Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Looking back is not only a great way to take stock of how you have developed professionally and as a person, but also to bring back into focus what we have to be thankful for. A couple years back my wife convinced me to let her interview me about my career and along the way we also talk about how coffee brought us together. I typically shy away from telling stories of my own career, opting instead to highlight the guests or the principles we talk about on the show.

But my wife was right, and this conversation was well received when it first came out 2 years back.

So today we are re-airing this fun episode for your listening pleasure. Let this inspire you to examine your story and to really allow yourself to find joy in the blessing of the people in your life that have joined you along the way!

We cover:

• How I got into coffee
• Competitions and how they shaped me
• Lessons I have learned in my career
• How we met through latte art
• The why and how of starting KTTS

Links:

Apply for the next Key Holder Coaching Group!

Related episodes:

• 323 : Reflecting on 5 Years of Keys to the Shop w/ my Wife Lynnsy Deferio
• 328 : Relationships and Resiliency w/ Xavier Alexander of Metric Coffee
• 367 : Designing Your Coffee Shop for Community w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career

Want to be a part of a dynamic group of fellow coffee shop owners all working together for eachother's success?

Apply for Key Holder Coaching Group today!

Want to run an amazing coffee shop?

Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.

Custom consulting for your unique business.

Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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

It's the age old question, "Should we be able to use our phones behind the bar?". Simple right? Well, yes in some ways but the way we approach answering this question has downstream impact on the overall experience both our staff and guests have in our shops, and in turn how they view the industry itself.

Today on Shift break we will be talking about why it is best practice to have policies that help us avoid distractions and bad optics behind the bar for the sake of keeping tuned into the day's work, creating a consistently great impression, and being able to manage the details of the service we offer to the guests.

Listen to these related episodes:

• Using Slow Times Well as a Barista
• Managing Expectations in Systems
• The Problem with "Should"
• Reasonable Expectations
• Example > Words
• Things the Owner Can't do for You

DO YOU NEED HELP IN YOUR SHOP?

In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?

Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

John Luke Roberston is the founder and roaster at Kings Lane Coffee in West Monroe, LA. You may be familiar with the TV show Duck Dynasty that follows the lives of John Luke's family and their duck call business, Duck Commander. As John Luke grew and pursued his education, he developed a love for coffee and charted his own course by diving straight into owning and running a multi-cafe and coffee roasting business, Railway Coffee. I was honored to get to consult and coach him through the beginnings of this venture and over many years Railway continued to offer great coffee and service through its shops and roasting business, even expanding to a mobile trailer.

Eventually as life changed, John Luke sold the business but kept roasting and is now pursuing roasting and collaborative prjects through Mapmaker Coffee. Most recently collaborating with the family business and releasing a coffee that quickly sold out.

This is a great conversation detailing an intense and immersive experience entering into the coffee industry and finding a place in roasting, and learning incredibly valuable lessons about coffee, management, business, and connecting with people along the way.

We cover:

• Consistency as key in the specialty coffee industry, and importance of training staff
• Seeking help and delegating responsibilities
• Focusing on your strengths and prioritizing your time.
• Expanding to a mobile operation
• Logistical and management challenges
• Public attention and social media following do not always translate into increased sales
• Why building a loyal customer base is most important
• Roasting coffee offers the opportunity to create unique blends and collaborate with others to meet different customer preferences.

Links:

www.johnlukerobertson.com

@johnluke_robertson

Related episodes:

• 412 : Founder Friday! w/ Lem Butler and Kyle Ramage of Black and White Coffee Roasters
• 295 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Shepherd of Spencers Coffee, Bowling Green, KY
• 217 : Should you roast your own Coffee w/ Joe Marrocco of List & Beisler
• 196 : Understanding Customer Preferences w/ Peter Giuliano Transcript
• ROR #23 : How to Close the Industry-Consumer Flavor Gap w/ Phil Beattie, Dillanos Coffee Roasters

Want to run an amazing coffee shop?

Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.

Custom consulting for your unique business.

Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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

Can you have too much of a good thing? When it comes to managers and bosses in the coffee shop the answer is a resounding and exasperated YES! Why do we do needlessly multiply leaders in the shop like Oprah giving our free cars and as a result frustrate our staff and the leaders themselves?

Today on Shift break we will be talking about the issue of having too many leaders and managers in the shop, why it is a problem, and what a healthy approach to delegating leadership looks like.

