Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

I am so happy to share with you this Founder Friday episode that takes a hard look at what is possible when you want to offer excellence at scale in a cafe setting. I am joined by the founder of the iconic and standard setting company, WatchHouse, Roland Horne. Roland founded WatchHouse in 2014 after extensive experience running small-to-medium-size businesses, including luxury aquarium design consultancy Aquarium Architecture. He holds directorships with property development funds Verum Domus and Coutts & Partners and has a MSc in Economic History from the London School of Economics. Roland is currently pursuing his Executive MBA at the University of Oxford. Over the past seven years WatchHouse has grown from one cafe on London's iconic Bermondsey Street to ten sites, and in August celebrated the one-year anniversary of the WatchHouse Roastery at 36 Maltby Street. A CEO with formative experience outside the speciality coffee sector, Roland has a unique and ambitious perspective on the sustainable expansion of the brand throughout the London and beyond. In today's conversation we get to hear the story behind WatchHouse and how Roland has grown this brand through values and a desire to keep integrity of service and quality front and center. I think you will get a great deal from this chat. We discuss: From luxury aquariums to coffee Defining modern coffee and evolving Focusing on your unique value proposition Why you need to focus on the MLP Big concept in an initially small space Making hard financial decisions and listening to customers Beginning to roast Scaling and customizing for the community Living wage and following through on delivering value Getting better as you get bigger Staff structures Overcoming the assumption that big is bad Providing spaces for Happiness Links: www.watchhouse.com Instagram @watchhouse Related episodes: 320 Founder Friday! w/ Francesco Sanapo of Ditta Artigianale, Florence, Italy 171 : Founder Friday w/ Matt Chitharanjan and Namrata Asthana of Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters in India 348: Founder Friday! w/ Benito Burmudez of Cafe Unido, Panama City, Panama! 263 : Founder Friday w/ Mike McFall, Co-Founder of BIGGBY Coffee! 017 : Founder Friday w/ Jonathan Rubinstein of Joe Coffee: Entrepreneurship | Coffee Business | Hiring | Barista Culture | Growth Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com

It is that time of year where cafes are all but expected to have the ubiquitous PSL in their menus. But there is so much more. Beyond this staple drink specialty cafes around the world have developed both wonderful signature creations and others that don't really resonate. Today on shift break we will be chatting about signature drinks and I will be offering some tips on how to approach curating and creating your specialty drink menu so your beverages are more likely to succeed. Related episodes: 274 : Crafting Specialty Drinks in your Shop w/ Matt Foster" 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison 282 : How to Listen to your Customers Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings Don't fall into FOLO! (Fear of Limited Options) Visit these amazing sponsors! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

Should you open a coffee shop? How hard could it be anyway? Thousands of people around the globe have a dream to open a cafe. Once open however that dream can quickly become a nightmare. I am thrilled to have been able to collaborate with fellow podcasters over at the Adventures in Coffee podcast to put together an episode that deals with this subject head on. In this episode you will hear from several aspiring, and experienced entrepreneurs as James harper, Scott Bentley, and myself take you through the 3 major areas of inspiration and focus cafe owners need to be aware of. The money, the scene, and the dream. This was awesome to get to be a part of and i hope you enjoy this very important and entertaining show! Links: Adventures in Coffee Slate article: My Coffee Shop Nightmare By Michael Idov Related Keys to the Shop episodes: 283 : 5 Bad Reasons to Open a Coffee Shop 223 : Building a Financially Resilient Business w/ Andrew Carroll 239 : 5 Best Practices for the Best Small Business w/ Henry Lopez 141 : The 27 Challenges Managers Face w/ Bruce Tulgan Interested in leveling up your coffee shop? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Joey Stazzone is the President of Cafe Kreyol, where he focuses on sustainable coffee production. In this discussion, he dives into how long coffee should rest after roasting to achieve optimal flavor. He challenges the myth that freshest is always best, emphasizing the importance of off-gassing periods. Stazzone shares insights from recent studies on coffee resting times and how consumer habits influence roasting practices. He encourages coffee professionals to innovate tasting methods and educate customers about the ideal timelines for enjoying their brews.

The work of running a cafe seems to never be quite complete. While we know that chasing " perfection" is not the goal, we would do well to embrace the idea of dial in and refinement in our work. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about what a summer woodworking project from years ago taught me about refining what we do in our cafes. Related episodes: Higher Degrees of Imperfection 373 : The Owner's Role: 5 Behaviors for Effectiveness Feedback Culture : Making feedback a part of what you do not just something you sometimes do 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Turning Radius Visit these amazing sponsors! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

