Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

SHIFT BREAK #22 :  One of the main sources of stress and chaos in the coffee bar is the absence of clearly defined standards and procedures for the work.  Turn over is, in part, due to a constant feeling of uncertainty related to the quality and accuracy of ones work. Developing and well thought out set of Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) is one of the most important elements in solving this p...

Mobile coffee service is an incredibly important element to a successful coffee operation. Be it farmers markets, luncheons, weddings, or concerts- breaking out of your four walls is the perfect way to get the word out about your brand to your community. It is, however, not without its challenges and does require you to take account of some key differences that you must prepare for to be successfu...

SHIFT BREAK #21 : Working a busy bar AND keeping it clean is one of the biggest challenges we face in the cafe and the importance of how we present the space to customers cannot be understated. Working clean is the key to having a clear head, a ready bar, efficient service, and a cafe that communicates security to the customer. Today we chat about some elements of working clean that will help you...

Sprudge is here!!! Founders, Jordan Michaelman and Zachary Carlsen join me on the show talk about their new book, "The New Rules of Coffee". In this conversation we unpack their creative process deciding what to include in the book, their goal for the content and tone taken in writing these "rules", and what this book means for both consumers and pros. We dive into select rules from each section o...

It's Founder Friday! Today we are welcoming the great Matt Milletto of Water Avenue Coffee to the show! This conversation is packed with extremely valuable insight from someone who not only runs his own shop and roastery but has spent year educating and training others to do the same thing. We discuss his path to choosing coffee from growing up with coffee as the family business, the consulting an...

SHIFT BREAK #20 : Today we welcome the first ever guest to the Shift Break series, Joe Marocco! A little while ago Joe posted a brilliant piece on his FB page that he has now graciously given to Keys to the Shop in audio form.  Joe is the Coffee Educator at Mill City Roasters in Minneapolis, MN and has been in specialty coffee since 2005. He has been a barista, manager, educator, and leader in the...

Stories are at the heart of all we do and to truly know coffee, you must know more than dry facts, you must know the story of the people behind it. James Harper has dedicated himself to discovering and giving a platform to the untold stories of the coffee industry on his new podcast, Filter Stories. In this conversation we talk about James' story and how he came to begin such a project, what are t...

SHIFT BREAK #19 : Pumpkin spice everything! It's all too convenient to jump on the bandwagon of hating on this, and other, seasonal flavors that may feel to mass marketed for our taste. Today we talk about the best practices and mentality we should have when seasonal flavor expectations are hoisted upon us, and how to view them as a chance to further engage the community and enjoy things together....

Instead of being a normal part of our professional development, self-care is often a last resort after we have pushed ourself past where it was healthy in a bid to further our career and serve well. Today we chat about some practical ways that you can integrate self-care into your daily life and avoid the burn out that is inevitable when it is not made a priority. We also talk about what managers...

SHIFT BREAK #18 : Today we talk about one of the most powerful practices for creating a healthy workplace. Affirmation. In leadership, it is easy for us to veer off into being overly critical, nitpicky, and to focus on the problems and negatives as a default modes of operating. Unfortunately this tends to push affirmation and positive reinforcement aside and leaves staff starved for recognition wh...

Coffee education can often be a mixed bag. While resources presenting information on coffee and barista work abound, it is hard to come by reliable and well researched best practices that will genuinely help you make better coffee. Enter Matt Perger and Barista Hustle. Arguably one of the best coffee education platforms in the world, Barista Hustle focuses on providing trustworthy foundations in c...

SHIFT BREAK #17 : Being vulnerable in leadership is a great quality but it can turn into something toxic when it becomes an excuse for bad behavior that drives people away and damages their confidence in you and the business. Today we chat about ways to recognize this and make sure to be on the positive and professional side of vulnerability for the benefit of the staff and yourself.  

There is an interesting phenomenon in the cafe where as you move up support, communication, and development tends to be harder to come by. The result is managers and other leadership staff feeling abandoned and burned out as they are left to navigate the complexities of their work solo. It does not have to be like this and on today's episode we discuss why this happens, and some solutions what for...

It's Founder Friday and boy do we have a great episode in store for you today!  Today we welcome Dorian Bolden, Owner of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC. Beyu (be-you) is designed to be "The Ultimate Community Gathering Place" and has been serving Durham through great coffee, cocktails, food, and live jazz for almost 10 years. He is now opening his second shop, Beyu Blue, on the Duke University campus an...

SHIFT BREAK #16 : Latte art competitions are fun and inspire us to greater heights of presentation and skill. They can also, when taken without context, frustrate and paint a literally unrealistic picture for aspiring baristas. Today I share some of my thoughts on how to balance the real world with the competitive one. 

Live from Los Angeles! G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger are two of the best shops you can find in this world. Since the beginning owners Kyle Glanville and Charles Babinski have used the multi-roaster to critical acclaim. They have now, however, taken the massive step to roasting all of their own coffees. In this interview Kyle and Charles sit down with me in their new roasting space and talk about...

SHIFT BREAK #15 : In spite of our best intentions, we who are leaders in the cafe can often introduce chaos through the way we act without consideration for those who will be affected by our decisions and example. Today we chat about three things to keep in mind that will help you avoid introducing chaos into the bar, will help you retain staff, and will help you build a strong culture of trust an...

Changing lives through coffee! It is something we all want to take part in and learn how to do with our businesses and careers. Well, today's guest is doing just that and setting an example that should inspire all of us. We are having a conversation with Pamela Chng, the founder of Bettr Barista. Better Barista is a coffee organization built to make a lasting social impact by working with marginal...

SHIFT BREAK #14 : We explore that all too familiar cop-out, "It's not my Job", how giving into that notion will sabotage your career, and what to do and think instead. 

Maria Cleaveland is a master of management, leadership, and organizational systems and process. She has spent over 30 years in hospitality leadership, the last 17 of which have spent in leading the charge in specialty coffee. Her journey has been one of taking on challenges and a wide variety of high level roles that shaped her into the professional she is today. In this conversation we talk about...

SHIFT BREAK #13 : What can we learn about hospitality from spiders? Today on Shift Break we talk about just that. 

Giving feedback is not an easy task. We often psych ourselves out and/or procrastinate on delivering it, dreading the conversation and what might happen when we bring it up. This is especially true when the situation seems to be infused with tension. Fear not!  Today we turn to coaching and communication expert (and past guest), Tom Henschel to help us navigate the task of delivering feedback effe...

SHIFT BREAK #12 : It is bound to happen. One day we are inspired, passionate, and the wind is in our sails , but the next we are down, weary, questioning our choice of career, and generally in a slump. The good news is that this is a normal occurrence and the even better news is that it may actually be good for us. Today we discuss the purpose of these dry spells and low points we are bound to enc...

Ervin Liz is an indigenous Colombian of the Nasa tribe who grew up on a coffee farm helping his family plant, pick, process, and sell their harvest. Years later co-founded The Colombian Coffee Connection where he imports, roasts, and sells the coffee sourced from his home in Colombia direct to the consumer and gives 10% of all profits to charitable initiatives on the farm. Relationship coffee does...

It's Founder Friday!!! Today we get to sit down with Justin Hartman who is the Founder of the standard bearing OZO Coffee Company. Justin brings a very down to earth perspective to all he undertakes. We discuss his journey into coffee working as a barista in the best shops he could find, the founding and evolution of OZO Coffee from one small shop using other roasters to now 4 busy cafes with a th...