Latest / Coffee People Podcast / Mat Cohen, Coffee Connections Chicago

Transcript

Mat Cohen, Coffee Connections Chicago · Coffee People Podcast

0:00
As we kind of get into it here, would you mind for everyone,
0:04
tell us your name and where you are and what it is that you do?
0:08
Yeah, for sure. Also, welcome to coffee people.
0:11
I'm sorry. Man, thank you.
0:13
No thanks for thanks for having me.
0:14
Thanks for reaching. Out.
0:15
This is cool. This is actually the first
0:17
podcast I've ever been on, so this.
0:20
Is Oh really? I thought everyone in America
0:22
had been on a podcast. So yeah, not me.
0:25
Maybe I'm the last one you. Might be.
0:54
I'm Matt Cohen. I'm the founder of Coffee
0:58
Connections 5O1C3 nonprofit here in Chicago, the great city of
1:04
Chicago. And I might add, also the
1:08
greatest city for about two weeks in the spring and another
1:11
two weeks. But those two weeks really lift
1:15
up the average. Yeah, actually the last couple
1:18
years I feel like we've skipped over the the spring weeks and it
1:22
just goes straight to summer. Right, the cherry blossoms
1:25
blooming off of Milwaukee and like, it's just a yeah time to
1:29
be in Chicago. Yeah.
1:30
I always tell people if you're gonna visit, like try to hit
1:34
that window of everything in bloom and then like post heat
1:38
wave. Totally.
1:40
Especially like early spring, those like first couple warm
1:44
days, everyone's out by the way, the the vibes are high.
1:47
Oh yeah, It's a good time to to be here.
1:50
Yeah. Moving here to Oregon, where I
1:53
am now, I'm kind of having some flashbacks to growing up in the
1:58
Midwest where it'll be 45° out and you could, but the sun is
2:01
out. And so you're like, people are
2:03
in shorts, people are out, no coats.
2:06
And that was something I had to readjust to after a long time
2:10
ago. I.
2:11
I love how that happens where the end of the winter you're all
2:15
sound. It's like 30° and it feels like
2:17
a warm summer day. Yeah, it's, it gives you guys
2:21
can't have the sweet without the the salty, right?
2:23
The bitter without the sweet. What?
2:27
I want to get into your background and all that stuff,
2:29
but before I do, I want anyone who's decides to check out early
2:33
in this podcast, which they shouldn't, but sometimes it
2:35
happens. What is Coffee Connections?
2:39
So very simply, it is a job training program for people who
2:46
want to become baristas. That's as simply as we can put
2:51
it. There's a lot of culinary
2:53
programs out there that a lot of people are familiar with.
2:58
Nothing really specifically just for coffee and for cafes.
3:02
And so that's what we're trying to do.
3:04
We're trying to bridge the gap and make these specialty coffee
3:09
jobs a little more accessible, make the specialty coffee
3:14
workforce a little more equitable as well.
3:18
And yeah, basically we do a short 5 day program.
3:24
It's 25 hours in total. So it's not a lot, but it's it's
3:30
rapid fire. We go over a lot of practical
3:32
skills, milk, steaming, espresso, one O 1 but just
3:38
sticks behind the bar basically to get people to a point where
3:44
they feel comfortable going into an interview and knowing what
3:49
happens at a cafe basically. So that's what we do.
3:54
You mentioned the Five O 1C3 nonprofit.
3:57
Why? Why do it that way?
3:59
Why not just open a coffee shop and then train people to work?
4:04
Yeah, great question. So yeah, this is kind of getting
4:07
into the story a little bit. We can jump in.
4:12
Cool. I, I can, I can go in like
4:14
halfway. So basically I, I came to a
4:16
point where I was thinking about a coffee shop.
4:21
Yeah, kind of was doing the the mobile coffee truck for a while
4:26
And shout out to all the people that are doing the mobile coffee
4:31
biz. It's a it's a taxing, tough,
4:34
tough biz to be in. But yeah, reached a point where
4:38
I was like, all right, I'm ready for the next step.
4:44
So I was thinking about thinking about a coffee shop, looking
4:47
around and, and at spaces and I was really kind of asking myself
4:55
some important questions on, you know, like, why am I moving into
5:00
a shop and, and what's the reason for this?
5:03
And kind of came to the decision where if I were to open a shop
5:11
and, and do this, this is how I would want to hire.
5:18
Yeah. And I would want to kind of give
5:21
a chance to people who wouldn't normally have the chance to work
5:24
in a cafe because they're super cool, great jobs to have and can
5:30
build some amazing skills and, and really, really help people.
5:35
And then kind of thought more about it.
5:37
And I was like, well, let's not limit ourselves to just one
5:41
shot. There's, you know, I think
5:43
there's like over 80 coffee shops just kind of on the the
5:47
West Side neighborhoods of Chicago.
5:50
Yeah, that actually sounds a little light even.
5:53
Yeah, it might. It might be a little, a little
5:55
light. And so, yeah, I was like, let's
5:59
connect with all those shops and kind of create a pathway, a
6:03
pipeline to get people to kind of have access to these jobs and
6:11
all the all the different coffee shops, not just not just mine.
6:15
Sure. So I understand the benefit to a
6:18
coffee shop to to kind of be like, oh, this is a cool
6:20
program. Like people are going and
6:22
getting some basics that we don't have to pay labor hours to
6:26
give them or that they at least come in and we can brush up on.
6:31
And they they're not working there long enough to get a bunch
6:34
of habits that we don't like. You know, they haven't learned
6:37
from that. That older barista that knows
6:39
the right way to do everything yet.
