It’s Founder Friday! Partnerships in coffee bars can be tricky things. You really have to make sure you have complimentary character traits as well as a unified s12et of values to help guide you through the ups and downs of business in a the cafe and roastery. Today we are talking with a couple of guys who have combined forces and have shown what is possible when these things are in place and you have a passion to serve and advance both people and coffee. We are talking with Kyle Ramage and Lem Butler of Black and White Coffee Roasters!
Kyle and Lem are industry legends in their own rights. Each of their careers has spanned the decades and has been punctuated with competition success. Lem and U.S. Barista Champion in 2016, and Kyle as U.S. Barista Champion in 2017. Along their careers they have been deeply involved in retail, roasting, and have been integral members of the global coffee community through their work and examples.
The founding of their cafe and roastery in 2017 was the combination their individual talents to create something new, powerful, and needed in the coffee space. They have been making waves in the industry since them striking a balance between accessible coffees, more extreme coffees, serving their staff and customers, and continuing to invest in competitions and the professional development of competitors.
This conversation is a look at their history, the development of Black and White, their own growth as owners, and the how of their approach to running one of the most respected brands in coffee.
We discuss:
- Careers and competition
- Training and complimentary strengths
- The founding of Black and White
- Taking on an existing customers base and staff
- Self awareness
- Listening to customers
- Developing a fresh approach to coffee
- Investing in their baristas
- The need to market coffee differently
- Creating inroads in roasted coffee offerings
- Where we need to go as an industry
Links:
Instagram:Â @blackwhiteroasters
Listen to these episodes next!
- 396 : Founder Friday: Before + After Edition! w/ Jonathan Pascual of the Newly Opened Opo Coffee. Â
- 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters
- 359 : Founder Friday! w/ Nigel Price of Drip Coffee Makers NYC
- 273 : Founder Friday w/ Anne Lunnel and Charles Nystrand of Koppi Coffee Roasters, Helsingborg, Sweden
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