the sign spinner
Living in Fairfield, a grand majority of us have driven down Mill Plain Road—whether you’re driving yourself to work, taking the kids to an activity at the Sportsplex, or going downtown to run errands. If you’ve been lucky, at least one of those times you’ve passed the “Sign Spinner.” You know that guy flipping an arrow, always smiling, inviting you to Candlewood Market for a complimentary coffee - Everyone please meet Ryan Inzero.
Ryan is just a “regular” 21-year-old guy, but that’s not to say that he doesn’t have an interesting story. Isn’t that the case for so many of us? When we spoke back in January, I learned that Ryan was one of six kids, raised in a very tight-knit Italian family. The Inzeros had started a Candlewood Coffee Roasters back in Colorado about 13 years ago. Passion for the craft of coffee was in their blood. They source green coffee beans from around the world—including South America and Africa— roasting, grinding, packaging, and delivering throughout the state. You may have seen the Inzero’s packaging at Stop and Shop and Shop Rite! So when the family moved back to Connecticut, they naturally moved their business here, hauling their original roaster in tow. Business organically grew, so much so, that a few years ago they opened up shop near downtown Fairfield—you now know it as Candlewood Market. What may surprise you is that Candlewood is one of the only coffee companies that not only roasts their coffee, but also packages it. In fact, Ryan is usually there helping with back-office operations, or at their roasting facility packaging k-cups!
Photo Cred: Ryan Inzero
Nonetheless, there have been challenges, namely how to market yourself when you’re tucked away from the main road in a big complex. Enter Ryan’s Dad. He had seen some sign-spinning videos on YouTube and approached Ryan with an idea to use this unique concept to promote their coffee shop. Needless to say, Ryan was down! He practiced in his backyard for three days straight, 1-2 hours per day. Everyone loved it! Passersby honk their horns and cheer Ryan on every time he’s out there. It comes as no surprise that he has embraced this connection with people and is known on Instagram as @sign_spinner.
Photo Cred: Ryan Inzero
Listen, when you own a small business, you do what you can to market yourself. As many of us know, exposure and staying top of mind is everything. For Ryan Inzero it’s no different—and he is truly thinking outside of the box. Being one of six kids, he has stepped into some big responsibilities for the family business, but that’s not to say that Ryan doesn’t have other passions. In fact, Ryan launched another Instagram account called @OpenMicTV where he has created a virtual global music platform for people to share their musical talents. It started as a simple idea, gathering a pool of local musicians or those he would come into contact with. Suddenly, people from all over the world were reaching out to him to be a part of his open mic! You’ll see musicians on there from Bangkok, Brazil, Iran, London, just to name a few. Coming from a musical family himself, you will always see Ryan performing some flute improv and even some pretty impressive hand whistling. He can basically whistle anything that’s in his head (I’ve literally heard him jam to Flight of the Bumblebee...it’s no joke!) Join his live broadcast every Saturday at 10 am and 5 pm on @OpenMicTV.
A day in the life of Ryan Inzero could take him anywhere. A typical day is spent somewhere between Brookfield and Fairfield, CT —roasting and packaging coffee, spinning signs with a smile, playing music, hosting a global open mic online, or just doing what he does best, what all these things amount to—being a cool guy with a passion for life.