6:41
Yeah, but what is what is how does it work for you?
6:46
I mean, who who pays for it? You know, as a non profit?
6:50
I'm assuming you're trying to fundraise.
6:52
You know, the benefit to you is you get to, I'm assuming, get to
6:55
do something you like to do, which is train, but then you
6:59
kind of move on. So how, why?
7:01
Why go this route? Yeah, I always tell people that
7:08
kind of when we're initially talking about the nonprofit is
7:11
we are a nonprofit working with people.
7:15
It just so happens that we get to drink a lot of coffee while
7:18
we're doing it and and talk about coffee while we're doing
7:21
it. So that's kind of the reason I
7:24
love working with people and training people and helping them
7:28
gain new skills. It's really cool to see when
7:31
that kind of starts to click and and they kind of gained some
7:35
confidence. So, yeah, I think I kind of had
7:38
a couple of different experiences that led me down to
7:42
this path, right. When I moved to Chicago, I was
7:47
working for a nonprofit called Youth Guidance.
7:51
And so we were going into Chicago Public Schools.
7:53
And that experience was great and taught me a lot, kind of
7:58
taught me that I enjoy working with people and and hearing
8:01
their stories. And so, yeah, we're really
8:05
trying to drive home that message of this is a nonprofit
8:09
working with people. And yeah, we, we do a lot of
8:14
fundraising. It's donation driven mainly up
8:18
into that first year was a lot of donation driven.
8:22
We qualify for a lot of grants, a lot of workforce development
8:26
grants that we're looking into and will help a lot moving
8:31
forward and helping us grow. One of the big qualifications is
8:36
we give everyone the food handler certificate.
8:39
So we, we go through that and we pay for for that.
8:43
And so that qualifies us to be workforce development like
8:46
officially. So that's cool and that helps,
8:50
you know, as they're graduating the program, they they get to
8:54
have that already and give them a leg up when interviewing and
8:58
and applying for the first thing.
9:00
That's going to be on a hospitality job.
9:02
Do you already have this? Have you gone through this
9:04
phase? Yeah.
9:05
Yeah. And if a cafe hires someone who
9:09
doesn't have that, not only are they paying for that course, but
9:12
then, you know, it's, it's not fun.
9:15
And it's like 3 or 4 hours of someone's time that the cafe has
9:19
to pay them to do it kind of, you know, sets them back a day.
9:24
I'm assuming all of mine have expired years years over years,
9:28
but I think I have a food handlers in like 5 different
9:30
states now so. OK.
9:32
Well, so we're on the line. That's something to be proud of.
9:35
I'm sure they're all a little different.
9:37
Yeah, all a little bit different, but it all works out.
9:40
You know, you mentioned, you know, you've been working in
9:42
another nonprofit, but when I kind of kind of go back a little
9:46
bit and figure out how you got here, Do you have first memories
9:50
of coffee? Do you remember coffee being
9:52
part of your life in any way growing up or, you know, as you
9:55
were on this process? And then I'll let you just kind
9:58
of run with it from there into that first step into coffee as a
10:01
job. I think for a lot of us, my
10:04
first memory was my mom drinking coffee, taking us to her
10:09
favorite coffee shop. I grew up in Cincinnati, so
10:13
taken taken us, me and my sisters to her favorite coffee
10:16
shop. And I remember we would always
10:18
get chocolate, like a little piece of chocolate as she got
10:23
her coffee. And that was that was a good
10:25
memory And that was that was fun.
10:29
I think that was my first memory.
10:30
I really didn't start drinking coffee until college, then kind
10:35
of, you know, started to started to get it, get into it a little
10:40
bit and but honestly didn't really fall in love with it
10:46
until later on in life. I think, you know, like I was
10:53
actually living in Milwaukee for a little bit.
10:56
Where in Wisconsin are you from? I'm from central Wisconsin.
10:59
Wausau, OK OK, but certainly familiar with Milwaukee.
11:04
I almost always wear a Milwaukee Brewers cap on this show, but
11:07
today we switched. Off the Black Rabbit, I'm a I'm
11:10
a Bucks fan. I have.
11:12
I usually wrap the Milwaukee Bucks.
11:14
Oh, and see, and I'm not. Hat.
11:16
Oh yeah. No, I'm a Lakers fan.
11:19
OK, gotcha. Yeah, yeah, Cincinnati.
11:21
We never had an NBA team, so I had to latch on to the Bucks.
11:25
Well, not in your lifetime. Yeah, the Cincinnati Royals even
11:29
before, before my lifetime, but I remember that that was.
11:32
Yeah, that's fair. So I guess technically I could
11:34
be a a Kings fan, but that doesn't sound fun.
11:38
Doesn't sound fun for anyone. Yeah, not even in Sacramento.
11:42
Yeah, so I was living in Milwaukee and I was working as a
11:48
journalist actually, and. And I feel like being a
11:52
journalists has kind of kind of shaped my entrepreneurship path
11:57
a little bit. But yeah, I remember it was a
12:01
daily newspaper, kind of traditional daily county
12:04
newspaper. And I would go to one of the
12:07
collectivos and write and that was kind of like my spot and
12:12
kind of fell in love with the coffee shop atmosphere at that
12:15
point and started to think more about it and more about it as a
12:20
career and wanting to learn about it.
12:24
And I was a journalist up until COVID.
12:26
And then kind of everything I was doing changed a little bit.
12:31
And I was a yoga instructor as well.
12:34
And that stopped as well. And solid posting for one of the
12:40
cafes I'm here in Chicago and I applied and was their only
12:46
employee. And it, it really was a perfect
12:48
situation for me to kind of start to learn.
