There are many great coffee shops and roasters in this world. What makes a great cafe in my mind is intentionality, a focus on kindness, consistency, hospitality, and quality as a pursuit in service of those things. Living in Louisville, KY I am fortunate to be only 2 hours away from one of my favorite places that I feel has consistently exemplified those virtues.
Crema Coffee Roasters!
Today on Founder Friday we get the pleasure of talking with the co-founder of Crema Coffee Roasters, Rachel Lehman.
In 2008, Rachel Lehman, a coffee professional with over a decade of experience in barista and management work, along with her husband Ben, founded Crema Coffee. The beginnings of Crema was born from their shared midwestern work ethic and determination to carve out and cultivate something that would endure and have a lasting positive impact.
From their first small cafe - to taking on roast - to now having 3 cafes, a thriving wholesale program, and many national and local awards to their name, the dream has been to create a business that provided hospitality and great coffee for their community and learning opportunities for baristas and staff.
Crema has grown to not only fulfill those dreams multiple times over, but has also made a large impact on the greater industry with the example it sets as a zero-waste cafe and a roastery that exemplifies intentionality and consistent holistic focus on relationships.
In this conversation we explore the early years and the start of Crema and learn about how this business has scaled and grown with integrity, consistency, and hospitality as the foundation
We cover
- Starting and Growing a Coffee Business
- How coffee and music share similarities in terms of practice and discipline.
- Why defining a clear mission and values is crucial for a successful coffee business.
- Aligning company culture with the customer experience is essential.
- How building a strong team of leaders and coaching them is key to success.
- Alignment as a crucial component for effective cross-departmental leadership.
- Finding the right balance between bringing in outside talent and maintaining company culture is a challenge.
- Cleaning and Hospitality in the Coffee Industry
- Understanding Every Position in the Company
- Delegating Tasks and Hiring Managers
- Scaling the Company and Giving Opportunities
- Staying True to Company Identity Amidst Competition
- The Key to Crema's Success: Consistency and Reliability
Related Episodes:
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden
- 177 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Pascual of Taproom Coffee and Beer in Atlanta, Georgia
- 188 : Founder Friday w/ Jon Allen of Onyx Coffee Lab
- 156 : Founder Friday w/ Lauren Crabbe, Co-Founder of Andytown Coffee Roasters, San Fransisco
- 145: Founder Friday w/ Red Rooster Coffee Roasters co-founder, Haden Polseno-Hensley
Insights, perspective, accountability, and growth are just a few of the benefits that have changed lives through consulting, workshops, and trainings. For the last few years I have wanted to bring to more people, that same kind of transformational experience in a small group setting and now we are now ready to begin! I have personally been in a group for podcasters for the last 6 years and have also hired coaches, consultant, and been a part of an online community. It has all been indescribably transformational.
- Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by Chris and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
- We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
- This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
- In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
- Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Circle.so community app
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Designing your coffee shop can be one of the most exciting parts of the opening or scaling process. Exciting, that is, until we come up against resistance to our great ideas in the form of space limitations, quirks, historic preservations, zoning, etc.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about how we can embrace the limitations and constraints of our spaces in a way that moves us from frustration to actually being energized and confident in our unique cafe.
You should listen to these episodes next:
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
What is the "Best" coffee shop? As long as coffee and coffee shops have been around, us humans have been rather preoccupied with what the best coffee of coffee shop is. We have our own personal scale of judgment, then there are local popularity contests put on by city papers. Most famously over the past decade or two we have developed barista, brewing, coffee shop, and cupping competitions to determine quality. All of this is to my mind, not just to try to figure out "the best", but to extol virtues we desire to see continued in that category assuming that if they do then it will be a net gain for everyone seeking consistent enjoyment.
Today on the show we get to talk about nature of this construct, why it is a bad thing to base your business on, how we can put the idea of being "the best" into its proper place in our minds so it does not become a distraction from the ways we can truly find fulfillment and meaningfulness in our work serving coffee.
