Warm Springs Entrepreneur Turns Childhood Hardship Into Hope
By Andrew Cutler
Theo Perez is no stranger to struggle.
He grew up on and near the Warm Springs Reservation and lost both his parents at a young age. He experienced periods of homelessness and hunger, and he developed an entrepreneurial spirit out of necessity.
Now 32, Theo has directed that drive for excellence into ventures that give back to his community, including a children’s book and a fast-growing coffee business that’s helping boost tribal longhouses across the Northwest.
From Personal Loss to Published Author
The seed for Theo’s first project was planted within the precious moments between his children and their grandmother, Atwai Celestine Bruno. “Atwai” in their native language means “deceased” or “passed on.”
“She would always read stories to her kids—you know, little Theo and little Jocelyn—and it was just a really big part of their night,” Theo says. “Every night, they’d cuddle up and read a bedtime story together. During these moments, me and her would joke around a lot, like we should make our own children’s book 1 day.”
After Celestine’s death, Theo decided to celebrate those memories by creating the book “Celeste Goes to Warm Springs,” featuring places his children love to visit.
Completing the book took about 18 months, and it became a family affair when Theo discovered his first draft was “a little bit too adulty.” Then he discovered the perfect solution—his 11-year-old son, Theo Bruno.
“I actually would read it with him, and he kind of translated for me,” Theo says. “I was like, ‘What if I did it in his words? That’d be super cool.’ And so, if you look at it, it looks kind of like a kid’s talking to you, the way it’s written.” Theo encountered skepticism and even ridicule from local publishers, but he pushed on and decided to illustrate and self-publish the book. What started as a family memento quickly grew into something much bigger.
“We ended up selling out as fast as I could put them out,” he says. “People started recognizing me for the children’s book, and it was way farther than I could have imagined it would have gone.”
Theo’s original aim was to donate 10% of the proceeds from the book to community schools, but he eventually found himself giving away closer to 80% to help children in need.
Coffee With a Purpose
After the success of the book, Theo searched for other methods to support another critical piece of reservation life —the longhouses, which he says are the “heart of every reservation.”
“I’m not allowed to say much, but it’s kind of like where we begin our journey and end our journey is in these longhouses,” he says.
When he discovered no grants or programs existed to help maintain these important cultural icons, he uncovered creativity in an unexpected place—the large coffee machines in every longhouse. This realization led to the creation of Theo’s Longhouse Strong Coffee six months ago. The business sells coffee beans in a variety of roasts.
“Every roaster is a bit different,” he says. “The ones I put in the stores and the bags, those will be a different packaging,” he says. “The ones I do for gifts in the brown, black, and white ones, will be more that I carry on. And people purchase strictly from Warm Springs.”
Theo linked up with a female-owned roasting business to source the beans. He is committed to everything local, from roasting to manufacturing. Already, his partnership expanded to include 3 roasting areas and garnered interest from retailers such as Newport Avenue Market that could translate into national growth.
Theo’s entrepreneurial drive was refined early in life. As a student, he created novel ways to make money, including buying and reselling energy drinks to fund his participation in sports.
“None of it, surprisingly, came from college,” he says. “It was just a means of survival that turned into, I think, something in the long run that helped me. At the time, obviously, I hated it, but it’s helped me so much later on in life. It’s almost like a gift that kind of happened to me.”
Building a Legacy of Service
For Theo, both projects signal more than just business triumph. They are also about growing into the person he needed when he was young.
“There was a time where I had no food to eat. I was starving. There’s days I didn’t eat,” he says. “And we had the homeless shelter, there’s days where I was homeless, you know younger. So being able to kind of help those that are in need, kind of really help fill that part of my heart.”
Theo’s goals for the coffee business go beyond Warm Springs. As interest in the business continues to grow, he believes there is potential for national expansion— but with a twist. That twist is supporting Native communities wherever the coffee is sold.
“Wherever the closest reservation to where the bag of coffee is sold is, I’d like to donate the proceeds to that longhouse,” he says. “It’s not just my reservations who can’t help repair their longhouses. It’s all of them.”
Even now, though, Theo is still finding ways to help his local community and serve the people he loves. The latest venture on Theo’s list is a mental health-focused coloring book called “Unnah”— meaning “oh no, bad” or “you’re misbehaving a little bit”—which unites tribal culture and humor to address community needs.
“I always tell the younger generation this: ‘When someone says you can’t do something, it’s almost like your duty to prove them wrong,’” Theo says. “If you believe in something, politics change. The world changes all the time. So, just go confidently in the direction that you believe in. You’re gonna hit those bumps on either side. So, it might as well be in the path that you actually have a passion for.”
For Theo, that future is clear—continue to serve his community while building a legacy his children can be proud of.
“I’d love to do full-time and make a family business and take my kiddo with me,” he says. “And if he has different dreams, maybe I could help support those dreams.”