12:50
And it was during COVID. So I mean, it was, it was slow
12:54
and kind of a quiet vibe. And they were very nice to train
13:00
me. And I basically got a year in
13:02
that Cafe of just kind of like messing around a little bit and,
13:06
and learning out on the machine and, you know, all of everything
13:11
that goes into running a coffee shop and, and that was really
13:16
cool. You mentioned learned journalism
13:20
shaping some of your entrepreneurial vision for the
13:23
future, intentionally or unintentionally.
13:27
How might I ask her what made you say say that?
13:29
Because I'm, you know, we're at an interesting time in the world
13:33
for journalism. Yeah, totally.
13:37
Yeah, with journalism and writing specifically, you have
13:45
to very quickly get to the why and the reason that you are
13:50
telling the story. You know, there's a saying in
13:54
journalism you can't bury the lead.
13:56
And so, you know, I was always kind of like thinking like, what
13:59
is the point of of this and what is the point of this story that
14:04
I'm trying to tell? And what's what are the main
14:06
points? And, and let's get it across as
14:09
as quick as possible and kind of get rid of all the, the extra
14:14
fluff. You know it's it's not needed,
14:16
at least like at the beginning. And I can only use three words
14:21
when you when one will do right? Yeah, yeah, definitely.
14:24
And and kind of same with I was, I was a writer and also
14:30
designing the papers. So a kind of similar concept,
14:36
you know, you want your best photo to be like front and
14:39
center and, and with the colors and, you know, hit the reader
14:43
right, right away. And this is what matters.
14:47
And I think when entering the entrepreneurship path, I kind of
14:53
had that similar mindset. And I, I think I still do.
14:58
I love to just like, ask questions and just be like,
15:00
what, you know, like, what is the point of this?
15:03
And, you know, if you get rid of all the fluff, you know, like
15:07
what's still there and what, and what's the reason?
15:11
So yeah, I think. I think that's good advice to
15:16
get rid of the fluff. That's probably what we'll title
15:18
this podcast today, I think. Yeah, Yeah.
15:21
I like that too. Actually fast forwarding a
15:26
couple years. So yeah, in between there I, I
15:31
pop popped around to a couple different shops and managed a
15:36
shop here in Chicago for a little bit and started the truck
15:40
and, and did the truck for like 2 1/2 years or so.
15:46
And. And when you started the truck,
15:48
you mean Cattle Dog coffee? Yeah, yeah, sorry.
15:51
Yeah, the, the coffee truck that I started called Cattle Dog
15:54
Coffee and named after my dog Zoe, who's laying down right
16:00
here next to me. But yeah, the, the kind of the,
16:04
to go along the lines of get rid of the fluff, kind of right
16:08
before I was starting this nonprofit, I was traveling in
16:12
South Africa and I was in a park and came across a coffee trailer
16:18
and it was like an old horse trailer.
16:22
Very like unmarked, I think the name of it was like the trailer
16:26
or something using a old Llamasoco like unmarked coffee
16:35
beans, like an African guy was just in there like playing
16:38
music, like having fun, just one guy.
16:40
And it was the best coffee I've ever had.
16:45
And like I stand by that. And, you know, I, I went back a
16:48
couple more times and it was, it was always really good.
16:51
And yeah, I just, I like telling that story because it's, it's
16:55
very much along the lines of get rid of the fluff.
16:58
And this is what matters. And, you know, he was, he was a
17:01
great guy. And I talked to him for a little
17:03
bit and it was, it was the best coffee I've ever had.
17:06
And so that also kind of like played a part into like, this
17:09
whole idea of, of starting the nonprofit and, and kind of like
17:13
really figuring out, you know, my path and maybe not doing the
17:17
coffee shop, but kind of leaning towards this instead.
17:21
So, yeah, yeah. Get rid of the fluff.
17:24
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17:53
You, I mean, we, we really glossed over the starting of the
17:58
truck. But you found a truck.
17:59
Yeah. And you built it out, you know?
18:02
Yeah. And then you have to actually be
18:05
out in the world, maybe for anyone listening who's thinking
18:07
about, oh, that's a good entryway into coffee, you know,
18:10
What challenges did you face being a mobile coffee business
18:14
as opposed to brick and mortar? You know, what lessons did you
18:17
take away from that you can share?
18:20
Yeah, it I, I do think it's a great way into coffee for sure.
18:26
I think that the biggest challenges was I became a truck
18:29
mechanic first and foremost, more than I wanted to be.
18:33
It was a 1974 American Motors General.
18:38
I actually, I found it in Pleasant Prairie, WI.
18:43
It was an ice cream truck when I got it, which actually this
18:48
right here was the menu on on the side.
18:53
Yeah, yeah, kept that yeah. I mean, I think the biggest
18:58
challenges was just kind of figuring out the getting it out
19:02
to health code and the logistics and all the requirements that
19:07
the city sets forth. And it's, it's challenging, it's
19:12
hard because you, you're eager and you want to get started.
19:15
And my advice is for some reason, if you have a truck,
19:22
it's some different requirements than say just just like a pop up
19:28
table or even a trailer is a little different as well.
19:33
So I think the truck made it a little more difficult than I was
19:38
expecting. But yeah, my, my buddy that I
19:43
grew up with, he, he's out in LA, he has his own general
19:48
contracting firm. So he was kind enough to come
19:51
and, and build it out with me. And we built the bar in the back
19:55
and yeah, had a, got the GS3 and, and put that back there.
20:02
And yeah, I was using kind of a generator most of the time.
