How do we gauge the markets our coffee shops serve? On top of being engaged in our own local ecosystems we must also pay attention to large scale trends as they influence the perception and habits of our customers. The SCA and NCA have recently teamed up to produce a robust, first of its kind report called, “The National Coffee …
Exciting news! On Wednesday, September 22nd, Keys to the Shop along with , will be releasing a 4 part narrative series focused on exploring sustainability all along the value chain. Throughout the series will be talking to 20 of the most inspiring…
Baristas are obsessed with it! The question we have to ask is, why?Most of us don’t need to get people interested in latte art. In fact many of you probably wish your baristas would focus on other things. Contrary to what we might assume, baristas…
Ideally, the nature of your relationship with your wholesale customers is less like a transaction and more like a partnership. How do we approach caring for those who have decided to serve our coffee in a way that is true to our values, supports their success, and creates growing trust and mutuality? In this episode these questions and more are …
If you want to do well in competition you have to study the rules. Without this you are flying blind and will probably get a less that stellar result for your effort. The same thing is true for your career. Today on Shift Break we will be…
There is a lot of information available to us through our POS systems that show us the numbers behind the business. Owners and managers read these numbers to get a sense of not only how the business is doing, but also to get an idea of where it needs to go and what decisions need to be made to make …
If your shop does not have specific standards for the products your serve and the way you serve them, then you are leaving a lot of the success of your coffee shop up to chance. Question is, how do you go about setting standards? Where do the…
These are the two most important and intensive processes in the cafe yet they often are the most rush and poorly thought through. The preparations we make and the actions we take when hiring and training staff will and does create a ripple effect that is felt by everyone who interacts with your business for years to come. Maybe more …
New York City is undoubtedly one of the coffee capitals of the world. With a seemingly endless number of options to choose from, it is hard to stand out and create something that makes people notice and even hard to keep their attention and patronage. Birch Coffee in NYC was founded with the intention to level up the hospitality and …
At work there is unnecessary difficulty and then there is just…necessary difficulty. The trouble is that sometimes we can blur the line between the two and generally will default the thinking all difficulty is to be avoided or is a sign of something…