Related episodes:
- 454: Creating a Vibrant Coffee Bar w/ Charles Babinski of Cafe 143 in Sydney, AUS
- 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
- 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
- 485: Your Shop vs The Industry - How to Free Yourself From Dependency
- SHIFT BREAK: Minding Our Business
- 447: Understanding the Business of Coffee w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Getting into coffee and then pursuing it as a career takes your through a few different phases of maturation. One of the first phases is where you focus only on one very specific thing to the detriment of many others. For me, the world could be on fire, but as long as I was behind the espresso machine and dialed in, all was good. Or so I thought.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about why it is necessary for coffee professionals in the cafe to focus on the whole cafe and the experience guests have in it, not just one small part of that big picture.
Recommended episodes:
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
When you start a business, pretty much all your attention goes to getting it up and running and then to keeping it going and growing it over the hopefully many years of its life. What we often do not plan on or put energy into how we will exit the business. Whether it is passing it on to or selling it outright, many are ill prepared to make this transition and when they do want to sell or exit, are left with very few options and a business that is not sellable.
Today we are going to be covering the ins and outs, of what it takes to prepare yourself and your business for this future transition. I am so pleasded to welcome to the show, Aaron Friedman of Guideposts.io.
Aaron Friedman is a seasoned business leader with over two decades of experience spanning information technology, startups, venture capital, and acquisitions. Hailing from El Paso, TX, Aaron's passion for innovation was cultivated early on in his grandfather's machine shop working on racing engines.
With a history of founding and selling companies across the globe, Aaron now specializes in acquiring and transforming companies.
Beyond his professional pursuits, Aaron dedicates his free time to mentoring local entrepreneurs with Score.org, restoring classic cars, and indulging in his fascination for sailing. He has a proven track record of driving operational excellence and navigating complex business landscapes and is counted on as a trusted partner for navigating business exists.
We cover
- The Silver Tsunami and the Impact on Business Exits
- The Importance of Profitability and Building a Strong Foundation
- Delegate or Die: The Need for Delegation and Focus on Growth
- Defining Forward: Risks, Vulnerabilities, and Documentation
- The Value of a Turnkey Operation
- Consistency and Branding: Keys to Business Value
- Documenting Recipes and Processes for Consistency and Risk Mitigation
- Delegating and Empowering Key Employees for Growth and Exit
- Planning for the Future: What Do You Want Your Business to Look Like After You Exit?
- Effective Communication and Setting Expectations in Delegation
- Regularly Creating an Exit Plan: A Practice for Business Owners
LINKS:
Related Episodes:
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 489: Tips for Creating a Resilient Cafe
- 486: Why You should Fire Your Landlord and Consider Owning Your Building w/ Paul Neal
- 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 453 : The Craft of Operations
- 374: Opening a Coffee Shop: Fantasy vs Reality (w/ bonus commentary)”
Insights, perspective, accountability, and growth are just a few of the benefits that have changed lives through consulting, workshops, and trainings. For the last few years I have wanted to bring to more people, that same kind of transformational experience in a small group setting and now we are now ready to begin! I have personally been in a group for podcasters for the last 6 years and have also hired coaches, consultant, and been a part of an online community. It has all been indescribably transformational.
- Key Holder Coaching Groups will be hosted by Chris and consist of a curated group of 5 coffee shop owners.
- We will meet together 2x per month for 2 hours over a 6 month period.
- This structured group will allow each member to have multiple hot seat opportunities to present specific issues to the group and gain insight, feedback and direction to help them develop themselves, their people, and their business.
- In addition we will be consistently updated on each others progress and have opportunity to speak into each others lives.
- Key Holder Coaching members will have access to each other via the Circle.so community app
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
When we talk about our employees it is common to talk about "setting up staff for success", but what does that really look like. Talking about it can sometimes wrongly convince us that we are actually doing it.
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about what it looks like to set your staff up for success in very practical terms that, if applied, will transform the relationship to one of trust based on evidence in action, not just talk.