Listen to these related episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK: Questions Are Not Threats
• SHIFT BREAK: Your Manager Has No Time To Manage!
• Being the Point of Clarity
• 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
• 261 : The Basics of Managing Managers
• Do You Need to be the Best Barista in Your Cafe?

DO YOU NEED HELP IN YOUR SHOP?

In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?

Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Coffee competitions have grown to be a dominant force for how professionals and consumers alike view the role of a barista, the industry, and coffee itself. Mindsets, businesses, and the supply chain itself has been shaped by the influence of competitions and today, understanding this world is critical to understanding coffee.

To talk about this today we are joined by one of the most respected, prolific, and knowledgable WCE Competition head judges out there, Scott Conary!

As Owner of award-winning Caffe Driade, Perennial & Open Eye Café in Chapel Hill, NC; along with Wholesale Roastery Carrboro Coffee Roasters; Scott Conary has had many opportunities to travel, teach and learn about coffee production, harvest, selection, blends and trends for the last 25+ years. He is an active educator in the Industry in most all disciplines and consults for companies, restaurants, and cafes nationally & around the world while also serving as a WCE Representative and Certified Head Judge for the World Barista Championship since 2005. He has been a head Judge & Instructor for the Alliance for Coffee Excellence & the Cup of Excellence program since 2015. Scott trains Barista's and coffee professionals as a consultant, in the U.S. and around the world, for skill, knowledge and competition.

In this episode we get to discuss competitions, judging, what makes a "good" barista, and the role these things have played and continue to play (both good and bad) in shaping the environment we operate in

• The Mentorship Aspect of Competitions
• The Evolution of Competitions and the Role of Judges
• The Influence of Baristas and competitions on the Supply Chain and Public Perception of Coffee
• The Universal Takeaways from Competitions
• Defining a "Good Barista"
• The Importance of Connection and Care
• Technical Innovation and Connecting with Customers
• Utilizing Innovation and Making a Connection
• Expanding Beyond Barista Competition
• Aligning with Organizations and Seeking Transparency
• Celebrating Coffee and Affecting Change
• Progress through Relationships and Collaboration
• Getting Involved and Opening Doors

Links:

https://carrborocoffee.com/

https://caffedriade.com/

https://openeyecafe.com/

https://www.perennial.cafe/

Instagram: @coffeescott

Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.

Custom consulting for your unique business.

Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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

Caring for people and their experience, both as employees and as customers, is at the heart of a successful coffee shop. In order to consistently pursue that, an operator needs to have a strong grounding of personal values that directs their decisions and helps them weather the storms of entrepreneurship. Today we are talking with someone whose mission to facilitate community, caring, and connection through coffee has been a driving force behind the success of his company.

Nick Kassouf is the founder and owner of Tru Bru Organic Coffee and Humbowl Juice bar. With la roastery and locations in Orange, CA and Laguna Hills, CA, plus Henderson, NV, Nick and his team are keeping busy providing nourishing and meaningful spaces for their guests to slow done and enjoy coffee and good company.

In the years of operating and growing the coffee business and starting the juice bar, Nick has had to grow just as much personally. Today we will be exploring the story of Tru Bru and how this family run business runs and the why behind the operations that has led to their success.

I love the focus Nick has on creating a business that delivers more than just a product but reinforces a way of life that I think we all could benefit from adopting.

We discuss:

• Family History and Origins of True Brew
• Creating a people-first culture and focusing on hospitality
• Hiring and Behavioral-Based Interviewing
• Choosing the right people who embody the mission and values of the business
• Being willing to lead from the front and develop oneself in all aspects of the business
• Addressing toxicity and cultural challenges early on to prevent negative impacts on the business and team.
• Taking action and not succumbing to complacency as the key to maintaining a healthy culture and driving business growth.
• Why creating a caring and vibrant culture is crucial for fostering human connection in a coffee shop.
• Genuineness and a genuine care towards others

Links:

https://trubrucoffee.com/

IG: @TRUBRUCOFFEE

Related episodes:

• Founder Friday! Youth, Foster Care, and Human Connections Through Coffee | w/ Miah Sommer of Astute Coffee in Omaha, NE
• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters
• 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
• 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java
• 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017

Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your operations, quality, and people. Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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

If I could pick one way to absolutely decimate your culture and drive your employee's morale into the dirt, while also making your customer's squirm, it would be passive-aggressive reactionary nitpicking masquerading as leadership. I get it, you have high standards and sometimes (lots of times) you feel like pulling your hair out when you see things that don't measure up. The questions is, how can you retain a high standard while also not inadvertently publicly shaming your staff in the process?