The coffee shop is made up various tasks and roles that all work together to create something magical. Wen those roles are not clear or followed through on then the we lose the magic and gain frustration. No role in the cafe is as important than that of the owner (arguably managers but that's another topic), yet we rarely see owners having job descriptions let alone a schedule organized according to both the administrative / financial needs AND the areas of operations, quality, and people. In today's episode we will discuss the 5 behaviors that are necessary for owners to successfully and effectively lead and manage those 3 areas so they can facilitate and create a thriving coffee shop. We cover: Operations, People, and Quality The need for detailed scheduled work Constant curiosity Tension as needed structure Honesty at all costs Using problems to discover and institute solutions Crafting systems needed for operations that serve the people Related Episodes: 314 : The 6 Essential Qualities of Coffee Shop Leaders 368 : Walking the Line Between Leadership and Friendship 307 : 10 Simple ways to Level Up your Coffee Shop 253 : Mindsets that Sabotage Success 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team Interested in leveling up your coffee shop? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

Finally. It is time to get meta and have a Shift Break conversation about...shift breaks. We all go to work with a finite amount of energy to use on that days tasks and responsibilities. Trouble is that we also tend to work well beyond the point at which we have used up our energy and subsist on coffee and fumes. The shift break is supposed to be something that allows for some respite in the midst of a busy day but is often more an idea than a regular and well resourced practice. Today on Shift Break we will talk about the shift break, its role in the cafe, the reality of how we tend to minimize it, and why making it a reality for your staff is a critical part of caring for them and your business. Related episodes: Shift Break: Four Steps to Inspiring Your Staff How to Talk to Each Other The Importance of Debriefing Reasonable Expectations Main 248 : The 5 Elements of Resourcing your Team Visit these amazing sponsors! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

Every day on bars across the globe baristas are using milk to create amazing drinks. For almost as long as coffee has been served in coffee shops, milk has been a staple ingredient. Yet, in spite of its ubiquity in coffee culture, we tend to focus (understandably) more on understanding and crafting coffee than we do the milk that today makes up such a. large portion of our menus. Today you are in for a treat. We will be diving into the subject of milk from both a scientific perspective and a craft perspective. To do this we talk with two establish authorities on the subject, Morten Munchow and Emilee Bryant. Morten Munchow is the Founder of Coffee Mind a coffee roasting academy, research, and consultancy company based in Denmark. Morten is a scholar of biology who through over ten years of intense practical and scientific research and application gained a unique insights that have pushed the specialty coffee industry forward worldwide. He is a sought after speaker and presenter having published several papers in scientific journals. Emilee Bryant is a long time award winning barista, latte art champion, internationally revered coffee content creator, and trainer with Counter Culture Coffee in NYC. When it comes to breaking down the craft of coffee, milk steaming and latte art, Emilee is second to none in effectively communicating concepts that lead to consistently great results. In both conversations we get very technical and specific about the how what and why of milk as a product and then the practical steps needed to craft that milk into a beautiful texture to add to our coffee. I hope you listen deeply and leave this episode with more clarity, understanding, and confidence regarding the science and craft of milk! Links: Morten: www.coffee-mind.com Instagram Emilee: Youtube @emstagrim Related episodes: 047 : Mastering Latte Art : Some of the worlds best latte masters weigh in! 333: Bridging the Professional and Home Barista Gap w/ Lance Hedrick of Onyx Coffee Lab RoR #5: Time and Color in Roasting w/ Morten Munchow of Coffee Mind" 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces 119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ 2009 WBC Champion, Gwilym Davies Interested in leveling up your coffee shop? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com

I got a great question in from a listener. "How should managers be appraising staff?" I love it because it gets beyond the trope of the holy trinity of delegation (Schedule + Inventory/ordering + Shift coverage) and assumes correctly that a manager should be involved in the development of their team. So today on Shift Break we will be talking about the how of apprising staff as manager as well as the preparations necessary to be effective with your coaching, feedback, and reviews. Don't miss this one! Related Episodes: 243 : Encore Episode! "The Sleepwalking Barista (Owner)" The Difference of Deference to your Staff Visit these amazing sponsors! The best espresso machines in the world! www.lamarzoccousa.com Custom branded mobile apps for your shop! www.espressly.co

We all are susceptible to the siren song of trying to fix a place or a person to our own detriment. In the moment it seems like the right move and there is a sense higher calling an nobility pushing us forward. The reality though is that for certain cafes and bosses, there is no reformation only resistance and a dedication to the ways that will eventually drive you into the ground. On today's episode we will be discussing why you should not try to be a hero at the expense of your own well being and what you can do to use this current circumstance you may find yourself in for your long term betterment instead of a desperate bid save a pace and sacrifice yourself in the process. Related episodes: 162 : Discussing "Baristastainability" w/ Jenna Gotthelf of Counter Culture Coffee 031 : Essential Advice for New Baristas : Tips to help you successfully navigate and thrive in your new coffee career 363 : Setting Boundaries in the Coffee Shop w/ Tom Henschel 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge Shift Break: Creating a Feedback Culture Interested in leveling up your coffee shop? Click here to schedule a free consulting discovery call with KTTS Click here to book a formal one-on-one consulting call! Visit our amazing Sponsors! www.groundcontrol.coffee www.pacficfoodservice.com www.coffeefest.com