After hearing the philosophy of CJ and Quincy Robert, it is easy to see why students voted the owners of both Pups and Cups Cafe and the Cougar Entertainment Center as the best local business owners.

“You’re not in small business business to make money,” Quincy said. “You’re there to provide a service to the community.”

The two settled in Pullman after their lives brought them both to WSU. CJ pursued a degree in medicine and Quincy in graphic design, and along they realized they wanted to find a way to build their careers here.

“We decided we love Pullman,” said Quincy, “and we decided to open our own business.”

They and their friend Alex agreed the town was missing a major source of entertainment: laser tag. To remedy this, they started the Cougar Entertainment Center. From there, they built it out to become a full arcade and entertainment center, hosting birthdays and building good relationships within the community as a whole.

They later became involved with the now happily successful Pups and Cups Cafe, taking it over as some of their friends had to give it up.

From these two shops, they have been able not only to provide solid services to the community, but also to fulfill another portion of their philosophy: giving back to their employees.

“Every single one of our employees has been with us since day one,” CJ said. “Because they respect us and appreciate the fact that we were there, and we’ve been there and done that, and that we just want to be a better boss and be there for them.”

For CJ and Quincy, however, it goes deeper. When employees who have been working for them while attending WSU graduate, they maintain contact and help them get where they want to go.

“Even with our training, everyone is trained to everything,” CJ said, “from writing schedules to being a manager to fixing the laser tag suits. It sets them up to … have all of that experience.”

For these two, there is no better opportunity than to help others pursue their dreams while pursuing their own.