Recommended episodes:
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Welcome to our special episode from Coffee Fest live on the show floor interviews from New Orleans, 2024!
To start us off we will be talking with Turgay Yildizli of Specialty Turkish Coffee, followed by Doron Petersan of Sticky Fingers Sweets and eats, then a great conversation with Jonathan Riethmaier of Mammoth Coffee in New Orleans.
Turgay Yildizli
Istanbul native Turgay Yildizli, who now lives in New Orleans, is the founder of Specialty Turkish Coffee, a company established in 2014 that offers everything one needs to make specialty Turkish coffee, from equipment to tutorials. He works as a consultant around the globe, helping coffee companies to develop their Turkish coffee programs. Specialty Turkish Coffee also offers certification workshops in Turkish coffee brewing. Turgay has made it his mission to improve the standards of Turkish Coffee and raise it up to the place it deserves in the specialty coffee community. He’s a certified Q Grader and roaster. He was the 2013 World Cezve/Ibrik (Turkish Coffee) Champion, he has also represented Turkey in the Brewers Cup and Coffee in Good Spirits Championship.
https://www.specialtyturkishcoffee.com/
Doron Petersan
Doron Petersan is the owner and founder of Sticky Fingers Sweets & Eats in Washington, DC. As a New Yorker-turned-vegan transplant and craving traditional guilt-laden foods, Doron Petersan was determined to unlock the secrets of creating their plant-based counterparts—that didn’t’ taste like it. Armed with a Bachelors degree in Dietetics from the University of Maryland, she embraced her food-science knowledge and love for all things delicious. The Sticky Fingers brand represents the mission to create a plant-based space in the food industry for everyone to enjoy via direct outreach, direct to consumer, cpg and retail
locations.
Sticky Fingers has been making waves and serving up treats to fans far and wide, including celebrities like Miley Cyrus, Bethenny Frankel, and Ellen DeGeneres. Accolades for the bakery include ‘Food Network’s Cupcake Wars and battled to claim the competition’s grand prize, twice.
Doron has been featured on The Cooking Channel’s Not My Mama’s Meals with Bobby Deen as well as NBC’s The Today Show with Kathy Lee and Hoda. She has contributed articles and recipes to Vegetarian Times and Reader’s Digest. The bakery’s recipe book, Sticky Fingers’ Sweets, was released on February 16, 2012, by Avery of Penguin Group USA.
https://stickyfingersbakery.com/
Jonathan Riethmaier
Jonathan’s journey into specialty coffee has spanned nearly two decades and included roles as barista, trainer, marketer and roaster. In 2016, Jonathan and his wife, Darlene, co-founded Mammoth Espresso, a specialty coffee retail shop in New Orleans, Louisiana. In 2021, Jonathan established Mammoth Coffee Company, a roasting and wholesale business. Jonathan heads up the roasting, production and sourcing departments of Mammoth, in addition to the day-to-day responsibilities of running a cafe and wholesale business.
https://mammothcoffee.co/
Related episodes:
- 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
- 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster”
- 129 : Founder Friday w/ Casey & Jeremy Miller of The Mudhouse, St. Louis, MO
- SPECIAL: Coffee Fest Live! Chicago 2022 Part 1 w/ Luke Waite, Kris Christian, and Perfect Cube
- SPECIAL! Part 2 | Coffee Fest Anaheim 2023 w/ Steve Chang of Copa Vida Cafe and Jon Ferguson of Coffee Tech Central
Sponsor:
A shop is maintained by the attention and repeated actions we put into it. We need to make sure our systems and tools are crafted well in order to make sure these intentional actions and our best attention is circulated through the whole of the organization.
Today we will be talking about 7 things that I believe should be standard in the work we do throughout the day. When we apply these tools and practices we will see a bug change in the way both our staff and guests experience the coffee shop.
