When it comes to a good cup of locally roasted coffee, Gavina is a household name in Los Angeles.

Lisette Gavina has coffee in her veins, she’s one of 10 grandchildren running the Gavina Coffee company in Los Angeles.

“My family came here with very little and started this business in a very humble way right here in Los Angeles,” said Gavina.

What started as humble roots in Cuba has now expanded into a local coffee empire. Gavina's grandfather, Don Francisco Gavina started roasting coffee in L.A. back in 1967. Today, the family-run business is houses its factory in Vernon.

“Here at Gavina we buy coffee from all over the world. In our green coffee warehouse, you’ll find coffee from 20 different countries,” Gavina said.

The factory now produces just under 50 million pounds of coffee per year, under four different brands - Gavina, Don Francisco, Cafe La Llave, and Jose’s Gourmet Coffee.

The company employs 282 people who roast, package and ship coffee to grocery stores, specialty shops across the country and restaurants like McDonalds.

“We roast their McCafe coffees, which many of us enjoy every day,” Gavina said.

While the national average of coffee consumption is increasing, so is business. This puts more pressure on Gavina and her family to continue to uphold their grandfather’s legacy.

“Having the ability to be a leader in my family’s company is a huge advantage for me," said Gavina. "And I think that I am doing everything that I can to prepare myself to be a good leader, and just have a wonderful, strong, diverse team to help lead us into the next 50 years of this company.”

As part of Gavina’s 50th anniversary in Los Angeles the family opened a new cafe in the downtown Arcade building, called Don Francisco’s Casa Cubana.

She says the cafe opening was an opportunity to fulfill her grandfather’s vision.

It's a place where the coffee meets the cup, and the cup meets the customer, hand delivered by the same Cuban family, from decades ago.