20:07
And some events were great. I could like plug in and that
20:11
always made it a little easier. But yeah, the the private events
20:16
really took off and that kind of made it work and sustainable.
20:22
Yeah. And so I eventually did kind of
20:24
have a pop up cart as well so I could go inside places, which I
20:30
think I realized kind of works pretty well.
20:33
Yeah, I would. You mentioned the truck being
20:35
more of a challenge. One thing, anyone who's looking
20:39
at buying a, a food truck or a coffee cart truck, the second
20:43
you put it on wheels, you will have a fun time talking to
20:46
insurance because they will argue with you over whether you
20:50
need business insurance or vehicle insurance or some other
20:54
sort of insurance you've never heard of.
20:56
Yeah. And then will people be riding
20:58
in it? Will it be moving at some point?
21:02
You know, is it stuck in one place?
21:04
How do you attach? There's a whole list of
21:06
insurance questions you should call an insurance agent about
21:08
first. Yeah, it's not fun.
21:11
I one of the biggest things too is ice cream trucks are actually
21:17
a whole different category as well.
21:20
Yeah. And so we actually had to
21:27
there's there was a wall, like a dividing wall between the back
21:30
and the, the driving capacity we had to put in a door because
21:36
technically you have to be able to like, like go through the
21:39
whole truck. And so that derailed our plans a
21:43
little bit. Yeah, I don't know.
21:46
I mean, like, I think maybe it's not the best advice, but somehow
21:52
like slowly get started gradually as much as you can,
21:58
you know, don't, don't wait around for for everything you
22:02
like. You can always be kind of doing
22:04
stuff and start the brand and start to gain momentum.
22:10
Yeah, before kind of everything gets set in stone and and
22:14
perfectly aligned. Yeah, just just start, yeah.
22:19
I know you've had you had the truck in a few different places.
22:22
Eventually you sell the truck. Were you just kind of done with
22:26
that particular thing, ready for the next thing, or what was your
22:30
impetus there and how you know how?
22:33
How big of a gap was there before coffee connections came
22:36
about? Yeah.
22:41
And I'm sorry, I'm interrupted. Just like to say, I think it's
22:44
always, even if it's your call or your decision, moving on from
22:49
a business you've started can be it.
22:52
It's a transition, it's emotional, it's something you
22:54
built. Yeah, there's a trash truck
22:58
right outside my window. I don't know if you can hear it.
23:02
My dog is snoring so loud. It's fine.
23:04
OK, OK. Yeah, it was.
23:08
It was hard. It was emotional because I
23:12
thought about keeping the truck just to like have around and,
23:15
you know, you never know, it could be used in the nonprofit
23:20
somehow. And it's just kind of like a
23:22
fun, cute truck to have. Yeah, I think I was.
23:29
I was 100% ready to move on from the mobile coffee cart, the
23:36
mobile coffee truck business that that felt good.
23:40
And I think what made it a little easier and less emotional
23:47
for me to, to move on was I felt so good about this nonprofit
23:54
idea and was really passionate about it and passionate about
23:58
getting it started. So I, I did have the idea for
24:03
the nonprofit before I sold the truck.
24:07
But yeah, it, it was hard. I think, you know, kind of it
24:11
was my first entrepreneurship stab and it got me to where I
24:17
needed to be, which is a cool way to think about it.
24:22
You know, learned a lot along the way.
24:26
And the truck was cool. Like, I'm, I'm very proud of the
24:32
truck and what it turned into. Yeah.
24:35
And you know, I got to put a photo of my dog on the side of
24:38
it, so that's cool. That's really the only reason
24:42
that we do anything is to make our dogs proud of us somehow.
24:45
Yeah, yeah, she got it. You know, not up to health
24:49
codes, but she got to ride in the the truck a little bit.
24:54
Well, you know, I think the health health is only coming
24:57
around so many times a year. Dogs are this is not
25:01
professional advice for anyone. So you you do sell the truck.
25:06
Yeah, you do sell the truck. You you have this idea already
25:10
that you're working towards, but I'm assuming you had it run a
25:13
nonprofit. I think you mentioned you had
25:15
been working with one. Why?
25:19
You know, why is this the idea that sticks with you?
25:22
I mean, you've already kind of touched on like the idea of
25:24
working with people, but it's it's a whole another thing to
25:27
say this is working in a nonprofit is a bit of a
25:30
lifestyle choice too. I mean, there's I mean different
25:33
levels, obviously, but you're kind of working in service not
25:37
only to the people who are coming through your program, but
25:39
now to the people that you're trying to get to support you as
25:43
far as their coffee programming. You know what, what is that been
25:47
like for you? I think you're a little bit over
25:49
a year into it. Is that something about right?
25:52
You've had a few graduating classes of your program.
25:54
I'm not how many, I'm not sure how many you do a year.
25:56
If they're we're, we're on. 6 The six program right now we're
26:00
in the middle of it. Yeah, I saw some photos of, you
26:03
know, people graduating with their certificates, which I
26:05
love. That's awesome.
26:08
You know, what has this first year been like and and where is
26:11
it going? Yeah, the, the first year's been
26:17
awesome. You know, starting out this the
26:19
first cohort we were doing was last May and I actually did it
26:25
at the YMCA. That's over in Hermosa.
26:30
And yeah, they had a classroom available and we made it work.
26:35
And honestly, I wasn't even sure if anyone was going to sign up
26:38
or, or want to do it. But I, I connected with a lot of
26:45
other organizations and social workers and community centers to
26:51
send people our way and through the program.
