Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

The beautiful thing about coffee is getting to explore the stories of all the wonderful individuals who make up the specialty community. Today we we do just that.  In this series of four short interviews from the show floor at Coffee Fest Indianapolis we get to sit down with Stephen Garcia, General Manager  at  Commissary Barber & Barista , Indianapolis, IN  / Andy and Sarah Hassler, Owners of  Bl...

"Like walking into your granny's kitchen." That's the goal Andytown Coffee Roasters founders Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory have for what people experience when they walk into their shops in the Outer Sunset of San Fransisco.   Starting as a single 600 sq ft shop, Andytown currently employs 49 people over 5 locations— four public-facing coffee shops and one private office cafe. All pastry, baki...

Tracking staff performance can be difficult when you are putting out fires and being pulled in a thousand different directions. Things fall through the cracks and that means we miss growth opportunities with staff who end up feeling forgotten about and not noticed. Today we talk about this issue and how to take action so you can track progress and deliver specific and meaningful feedback that will...

Less Bitter, More Glitter. That is one of the mottos for Glitter Cat Barista , a new barista competition training program designed to give  marginalized and underrepresented communities the resources to shine on the competition stage and address the problem of representation in the USBC.  In it's first year Glitter Cat has made substantial impact on the diversity seen in barista competitions with ...

Communication is the cornerstone of a harmonious team. Problem is that we tend to see things that need correction and don't feel comfortable bringing them up to each other. Today we chat about how a mutual agreement between coworkers can help propel growth and prevent strife. Links : Shift Break on Gossip Solving Co-Worker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel  

Decaf coffee has been much maligned over the years but it has been getting steadily better. What once was a joke amongst "serious" coffee nerds is now being focused on with the same care as its caffeinated counter part thanks to the efforts of companies like Swiss Water.  But while the death of "Death before Decaf" is eminent (I hope) there still remains a lot of confusion and bias around the subj...

Expanding to a second shop is exciting but it can complicate things when the move to grow is not based on a solid foundation. Today we are chatting about some helpful things to consider before you decide to make the leap. 

In a country torn by war one organization is literally sowing seeds of peace and hope through coffee. Mighty Peace Coffee is a next generation impact company working directly with coffee cooperatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo to end poverty and conflict, bring about economic transformation through community and capacity-building, and international advocacy.  Today we get to talk with 3 o...

We all feel awkward and impatient when we start in a new position. How we develop in these times will determine who and what we become later on. Today on shift break, a bit of encouragement and perspective to help those of you who have just been dropped into a new environment or a new role. 

So you want to start a coffee roastery. Well there is a lot that goes into it and an overwhelming amount of information you can access to help you along the way. Rarely, though, do you get the opportunity to sit down with someone who is expert in both roasting coffee as well as helping other people establish their own roasting businesses. Today we get that opportunity as we talk with the great, Je...

Sometimes hospitality opportunities are just inconvenient. Often times we straight-up struggle to do anything more than the basic requirements of our job let alone talking to customers or extending ourselves past what we feel like in the moment. Today we talk about this tension and how to handle it in a way that lifts everyone up.     LINKS : Shift Break: Laziness and the most important decision S...

We don't like to hear negative feedback. We get defensive and immediately start looking for ways to dismiss it rather than digging in to see if there is value there. I get it, the coffee shop is your baby, you take you profession personally. Handled the right way though, negative feedback can be your best friend. Today on Keys to the Shop we are going to explore a 5 step process I have used for a...

On this Founder Friday we are taking a look into the before and after of Torpedo Coffee in Denver, CO. I was able to interview Kyle Wells at the Coffee Fest trade show in Denver June 2018 before ehe opened his new shop. We then sat down and talked last week about how things have played out, what has he learned, and what advice does he have for others from the now 7 months of running Torpedo Coffee...

It is something we all do in ways we don't really think of as damaging. Lying to ourselves and others comes in the form of often well-meaning affirmation but, in the end, holds people back and erodes trust.  Today shift break we talk about how the lysing we do and the way forward toward a more truthful and trustworthy communication.   

Celina is about to celebrate her 2 year anniversary of joining the specialty coffee community having started with no knowledge of coffee as a roasting assistant at the great Merit Coffee in Austin, TX. Through hard work, curiosity, and integrity she has worked her way to head roaster and leads a team of people producing some of the best coffee you can find. Today we sit down and explore her story...

"Just show them the ropes" is a phrase we use when giving baristas the extra responsibility of helping bring up a new hire. This usually is done with little warning and almost never with any extra compensation for the barista who now must work twice as hard. Today we discuss this practice of designating unofficial trainers in the on-boarding process and how to approach it in a fair way. 

We all want to extract the most out of our coffee. There are many methods and tools used to achieve maximum flavor but only a few machines offer innovation in a way that creates a substantial jump forward in brew quality and consistency. The Ground Control brewer is one of those machines and today we get to talk with the inventor of this machine, Eli Salomon, Co-founder and CEO of Voga Coffee.  El...

It's easy to write off someone and treat them in a way that dehumanizes for the sake of convenience. We tend to make ourselves out to be better, and others worse. Today we chat about treating people you work with in the cafe with like they are people...not objects.  *Stay tuned for next week's Shift Break as we talk about the problem with using regular staff to bring new people "up to speed" and m...

Roasting is a hard job that happens behind the scenes. Even the championship itself is somewhat isolated from view! That is why I am  so excited to share this talk with you. Not just because we get to learn more about roasting but because we get to learn from the Champ herself, Shelby Williamson of Huckleberry Roasters , Denver, CO!  In our conversation today we explore Shelby's path into coffee r...

With an abundance of available resources we tend to horde knowledge and never truly apply it to our lives. Is our quest to learn getting in the way of our growth? Today on Shift Break we talk about how to learn and grow in a way that truly makes a difference.   

Want to know what goes into hosting a killer throwdown that energizes your baristas and brings the community together? Well your in luck because today we are talking with the creator of one of the nation's biggest and most successful throwdowns, Justin Shepherd! Justin owns Spencers Coffee in Bowling Green, KY and has been hosting the "My Old Kentucky Throwdown for 7 years. With a 64 competitor br...

Today on Founder Friday we get to hear from Haden Polseno-Hensley, Co-Founder of one of my favorite coffee companies, Red Rooster Coffee Roasters in Floyd, Virginia! The values that drive the company, the quality of the people, the way they invest in their community and staff, and the quality of their coffee... all reasons why I admire Red Rooster and am excited to share this interview with you al...

When we think of the work we do on a daily basis we are not typically prone to describing it as "fascinating". For many of us it is a mundanity that we want to escape from. Today on Shift Break we are chatting about how a shift in perspective in the shop regarding the world we take for granted can help energize and sustain us. 

The Champ is in the house! 2019 U.S. Barista Champion, Sam Spillman of Dillanos Coffee Roasters joins me for this very special episode. In our conversation we discuss the evolution of her coffee career, her love for the community, what drives her as a professional, competition, challenges she has faced developing as a competitor, her first origin trip, balance in the pursuit of a goal, and what we...

Professionalism is a loaded word that has been discussed a lot lately. It is a trait many of us want to be perceived as having but are sent mixed signals from bosses or judges as to what is, or is not, professional. Today we chat about professionalism and the need for a nuanced understanding of it that celebrates diverse expression of it. I hope you take the time to reflect on this one as I often...