In the coffee shop there are so many expectations placed on us but often the results of the work are not fully within our control. When you combine these two things it is a recipe for stress and burnout. Today we are talking about how we can approach…
Writing the schedule is one of the hardest things a manager has to take on. It is also one of the primary ways to care for the staff and the success of the cafe. It determines labor cost, quality of service, consistency of standards and more. If there is one thing that I focus on a lot with my consulting …
The idea of transactional is not what most of us have in mind when we think about hospitality. We tend to think of that more in relational terms and hold the transactional out as the antithesis to hospitality. What if we are wrong? What if we are…
While tea is a staple menu item in virtually every coffee bar around the world, our understanding of tea can be fairly limited and the selection of teas often stagnates over the years. Much of this maybe because we don’t know where to start with tea and need some guidance in our approach and in setting up a dynamic tea …
In just 7 years, Onyx Coffee Lab has become one of the industry’s most recognizable, respected, and progressive coffee companies. Whether you know them from their championship performances on the barista, brewers, or roasting competition stage – their multiple Good Food Awards and Golden Bean coffees – or their effort in transparency and exquisite retail shops, Onyx Coffee Lab …
Opening a pop-shop is one of a number of great ways to get started in specialty coffee retail. It is a lower start up cost, you get to test the concept, and you get to know your community (and they, you) in the process. Today’s guest, Nikki Outlaw, has just wrapped up her first year running her pop-up coffee shop, …
Ignore your baristas, but listen to podcasters. Ignore your staff, but listen to authors. It is too easy for us to immediately turn to outside resources and , in the process, discount and overlook the resources we have under our very noses. Today we…
Growing and learning from the experiences of others is what this show is all about. A lot of growth and learning happened this past weekend in Tacoma during the Coffee FestPNW trade show where I was able to record three interviews with people I met during my seminars. In order of appearance we will be hearing from: Scott Palmer …
Managers are looked to all day long as agents of clarity. Questions are a constant and this aspect of management is core to being able to drive results in creating a great culture and a successful bar. That said, it can be frustrating since you don’t…
One of the world’s most compelling cafes is also run by one of the world most iconic and trusted espresso machine companies. Located in the lobby of KEXP, the La Marzocco Cafein Seattle, WA has been operating for almost 4 years. Every 4-6 weeks the cafe is taken over by different world-renowned roasting companies who design a full experience that …