26:55
And those relationships have really been so beneficial
26:59
because now at this point we have a wait list essentially for
27:06
for the programs. And so that's, that's really,
27:08
really cool. And some of those stories of of
27:11
the people going through the programs have, you know, made it
27:14
all worth it, which is which is amazing.
27:18
Yeah, we were doing about a cohort every other month or so
27:23
this this first year. Now this year we're aiming for a
27:28
cohort once a month. So we're we're shooting for
27:32
about 75 people to go through the programs this year.
27:37
I actually just moved into like a training HQ.
27:42
So Coffee Connections has a headquarters that.
27:45
Was going to be my question because you kind of need a lot
27:48
of the same facilities as a coffee shop.
27:51
Yeah. So one of the things I, I really
27:54
like with what we're doing is so the the first cohort was at the
27:58
YMCA and and the cohorts after that we've been partnering with
28:02
other nonprofits and other organizations.
28:04
So I really like and continue wanting to do this is to go and
28:11
meet the people where they're at around the city.
28:14
So we've partnered with Breakthrough, which is down in
28:17
Garfield Park, a big nonprofit working down in the Southwest
28:21
neighborhoods of Chicago. And then right now we're in our
28:25
second cohort at Central Amero, which is up in Edgewater.
28:29
And that's a bigger immigration agency.
28:32
And they do a lot of like English language learning and
28:36
GED classes for new Americans and they, they do some amazing
28:41
stuff. And so yeah, these partnerships
28:44
and with these organizations have been so great and, and
28:49
helped us a lot. Now with the the training space,
28:55
it'll allow us to kind of offer some level two classes and some
29:00
like interview prep classes, which will be great for people
29:05
who have gone through the programs but haven't necessarily
29:08
gotten a job yet. So they can kind of keep coming
29:10
back and we'll continue to have them in our network and stay in
29:15
touch, which is going to be fun and, and really great for them
29:21
and us, you know, because not everyone is, is hiring all at
29:26
once. And so, you know, sometimes it,
29:28
it takes a little while. And so it's cool that they're
29:31
going to be able to come back and refresh their skills and,
29:34
and kind of talk about the landscape of of coffee shops and
29:39
who's hiring and all that and all that.
29:43
Did you come up with the course profile or the coursework?
29:46
You know the, the, the syllabus, that's the word I'm looking at.
29:52
A lot of it was just kind of how I've learned and kind of bits
29:56
and pieces that I took from the three different shops, kind of
29:59
the most common, the three different shops that I've worked
30:02
at kind of the most common thread throughout.
30:08
Yeah, YouTube videos, you know, I, I actually, my cousin in
30:16
Cincinnati was opening a shop and she, this was kind of when
30:23
this whole idea was what's happening as well.
30:25
I was like, OK, perfect. I can try out my courses on her.
30:29
And so that helps a little bit. But yeah, we came up with some,
30:33
some worksheets and some activities and we watch a couple
30:38
of videos and documentaries and yeah, it's fun.
30:42
I, I feel like we kind of have it dialed, dialed in now, not to
30:46
make it coffee pump, but yeah. And, you know, actually a really
30:53
cool part of the program too, is we have a pretty good pool of
30:57
volunteers that come in and, and either like lead a session or,
31:01
or help support or even just kind of be a guest speaker.
31:07
So like former shop owners will come in and kind of tell
31:11
everyone their story and yeah, baristas will come in and and
31:17
help with milk steaming or whatever it might be.
31:21
Well, there's a real need for you, I would imagine as a as the
31:25
educator, to continue to, to grow or to maintain your skills.
31:30
I mean, I couldn't walk up to an espresso machine today and steam
31:34
milk the way I did when I was working as a barista.
31:38
It just wouldn't work out that way.
31:40
Yeah. Where does this grow or where is
31:44
that part of the goal is what you're doing now.
31:46
This is what we kind of are. I mean, do you have a do you
31:50
see? And being in the first year, do
31:52
you see this big, this bigger thing?
31:54
And I'm trying to figure out how to say this while implying that
31:56
it should be. It doesn't necessarily have to
31:58
be right like, but I think there's always this idea of
32:02
like, well, here's where we are and we're moving kind of step by
32:05
step and here's where we think we're going, whether it's just
32:08
more people going through the program or or you know, a 2O one
32:11
class or what. But what's what do you see the
32:14
future of coffee connections being?
32:16
Yeah. So kind of initial, first thing
32:23
that I really wanted to get a little, the first thing that I
32:30
kind of want to focus on is we're at about 1/3 of the people
32:36
going through the program have gotten hired.
32:40
I would love for that to be up to like 50% or so.
32:45
I kind of really see this as we could get to the point where if
32:51
coffee shops are hiring that they automatically reach out to
32:56
us. I would love for that to happen
32:59
and I I could see that happening and I want to get to that point
33:04
where that's kind of we're on the top of shop owners heads.
33:10
Yeah. So that's kind of like Step 1 is
33:11
just like, I would love for some more people to be getting hired
33:16
around the city. Yeah, we're going to start doing
33:20
level two classes and and interview prep classes a little
33:24
bit more. We've been the cohorts at
33:28
Central Almero. We've it's been kind of, it's
33:35
been very easy for non-english speakers to go through.
33:39
We've had volunteers as translators and I could see that
33:44
aspect of it growing kind of have a full cohort in in Spanish
33:48
I think would be very, very cool and very beneficial long term
33:52
goals. I would love to kind of add a
33:54
pastry program. So not only do we do the the
33:58
breeze the part, but we kind of also have a whole pastry program
34:03
too. And we, so people could do one
34:06
or the other. And we could also add, you know,
34:10
that whole, that whole pathway as well as training people to be
34:15
pastry chefs because, you know, coffee shops and bakeries.
