The Barista Family: Parents Of 11 Open Coffee Shop To Give Foster Kids Jobs
Exceptional people: that’s exactly what you’d call Ryan and Sara Senter. They’ve earned that title because of their generous fostering. And not just a couple of kids — they’ve opened their home to no fewer than nine children. Given that they have two much-loved youngsters of their own, that means that their busy home has a population of 13: enough to field a soccer team with two subs on the bench! Even so, they found time to start a unique coffee shop.
A burning passion
The Senters studied at Northern Arizona University, and the two met when they were both working at an after-school program. They soon discovered that they shared a burning passion for the same thing.
Ryan and Sara both had a love of looking after children, especially those who needed help. A deep concern for children’s welfare was something that would become absolutely central to their marriage.
A highly significant moment
The couple wed in 2007 and it was just a couple of years after that they welcomed their first foster child into their home. One of the Senter’s foster children spoke to Brian Brant of People magazine in March 2024.
Pima Johnson remembered when she met Ryan when she was just 14, nine years before she spoke to Brant. It was obviously a highly significant moment in her life story.
“Hey, I'm Ryan”
Before she’d met Ryan, Pima’s childhood had featured little in the way of stability. By the age of just 14 she’d experienced six different foster homes — hardly a recipe for a happy childhood.
“He just randomly walked into my foster home, and was like, ‘Hey, I'm Ryan,’” Pima told Brant. It was a casual start for sure, but it would lead to something much more substantial.
A dinner invite
Ryan and Pima were soon chatting to each other. They obviously hit it off from the first, and the foster carer invited her to his home for dinner. At that point the Senters had four children in their home.
Pima met the kids and Sara at dinner and she remembers that, “I fell in love with the kids faster than I fell for them.” But things clearly worked out, since the Senters adopted her when she was 16.