Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

The cafe is an institution of our social lives. More than just a spot to grab a quick coffee, the coffee shop is a place that carries with it a host of different sociological and emotional implications for the customer, the local and global community, and the ones who work within its walls. Having a grasp on these ideas is critical and today we are diving into the social intricacies of the coffee bar with sociologist, Noa Berger!

Noa is a PhD candidate at the EHESS (School of Advanced Studies in the Social Sciences) studying specialty coffee in Brazil and France Her research is part of the PSL project "Emodities: How Emotions Become Commodities" directed by Prof. Eva Illouz, a theme explored in her PhD and in the seminars she teaches (on consumption and authenticity). In addition to her studies, she teaches Sociology at both Graduate (EHESS) and Undergraduate (NEOMA) level and write for magazines (25 Magazine, Standart) and newspapers (Le Monde, Ha'aretz). Her professional experience has revolved around studying and "doing" culture. Alongside research, she has gained extensive experience working in communications, event production and journalism in the cultural and culinary fields, experiences she now mobilizes in her research into the sociology of consumption and the anthropology of food.

We will be discussing many things today including what do we mean by "authentic"? What is emotional labor and how does it apply to both cafes and farmers? What does the design of our cafe say about our values? The benefit of understanding our messaging to customers, and how to ask questions like a sociologist.

I love the rabbit holes and layers of thought we go down in this conversation and am so thrilled to be presenting it to you.

Enjoy!

Links:

Noa on Instagram

Stimuli Project IG

Related Episodes:

The Evolution of the Cafe w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris

Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Our default in management can often be to live in the extremes. Either we are suspecting everyone and everything as a potential problem or we are way too trusting and offer no structure in order to avoid conflict. Both scare away your staff and make your shop a pretty miserable place to work.

Today we talk about why we need to live in balance with realism and trust in order to create a thriving coffee shop and happy staff.

Related Episodes:

Fear or Inspiration

104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel

074 : The Life Changing Power of Good Authority w/ Jonathan Raymond

028 : Why it's OK to be the Boss w/ Bruce Tulgan

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

300 Years! That is how long Caffe Florian in Venice, Italy has been in continuous operation serving Venice and the world. In those years Cafe Florian has served as the cultural hub for millions of Venicians and travelers privileged to experience its art, events, unique service of food, coffee, drinks, and chocolate. Today it is all carried out in the original way past patrons like Charles Dickens, Lord Byron, and Casanova would have experienced it.

To celebrate today's 300th broadcast of Keys to the Shop (including our shift break ep.) I sat down with the resident authority on all things Florian and Venice, Stefano Stipitivich. Stefano is the Art Director for Caffe Florian and has worked there for 33 years! We will be speaking to him through a translator, Cristiana Rivolta, the Sales & Marketing Manager at Florian. (You will hear Stafano in the background mostly and Cristiana in the foreground.)

In our conversation we discuss the history of Florian, how it has evolved, the secret to it's longevity, how they hire and train their staff, how they keep up with the times while being true to the past, the values that drive their dedication to delivering a perfect customer experience, and more.

I have read about Caffe Florian in coffee history books and to get to speak with them is surreal and an honor indeed. It all really impresses upon me the the kind of impact coffee houses have had over time and will continue to have through you and I.

Enjoy!

Links:

Caffe Florian Website

Caffe Florian Instagram

Related Episodes:

The Evolution of the Cafe w/ Prof. Jonathan Morris

Designing the Guest Experience w/ Dr. Lisa Waxman

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

It's Founder Friday! I am thrilled to be able to feature a conversation with an old friend and coffee OG, Jeff Taylor.

Jeff is the Co-Founder and CEO of the legendary PT's Coffee Roasters in Topeka, KS and the Owner/ President of Bird Rock Coffee in San Diego, CA.

In todays episode we dive into Jeff's 27 year journey from founding a small shop called PT's with his business partner Fred Polzin to now being at the helm of an amazing team of coffee professionals that run 10 cafes and two wholesale roasting company's in 3 states.

Jeff left a very successful career in photo journalism to work fully in coffee and I am so glad he did. PT's has been at the forefront of many of our industries firsts. Jeff worked with a select group to develop what eventually became the United States Barista Competition (USBC), dating back to 1999. Jeff made the transition to Coffee Buyer for PT's Coffee in 2004 and began the process of building relationships with producers around the world which led to forming one of the first Direct Trade models. (Today, PT's Coffee Roasting Co. Coffee and Bird Rock Coffee Roasters (acquired in 2017) source approximately 85% of our coffee's directly from farmers)

Jeff also served one term on the Specialty Coffee Association of America's Board of Directors through 2010 after which he returned to focus on growing the business sharing sourcing responsibilities with his wife, Maritza Taylor, and Director of Operations Brent Pipiergerdes, so that he could lead the transition and purchase of Bird Rock Coffee Roasters in San Diego, CA. In 2016.

This has been a long and winding path leading to what is undeniably a great coffee career. Patience, relationships, stubbornness, dedication, and trusting your gut are just a few of the themes that emerge here and I feel like we can all see a bit of ourselves and our star in Jeff's.

I hope you enjoy this episode. Like Jeff's career, it's a bit on the long side but worth every minute to be able to learn from one of the original specialty coffee professionals.

Links:

www.ptscoffee.com

www.birdrockcoffee.com

PT's Instagram

Bird Rock Instagram

Related Episodes:

184 : Making Great Business Decisions w/ Dave Stachowiak

Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game

174 : Saying Yes to Business Opportunities w/ Kyle Wells of Torpedo Coffee & Close Quarters

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Mindset is at the heart of our effectiveness as leaders. As the work of the cafe piles up it is easy to forget about what your role's primary responsibility is. Today we are going to be chatting about how facilitating success of the people you lead is the cornerstone mindset that supports and gives momentum to everything else you do.

