Pulling Shots

Have you ever wondered if your shop is sustainable? If had to drop everything for a certain amount of time whether the shop you built would be self sustaining? What needs to be handled by you? What can be handled by others exclusively? Sammy and Kailee answer all these questions and provide experiential wisdom into this topic.

Local coffee shops don't have infinite resources. Got you fam, here's some ways you can still have leverage and compete against national chains!

Several things change in the fall. New seasonal drinks Schools back Some employees leave while other come back We talk how to plan for it all in this episode.

Third wave coffee shops are closing while drive-thru chains triple their store count. Sam and Kirk break down what third wave actually got right, where it lost the plot, and why "producer-focused" coffee is getting crushed by "consumer-focused" coffee.  In this episode: - What third wave coffee actually is — and why the term itself has become loaded - The data: Seven Brew's 26-to-600-store run in...

We just took our first-ever full week off — Thursday to Thursday, both kids, no grandparents, no help — and the business didn't skip a beat. This episode is about what actually had to change for that to be true. In this episode: - What Sam's role looked like 5 years ago vs. today (it used to all stop with him) - The hiring rule that made roaster hires actually stick — pull from the stores first -...

Buying a coffee shop that's already running? Most new owners kill the thing they just bought — usually in the first 90 days, usually by "fixing" something that wasn't broken.

You will never be too active in your community, post on social media too often, or talk about you business too much.   We've owned coffee shop for 35 years. People still have never heard of us.

We are a family business that has been operating for 35 years. Heres how we maintain the fmaily dynamic without killing eachother

Dutch Bros and 7 Brew compete for growth, while vietnam is growing in both quantity and quality of their green coffee

Dutch Bros is opening six locations in Des Moines within a six-month span — and it's not the only chain moving in. Starbucks, Seven Brew, and Caribou are all expanding into markets where local coffee shops have been operating for years. In this episode of Pulling Shots, Sam and Kailee break down what you can and can't control when a big chain sets up shop next door: pricing, hiring, culture, and t...

"How can I improve the coffee shop operations?"  If you've ever asked yourself this question, there's a simple answer: Customers give you feedback constantly — the trick is knowing which hints to take and which to ignore. In this episode of Pulling Shots, Kailee and Sam break down how to separate real signal from noise at Friedrichs Coffee

The first step is always the hardest, we'll tell you exactly how to do it!

We dive into the process of how to update menus, aesthetics, specials, equipment and other things for the continued growth of your shop.

Coffee shop emergencies, equipment failures, employee incidents & irrational fear. Sam and Gary go through the types of emergencies they've had to respond to and how to have the right mindset in response and to be prepared.

In this episode we open up about the current challenges facing our business and how it affects our outlook for growth.

Coffee shop culture, barista management, and employee retention — the real conversation most owners aren't having. Sam and Kailee break down what actually builds a strong coffee shop team: why communication is the root of almost every staff frustration, how menu changes land differently on the floor than on a spreadsheet, the dress code debate, and why there's no substitute for physical presence —...

What is it like to build up multiple coffee shop locations? This episode Sam and Gary reminisce on the most important things they've learned from their management journey.

Sammy and Kaylee break down the types of experience that are needed and maybe not so much in new hires.

Sam and Kailee talk about the active project of creating a coffee shop menu. What to add, what to avoid, the importance of simplicity and how to implement trends.

This episode breaks down what actually drives growth, consistency, and profitability for coffee shop owners. If you run a café, this will challenge how you think about your menu and operations.

Sam and Kailee talk about the 5 years experience at farmers markets, what we've learned and what would would suggest coffee shop owners do to get started.

We break down  first wave, second wave, and third wave coffee —what they actually mean, where they came from, and how each wave impacts profitability, customer behavior, and coffee shop growth . We discuss whether third wave coffee is earned or chosen, why convenience often beats values, how second wave systems scale better for most owners, and what coffee shops can learn from gas stations. Plus,...