“Like walking into your granny’s kitchen.” That’s the goal Andytown Coffee Roasters founders Lauren Crabbe and Michael McCrory have for what people experience when they walk into their shops in the Outer Sunset of San Fransisco. Starting as a single 600 sq ft shop, Andytown currently employs 49 people over 5 locations— four public-facing coffee shops and one private office cafe. …
Tracking staff performance can be difficult when you are putting out fires and being pulled in a thousand different directions. Things fall through the cracks and that means we miss growth opportunities with staff who end up feeling forgotten about…
Less Bitter, More Glitter. That is one of the mottos for Glitter Cat Barista, a new barista competition training program designed to give marginalized and underrepresented communities the resources to shine on the competition stage and address the problem of representation in the USBC. In it’s first year Glitter Cat has made substantial impact on the diversity seen in barista competitions …
Communication is the cornerstone of a harmonious team. Problem is that we tend to see things that need correction and don’t feel comfortable bringing them up to each other. Today we chat about how a mutual agreement between coworkers can help propel…
Decaf coffee has been much maligned over the years but it has been getting steadily better. What once was a joke amongst “serious” coffee nerds is now being focused on with the same care as its caffeinated counter part thanks to the efforts of companies like Swiss Water. But while the death of “Death before Decaf” is eminent (I hope) …
Expanding to a second shop is exciting but it can complicate things when the move to grow is not based on a solid foundation. Today we are chatting about some helpful things to consider before you decide to make the leap.
In a country torn by war one organization is literally sowing seeds of peace and hope through coffee. Mighty Peace Coffee is a next generation impact company working directly with coffee cooperatives in the Democratic Republic of Congo to end poverty and conflict, bring about economic transformation through community and capacity-building, and international advocacy. Today we get to talk with 3 …
We all feel awkward and impatient when we start in a new position. How we develop in these times will determine who and what we become later on. Today on shift break, a bit of encouragement and perspective to help those of you who have just been…
So you want to start a coffee roastery. Well there is a lot that goes into it and an overwhelming amount of information you can access to help you along the way. Rarely, though, do you get the opportunity to sit down with someone who is expert in both roasting coffee as well as helping other people establish their own …
Sometimes hospitality opportunities are just inconvenient. Often times we straight-up struggle to do anything more than the basic requirements of our job let alone talking to customers or extending ourselves past what we feel like in the moment. Today…