Links:

Acceptance of Dysfunction

179 : What you MUST Know About Employee Culture w/ Stan Slap

Manager's Top 3

Visit our Sponsors!

Painless and accurate ordering and inventory

odeko.com/keystotheshop

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

In the world of specialty coffee we still have a lot of work to do when it comes to creating a context where women are given the same bias-free consideration as their male counterparts. As a result, having the confidence necessary to thrive and advance in the cafe can be hard to come by. In today's episode we will be exploring how women can cultivate confidence in business and how those who run businesses can empower the women in their organizations. To that end I am so excited to welcome to the show, Katherine Knapke!

Katherine Knapke is the Chief Operating Officer at the American Negotiation Institute. Katherine is passionate about using her experience as a Psychiatric Nurse trained in Therapeutic Crisis Intervention (TCI) and as a Certified Mediator to address the psychological, emotional, and societal concerns that impact women in the workplace. Her goal is to use her expertise to help women develop the skills and confidence they need to get more of what they want and deserve in the workplace.

Katherine also uses her healthcare experience to lead our work within hospital systems and in public health departments. Lives depend on the crucial conversations that happen in healthcare every day. She helps healthcare professionals manage conflict in order to improve communication, persuasion, and patient care.

Katherine is the host of our newest women's focused negotiation podcast, Ask With Confidence, designed to empower women and to help them gain the confidence they need when engaging in difficult conversations.

Some of what we will cover:

• The power of asking
• Why women don't need to be like men
• Structuring meetings for inclusion
• Competence vs confidence
• Overcoming over-apologizing
• A frame-work for negotiation and difficult conversations

Links:

Ask with Confidence Podcast

Negotiate Anything Guides

IWCA

#Shestheroaster

Related Episodes:

131 : The Strong Women of Coffee w/ Laura Gonzalez

125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian

104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel

052 : Solving Coworker Conflict w/ Tom Henschel

014 : A Barista's Guide to Advancing

015 : What to do if you Don't Advance w/ Anne Nylander

Shift Break: Career Advice from Joe Marocco

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

We seem to be addicted. Not to coffee, but to coffee loyalty programs. Whether it's a card or points on the POS, we can't imagine running a business without them. But what if cards and programs don't actually create loyalty? Today we are chatting about mindsets and practices as it relates to achieving true customer loyalty and why what we have accepted as a means to that end has really led us astray.

Links:

wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting

[email protected]

Visit our Sponsors!

Painless and accurate ordering and inventory

odeko.com/keystotheshop

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer

Too often an otherwise promising business is compromised from lack of attention, simple systems, and tools to manage the finances. This leads to many cafes going under way before their time. There is a lot going on when you are just starting out and accounting/finances are often the first things to get compromised.

Well, today we are going to talk about best-practices, mindsets, tools, systems, and strategies to help you take control of your cafe's finances and accounting with our very special guest, Keila Hill-Trawick of Little Fish Accounting!

Keila is strategic business advisor who partners with freelancers, solopreneurs, and small businesses owners to plan and reach their financial goals . After spending over a decade working in both the government and private sector, Keila launched Little Fish Accounting to serve as a trusted partner in financial and tax planning to drive business results and growth.

Keila holds a BBA in Accounting from Georgia State University, an MBA from Mercer University, and is a licensed Certified Public Accountant. She has held multiple senior level accounting and finance positions at corporations such as Home Depot, Georgia-Pacific, UPS, CNN/Turner Broadcasting, Comcast, and various Federal agencies. Based in Washington, DC, Keila now services small businesses nationwide through Little Fish Accounting.

This is a critical primer for foundational financial health of cafes everywhere and I hope it empowers you to take control of your accounting, the future of your business absolutely depends on it.

In this episode you will learn:

• Why so many entrepreneurs mismanage their finances
• What systems are key when first starting out
• How to make your systems and tools give you what you need
• Keeping track of the various departments of your business
• Pitfalls to be aware of
• When you have money but should not spend it
• Financial management whole scaling
• Purchasing and invoicing wisdom

Links:

www.littlefishaccounting.com

Little Fish on Instagram

Related Episodes:

160 : The Smart Way to Approach Money w/ Jill Schlesinger

101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Coffee Retail w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law

108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC

The BEST in commercial coffee equipment

www.prima-coffee.com/keys

Want the best plant based beverage for your coffee drinks?

www.pacificfoods.com/food-service

Okay, so today the tables are turned and I get interviewed by my loving and lovely wife, Lynnsy. Doing something like this podcast requires a good deal of support, encouragement, and patience from the people around us. My wife is the epitome of those things and more. When she came to me with this idea was very hesitant but she has convinced me to let her interview me for a Valentines Day episode to explore some fun stories from my career, completion, and also how coffee brought us together. Seems pretty appropriate right? Coffee brings us all together.

So if you want to hear about how latte art got me married, why you should check your ego before you blog, what happened to me in that I needed to call my wife from a pay phone in Vegas, and more, then this episode is for you!

Thanks, Lynnsy. I love you more than coffee.

Visit our sponsor! (My wife)

Storytree Creations

It can be hard to organize all the responsibilities you take on when in a leadership role in the cafe. When we don't order our work well it leads to giving too much time and energy to things that seem important in the moment only to get further behind. Today we chat about three categories to place our work under and how to prioritize you work to thrive as a manager or cafe leader.

Related episodes:

Please Clarify

Don't Just do It : Delegation

Managers Top 3

Links:

wwww.keystotheshop.com/consulting

[email protected]

Visit our Sponsors!

Painless and accurate ordering and inventory

odeko.com/keystotheshop

Batch Brew like you never thought possible:

Ground Control Cyclops Brewer