This Founder Friday we talk with Kathy Turiano, Co-Owner of the award winning, Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in Rochester, NY. In this episode you will hear the epic story of how Joe Bean embraced radical change to come back from major set backs early on in the life of the business. I know you will find their example of over coming challenges, learning, collaboration, hospitality, continued exploration, and investment into their team truly inspirational. This was a phenomenal conversation. Enjoy!
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ABOUT KATHY:
Kathy Turiano co-founded Joe Bean Coffee Roasters in 2005 with her friend Dena Jones out of a kindred love of community and an affinity for coffee. Over time, their business journey led them to radically shift their initial coffee shop model to a full coffee bar, kitchen & roastery. In 2008, Kathy’s son Benjamin joined the business to build the in-house roasting program and eventually became the production manager and green bean buyer, truly making it a full family business. A move to the City of Rochester in 2011 enabled them to cultivate a vibrant coffee culture around their shop as well as throughout the city. Over the years, Joe Bean has won several national awards including a Good Food Award in 2013, and two Golden Bean Awards in 2015.
Over the past 30 years, Kathy has volunteered in many community organizations particularly ones focused on mentoring youth, promoting arts & culture, and supporting women business owners. Her latest community venture, Rochester Parklet, is focused on promoting green spaces throughout the City of Rochester and was launched with a pilot parklet outside the door of Joe Bean Coffee in 2017.
Prior to owning Joe Bean, Kathy studied computer science at Alfred State and Rochester Institute of Technology. She worked as a systems programmer for many years until she joined her husband to work in his family advertising business, Edgewise Inc.
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