34:19
I think you know, since the last like 5 years it's almost, it
34:24
seems like it's, it's doubled the amount you know, and it
34:28
seems like. New, new revenue sources, I
34:30
mean, that's what. We.
34:31
Yeah, exactly. And so bakeries are doing really
34:35
good coffee and coffee shops are now doing really good pastries.
34:39
And so, yeah, I could see that happening and.
34:45
And helping a lot too. And yeah, we're going to
34:48
continue to kind of fundraise and get grant writing.
34:52
And now with this space, it kind of offers us to do some events,
34:57
which which is fun and allows some of our past participants to
35:03
to come and do some pop ups and, and work alongside us, which is
35:08
cool. And yeah, just kind of keeping
35:11
the momentum going. And I think right now what's
35:16
holding us back a little bit is we only have one especial
35:19
machine. So we can, you know, we can only
35:22
have eight people basically is how I cap a a program just
35:27
because, you know, with the reputations and the time on the
35:31
machine is quite important. So if it's more than that, it
35:34
kind of slows up a little bit, but.
35:39
Well, if anyone is listening to this and has an especial machine
35:42
they want to donate, now is the time.
35:45
How can people? Well, I think it's hard to ask.
35:50
It's hard to ask for things sometimes.
35:52
I know I have a hard time saying, hey, I need support for
35:54
this thing to keep going. Was that something you had to
35:58
learn or has that been a challenge at all?
36:00
I mean, how do you what support do you need and how how
36:04
comfortable are you going and asking for it?
36:07
Yeah, it is hard for me. It's it's different.
36:12
Yeah, I think I'm, my initial thought is, well, you know, I
36:17
can, I can do it myself, you know, but I'm trying to let go
36:23
of that. And.
36:24
And yeah, because people do want to help and it's, it's a cool
36:30
relationship when that does happen.
36:32
We're getting coffee donated now from Tasa Coffee Roasters here
36:37
in Humboldt. And so that's amazing and, and
36:40
helps a ton. Yeah.
36:43
And, you know, there's, there's information on our website,
36:47
coffeeconnectionchicago.com, you know, if people do want to
36:53
either volunteer and and get involved, we're always looking
36:56
for for that to happen if people want to donate.
37:02
Yeah, it tells more about kind of the individual stories of the
37:06
people going through it, which is cool.
37:08
And yeah, definitely a little different to kind of ask for for
37:13
things and ask for help. Well, I'm assuming to just
37:16
launch you needed some sort of, I mean, operating income, you
37:20
needed something. So I believe you guys are still,
37:24
you're still hosting events or you're using events as a
37:26
training ground for people. You know, what are, if someone's
37:30
listening to this, I mean, what are the best ways for them to
37:33
support financially? Is it just straight donations?
37:36
Can they hire you? You know what are their options.
37:40
Yeah, yeah, we're donation driven for sure, first and
37:44
foremost. So that goes a long way.
37:49
People can hire us for a pop up events or or rent out our space
37:54
as well. We'll always supply coffee in
37:58
the space. So yeah, that goes a long way as
38:01
well, because not only are you hiring a a coffee pop up, but
38:06
you're allowing one of our students and participants to
38:09
come and work and get real world experience as well.
38:14
So that's yeah, that's amazing. We've done a couple pop ups
38:18
about like one or month or so. And yeah, that's always fun
38:21
because I get to ask someone to come and work with me and yeah,
38:27
we have a lot of fun with it. So, yeah, I'd say those two are
38:32
the best ways. Yeah.
38:34
Our Instagram is coffee connection shy and we post a lot
38:38
about some of the events that we're doing as well.
38:41
And so all the proceeds go back to the programming.
38:44
We're doing a heart a latte heart workshop tomorrow morning,
38:50
so that that'll be fun. Yeah.
38:52
We do coffee and yoga in the space.
38:55
Yeah, we're going to do live DJ coming up.
38:58
So there's always, yeah, ways to get involved and and to stay up
39:03
to date. Usually the Instagram's probably
39:06
the best place to go for that. How have you grown as a person
39:11
as you've gone through some of these changes from journalism to
39:16
entrepreneurship to the non profit?
39:19
I mean, I would assume there's a, you know, a through line
39:25
there of looking out at the world around you and seeing
39:29
where you fit in. You know, is that something you
39:31
think about? You know how?
39:33
Who is this version of MAD versus the one, say 10 years
39:36
ago? Yeah, yeah.
39:39
I mean, I think I am much more better at about asking the the
39:44
tough questions and being aware of surroundings and and the
39:49
people around me. I think 1 my dad actually gave
39:54
me this little like tidbit. I think you know starting out
39:59
and especially with also starting.
40:03
That this coffee journey is you think of it as a ladder, you
40:07
know, like climbing up the career, like, oh, I got to reach
40:10
these milestones and, and keep moving up, you know, whatever
40:15
career you're in, you kind of think of the the typical career
40:18
ladder. He told me this was a long time
40:22
ago, but he told me like it should actually be a career
40:25
pyramid 'cause you're, you're having all these different
40:29
experiences and you're kind of building, you know, this, this
40:32
base first. And you like slowly move up and
40:35
you kind of you move one way a little bit and then like move
40:38
the other. And, you know, you're slowly
40:40
building up to this, this point where you reach.
40:43
And yeah, that's always kind of stuck with me.