Today on Shift break we will be talking about the scourge of nitpicking bosses, why we can veer into this self-sabotaging territory, and what steps we can take to create a healthier culture where we address issues in a people-first and patient way.

Listen to these related episodes:

• 398: The 5 Biggest Mistakes Coffee Shops Make
• Passive-Aggressive Management
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career

In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?

Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

In our quest for success in the coffee shop business we embrace the busy and frenetic pace that is assumed as necessary to bring us fulfillment. As we work we can often lose touch with the thing that drove our passion in the beginning. While scaling and ambition have many benefits, there always remains the need to connect with deep and meaningful things where skill intersects with heart.

It is this simplicity and vibrancy that now drives today's returning Guest to the show, Charles Babinski at his new shop, Cafe 143 in Sydney.

Charles Babinski is the former U.S. Barista Champion and the co-founder and former co-owner of the legendary G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger in L.A. In his long and storied career Charles has reached the peak of competition and business success and has now scaled down to pursue a more simple and personally rewarding expression of coffee and coffee service through Cafe 143.

This is a wonderful window into the arc of a career that will be very instructive for new business owners and verans alike.

We cover:

• Reflecting on career decisions
• The value of intimate focus
• Why scaling a business can lead to a loss of connection and impact on a personal level
• Transitioning to a new opportunity and building cafe 143 in Sydney
• Applying past experiences and expertise and setting up the business and decision-making
• Creating a vibrant coffee bar
• Measuring success and ongoing development
• The Importance of Education and Communication
• How success in the coffee industry is measured by the feedback and trust of customers.

Related episodes:

• 107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee and Go Get em Tiger
• 296: Holistic Barista Training w/ David Castillo of Go Get Em Tiger , Los Angeles
• 219 : Building a Winning Food Program w/ Marilei Denila, Culinary R&D Manager, Go Get em Tiger
• 329 : How to Teach Company Values to Your Staff
• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters
• 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java

Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.

Custom consulting for your unique business.

Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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

In order to have engaged baristas, owners and managers must first be willing to engage. Unfortunately we have a habit of stifling questions and feedback from the group of people who live closest to the systems we create and treat questions as either inconveniences, or in many cases, threats.

Today on Shift break we will be talking about how questions are an integral part of engagement, innovation, and trust leading to a better coffee shop that is built from a place of good faith communication vs bad faith assumptions and preemptive dismissal.

Listen to these related episodes:

• 427 : Encore Episode: What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap
• 426: Fostering a Culture of Continuous Improvement
• 414: Secret Ingredients for a Successful Coffee Shop
• 151 : How to Respond and React to Negative Feedback : 5 Step Process
• Don't Forget Relationships
• Passive-Aggressive Management

In my consulting work through KTTS Consulting, management and leadership structures are one of the main conversations we have. Working to create clarity, understanding, and systems for success in leadership has a compound effect on the rest of the business. Would you like to work with me 1:1 to help your cafe thrive in quality, operations, and people?

Click below for a discovery call and lets have a conversation!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to out sponsors!

Custom branded apps for your coffee shop: www.espressly.co

The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

When we think of the craft of coffee we tend to think only in terms of the bean and beverage itself. The whole value chain of coffee has benefited greatly from continued emphasis on transparency and today we have the ability to track down almost every detail and variable of a coffee to accurately determine what went into the resulting cup. But what about systems and operations that lead to that cup in your customers hand? If a coffee tastes off, we strive to investigate, diagnose, and adjust. When we run out of an item, have abad service encounter, can't keep the cafe clean, have inconsistency between staff etc. everything is suddenly opaque. This is a failure to invest in operations as an equally important craft and it is killing your cafe.

Today we are going to be talking about how, if you are a coffee shop operator, then operations has to be your craft, and what steps you can take to begin being just as good at dialing in the cafe as you are at dialing in a coffee.

Related episodes:

• 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team
• 425 : Some Thoughts on Supporting Your Manager
• 424: Developing Menu and Hospitality Guides
• 057 : SOP's FTW! Success through Standard Operating Procedures
• 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
• 361: Managing Roastery Relationships and Logistics w/ Corey Turner of Andytown Coffee Roasters

Want to run an amazing coffee shop? Hire Keys to the Shop Consulting to work with you 1:1 to transform your coffee shop operations, quality, and people.

Custom consulting for your unique business.

Schedule a free discovery call now!

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Thank you to our amazing sponsors!

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