Related Episodes:
- 007 : The 4 Keys to an Effective Checklist
- 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
- 399: Encore Episode! How to Change Things in the Cafe
- 468: How to Be a Shift Lead
- Pre-Closing Madness
- Work Alchemy
- 098 : Loving the Closing Shift : Problems, solutions, and philosophy on work
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Growing the business is probably the number one concern in the cafe industry. In general we tend to look at growth as either scaling the size of the business physically, or the revenue and profitability. What if I told you there was another way you can look at growth?
On today's Shift Break we will be talking about ways to look at growth that don't rely only on the usual defaults of revenue and scale, but give you another option to be established and fulfilled as an owner.
Recommended episodes:
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Thank you to out sponsors!
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com
Ever since 2020, we as a coffee industry have been looking for ways to create more resiliency in our businesses. The cafe in particular is vulnerable to a lack of resiliency. Not only is the coffee shop a relatively low margin and high effort entity with an ROI that can take years, it also relies on the public consistently investing in its products and services. In times of economic trouble, coffee can be one of the first things cut. To hedge our bets and prepare for these times, we must build resiliency before it is needed.
Today we are going to be talking about how you can go about creating this resiliency in several different facets of your cafe business. In the end, practicing these things will not only build strength and readiness for uncertainty, but will build trust in your brand that can even out the peaks and valleys of those inevitable times.
We cover
- Mindset and Leadership
- Prioritizing Self-Care
- Agility and Diverse Income Streams
- Lean Operations and Efficient Tracking
- Connecting with Consumers
- Providing a Great Experience
- Effective Systems
- Staff Communication
Related Episodes:
- 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll
- 276 : Six Ideas for Increasing your Revenue
- SHIFT BREAK: Making Minimum Viable Changes
- Focus on These Areas in the New Year
- 244 : Top 10 Ways to Lose Employees
- Leaner Teams, Better Results
Key Holder Coaching Group Applications are Open!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com
Coffee is from Africa, yet the way we think of and enjoy coffee today is largely separated from the roots that produced that original fruit. The disparity we see in the value stream today, where those growing coffee do not receive the fruit of their labor, is the consequence.
Today we get to talk with someone who has been laboring hard to honor coffee's root in an effort to create a better future for both those who grow coffee as well as for under served communities whose own cultures are tied closely to coffee's history.
Bartholomew Jones is an emcee, cxffee nerd, and multi-hyphenate creative.
Alongside his wife, Renata Henderson, he is the co-founder of Cxffeeblack and co-owner of the Anti-Gentrification Cxffee Club, a coffee educational center and cultural hub located in Memphis, TN.
Founded in 2018, Cxffeeblack is a community-oriented, multi-disciplinary, education-based coffee company that became a trailblazer in the coffee industry by creating an entirely all Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis, TN, the first of its kind.
Cxffeeblack is on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and in the process create an equitable Black future. Bart is a Sprudge 20 honoree, an annual list of the Top 20 coffee influencers cultivated by Sprudge Media Network, a renowned international authority on coffee and its culture; Cxffeeblack was one of the Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity’s 2024 Innovator of the Year awardees.
We discuss:
- Creating a Space for Authentic Creativity
- Honoring the Roots and History of Coffee
- The Impact of Colonialism
- Collaboration and Co-Creation in Coffee Culture
- The Evolution of Coffee Black
- Empowering Individuals to Find Themselves in Coffee
- Diverse expressions of Coffee
- Creating a Community Space: The Anti-Gentrification Coffee Club
- The Coffee Black Flagship: A Dining Room and Co-Generative Dialogue
- Inspiring Coffee Shops that Honor Roots and Engage with Communities
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/
Related episodes:
- 116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton
- 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
- 338: A Conversation w/ Martell Mason of The Sepia Coffee Project, Detroit, Michigan
- 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
- 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
- 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka
- 315 : Growing and Connecting w/ Stephen Zinnerman of The Coffee Enthusiast!
Learn more and put in your application for the next
Key Holder Coaching Group!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email chris@keystothshop.com of book a free call now:
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min
Get the best brewer and tool for batch espresso, iced lattes, and 8 minute cold brew! www.groundcontrol.coffee
The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! www.pacificfoodservice.com