40:46
And and I think I've been initially starting out, you
40:52
know, I'm, I was kind of quick to be like, oh, this truck has
40:55
to, you know, cops trucks got to, you know, get bigger and we
40:58
got to do more. And I've been more OK with with
41:03
the pyramid shape. I think as I've gone through
41:06
this and and has seen the benefits of having the pyramid
41:10
shape. So, so, yeah, I think that's
41:13
kind of like stopping me a little bit.
41:15
I think in terms of kind of going through the
41:21
entrepreneurship journey and kind of when I was thinking of
41:26
the shop and asking myself these important questions was a tough
41:31
thing to do. Just because when I was starting
41:33
the coffee truck, I had always, you know, seen it moving into
41:38
the the shop eventually. And I think when I was looking
41:44
at spaces, you can you either like move into a a space that's
41:48
already overcrowded and already has shops, or you're kind of
41:54
moving into a space that is, isn't like for you and, you
42:02
know, isn't. Yeah, I think you have to be
42:06
really careful if you're kind of looking for that, you know,
42:09
we'll call it like the the trendy area, the the space
42:12
that's kind of new and like people are moving, you know, I
42:17
think you have to be yeah, you have to ask yourself kind of
42:22
some important questions and, and is what I'm doing for the
42:26
community. And will this kind of help the
42:31
community members gain economic and and social power 'cause I, I
42:38
think, yeah, unfortunately, like a lot of times maybe that that
42:42
doesn't always happen. And so, yeah, long winded answer
42:48
maybe to to kind of how I've changed, but I think I I've kind
42:52
of become more aware of those things and have enjoyed kind of
42:57
like asking those questions as well.
43:00
I mean, the word there that I you weren't dancing around it,
43:04
but we just didn't specify it. But gentrification is a real
43:07
thing and it affects people who are moving in, people who are
43:14
forced to move out. It affects businesses and
43:17
entrepreneurs. Some businesses are
43:21
gentrification exempt and some not so much.
43:25
So there are certain stereotypical kind of signs of
43:29
that coming. And you know, especially coffee
43:32
shop is certainly one of those. I know the bodega that I used to
43:37
go to in Brooklyn is a Whole Foods now.
43:39
So there's like those, you see those things and then you go,
43:41
OK, how did that affect, you know, we ended up having to move
43:45
because we couldn't afford to stay.
43:46
And you just kind of those things impact people.
43:49
And I think it's a tough balance to decide how much am I
43:52
responsible for versus the community versus how can I
43:56
control where I spend my money and and how it goes to support
44:00
either people I know or versus Amazon.
44:03
Those are all tough questions for anyone you know, especially
44:06
in times of economic upheaval. Yeah, and I think I, I know you,
44:15
you just interviewed the the founder of Coffee Watch.
44:20
You tell. Yeah, yeah.
44:21
And, you know, they're doing really cool things and.
44:24
And it's, you know, everyone loves coffee shops.
44:27
It's kind of hate, hate to be the coffee shop police, you
44:30
know, or kind of think a little deeper about it.
44:35
But yeah. I mean, there's not to, yeah.
44:41
Not not to name drop or anything, but, you know, there's
44:44
a big new coffee shop that just opened in in Avondale.
44:52
Yeah, Avondale's kind of, you know, tight knit community,
44:55
lower income, predominantly Hispanic and, and the shop kind
45:00
of is next to like a a very cool big high school that's Chicago
45:05
Public Schools. And yeah, you kind of just you
45:11
ask the questions on, you know, are the people in this community
45:15
benefiting from from what's what's happening here and.
45:20
Well, not on the other side of that coin does that is that
45:24
community going, Hey, you know, what we would really like is one
45:26
of those cool coffee shops we now travel to go to.
45:29
So there's kind of a it's a weird, you know, it's it's weird
45:33
to make decisions that are best for yourself that are also best
45:37
for the community. Not weird, but challenging
45:38
sometimes depending on. What you're doing?
45:41
And then knowing there are players who are not thinking
45:45
about either of those things, they're just, you know, they're,
45:47
they're more, even more capitalistic or in your case,
45:50
more nonprofit, which is a different angle about it.
45:56
Outside of what you're doing, outside of coffee, Do you have a
46:00
life? Nonprofit workers traditionally
46:03
don't. I've been one of those, you
46:05
know, who are you? What do you like to do?
46:07
Are you getting outside or you going to movie?
46:09
You know, what's your what's your thing?
46:11
Yeah, Yeah, I like to think I, I have a life I like.
46:16
I also like to think that I'm kind of the, the same person in
46:20
and out of the nonprofit world, which is I'm lucky that I'm able
46:23
to, to do that. Yeah, I'm, I'm a sports guy.
46:28
I've always kind of played sports and been into sports and
46:32
big NBA guy and like to spend time outside and running,
46:40
biking, playing with my dog in the park.
46:44
Yeah, pretty laid back, quiet guy, honestly.
46:49
I get that vibe from you. Well, why don't we start getting
46:53
close to closing out here? We're already at 45 minutes with
46:58
any piece of advice or wisdom you'd like to pass along, coffee
47:01
or otherwise could be anything that you've kind of gleaned in
47:03
your life. Yeah, I mean, like, I think, you
47:09
know, I was kind of lucky, I think to go through that
47:13
journalism experience and to kind of get to the story and,
47:20
and to connect with people in that way.
47:24
Yeah, I think, you know, always connecting with people and, and
47:28
asking people questions is never a burden, you know?
47:34
So I think, you know, I'm lucky that I kind of went through the,
47:36
the journalism, you know, experience and kind of had some
47:41
experience with telling people's stories.
