said. "It was a real crazy leap because I had no idea what to do about real estate, how to build a building, how to create a business plan. It was a very rude awakening when I realized how little I knew."

Wertenberger said he met people who supported him, and they helped him learn what he needed to know. He said he found a great business partner in Mike Scheschuk.

Wertenberger said they started looking for property and decided to open the first shop in Pflugerville in 2006. That is when Dazzle Coffee was born.

"I liked the feel and personality of the community," he said. "I was shocked at how strongly we were embraced by the other businesses."

He became a member of the Pflugerville Downtown Association and took on roles such as treasurer and president.

The association members care about each other's businesses and about downtown Pflugerville, he said.

"There has been a group of people trying to move toward certain goals," he said. "They have been working on some great ideas, and if they can keep moving forward it's going to be really neat."

He said he has not been as active in the PDA since he started developing the Round Rock location of Dazzle Coffee which opened in December. But once everything is more stable with both locations he said he plans on getting involved with the PDA again.

Dazzle Coffee's second location opened in Round Rock in December. His business grew from eight to 24 employees, and many of those who started with him in Pflugerville in 2006 are still with him, he said.

Wertenberger said the employees make the business their own.

"When they really like a product, sales go through the roof," he said. "We serve only what we love, so we are very excited about the product. That comes across with new customers and with old ones."