47:45
Yeah. Do we think that journalism is
47:47
going to survive? I was afraid you're going to ask
47:50
me that. You can just say yes or no or
47:53
maybe and move on if you like. I'm I'm going to say yes, but in
47:57
a very different way than we think of journalism.
48:02
I think maybe, yeah, not so much the traditional route of
48:08
newspapers, but journalism will always be around.
48:12
I I once dreamed of working for the Washington Post.
48:16
So that was a long time ago, back when the Post was the Post.
48:22
What did we miss today? Anything that I should have
48:24
asked that I didn't about you or about coffee connections?
48:32
Let's see, I can tell you about my dog.
48:35
Yeah, absolutely. Well, so, yeah, Why?
48:41
Yeah. Why, Why names Cow Dog Coffee.
48:45
Cow Dog coffee. Yeah, let's do that.
48:49
Cool. Yeah.
48:50
So right. Right.
48:52
When I got to her, she was. She still is.
48:55
She's quite protective of me. And that's just kind of how
48:59
their breed is and. And how she was and almost to
49:03
the point where it was, it was a little bad at times.
49:09
So that's, that's kind of how she is.
49:11
And I think why it transformed into the name of the truck is I
49:20
kind of had this slogan. It was actually on the the first
49:23
T-shirt that I made for, for merch and it was called Protect
49:29
what's most important. And so in her view, she was, you
49:32
know, protecting her family and, and out, out in the, in the
49:37
wild, they're protecting the, the cows in the herd and back in
49:42
the day. And I think this time that
49:47
people have with coffee, however, it's however it's done
49:52
with, you know, making coffee for you, for your partner or
49:55
meeting friends or yeah, just going, getting yourself a treat
50:01
out and out at your favorite shop is it's such a sacred time
50:05
and people love it. And so that's kind of the
50:09
correlation there is like, we have to protect this time and,
50:13
and spend this doing what's most important to you and, you know,
50:19
taking that little time to really enjoy your cup of coffee
50:22
or that experience you're having.
50:24
And yeah, so that kind of paired with the the ruggedness of the
50:29
cattle dog and the outdoorsiness, I really wanted
50:32
to capture that kind of dusty outdoor vibe as well with kind
50:37
of protecting this sacred time of, of drinking your coffee or,
50:42
you know, having it with some friends or making it for your
50:45
partner. Since you sold the truck, does
50:49
it still exist as cattle dog or is it?
50:53
Do you have any? No, no, it's yeah, yeah.
50:58
But that's what. It is.
50:59
It's just a brand, yeah. Yeah, it's it was yours and and
51:04
so yeah, continues on. You mentioned favorite shops.
51:08
Sorry. Go ahead.
51:09
I sold it to just a truck guy who really like trucks, not not
51:14
a coffee guy. And actually I will say once it
51:17
was getting on that trailer for the last time and it wasn't my
51:20
problem, it did feel very, very good because there was a couple
51:24
times when it was on a trailer and it was going to be my
51:27
problem, so. I had a truck that we built out
51:31
as a mobile workspace, a 20 some foot long old hotel shuttle, and
51:39
after my business partnership broke down, as the truck did
51:43
often, I was actually like I was writing.
51:47
I was writing for a local blog or you know, whatever it was at
51:51
the time, and they had sent me on this beach meditate
51:54
meditation retreat. And so I was in a kind of like
51:59
in a drum circle, you know, cross legged on the beach.
52:01
And like some guy came up and tapped me on the shoulder and
52:04
gave me a check and I signed away the title and he just took
52:06
off. And it was kind of this great.
52:10
I was pushing myself outside of side of my comfort zone with the
52:14
meditation retreat and then at the same time shedding this very
52:17
stressful thing in my life that I was also very sad and
52:21
emotional about. So it it's just a thing.
52:25
It's just a truck, but it becomes part of who you know,
52:29
your identity. You mentioned other shops and
52:34
and there's Chicago is a ton of incredible shops.
52:39
If you were to stop out in one, one, do you have a favorite?
52:43
And two, what are you going to order?
52:46
Yeah, that's, that's a tough questions.
52:50
Well, so I usually order a cortado or a cappuccino.
52:59
I think especially if I'm trying out a new shop, I'll go with the
53:02
cappuccino just to see how they do it.
53:04
And I think it tells a lot about what the what the shop's vibe
53:09
is. Yeah, in terms of favorite Shop
53:14
in Chicago are a couple of my favorite.
53:19
Yeah. Sip of Hope is cool.
53:21
A lot of their proceeds go towards mental health awareness,
53:24
so that's that's a cool thing that they're doing.
53:28
Toss is great over in Humboldt. Cafe Calita is awesome.
53:35
Cafe Colao in Humboldt. Yeah.
53:39
Drink Monday is really, really cool.
53:42
Muse is great. See, I like this because I
53:46
haven't been to most of those and I feel like I've been to a
53:48
lot of shops in Chicago. So when I'm there in June, I'll
53:52
be able to look up at. News yeah, Afro Joe's, if it's
53:55
warm out, Afro Joe's has amazing patio.
54:00
So that's that's a good spot. We'll definitely check that out,
54:04
Matt. Congratulations on Coffee
54:07
Connections for one and. Thinking.
54:10
Through I think it's a it's a really cool thing.
54:13
When I saw it, I just thought, oh I'd like to learn more about
54:15
this and reached out to you. And appreciate that.
54:19
I, you know, I wish you luck on that and, and we're glad that we
54:21
get a chance to talk and share that story.
54:23
About yeah, yeah, this is fun. Thanks for having
55:23
Thanks for listening, everyone. Please subscribe to our
55:25
newsletter at coffeepeoplecast.com.
55:29
Cheers.