Latest / Corpus Christi Originals Podcast / EP134: 21 Years of Stingers Coffee, In-House Roasting & Business Adaptability | Hollie Weaver

Transcript

EP134: 21 Years of Stingers Coffee, In-House Roasting & Business Adaptability | Hollie Weaver · Corpus Christi Originals Podcast

• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: What's going on y'all?
• 0:00
  SPEAKER_00: Corpus Christi Originals back at it again.
• 0:02
  SPEAKER_00: We're here at Stinger's Coffee in the what is this, the banquet room or uh uh we call it the meeting room.
• 0:07
  SPEAKER_00: The meeting room in at Stinger's Coffee Southside, you guys check it out.
• 0:11
  SPEAKER_00: Uh this is Holly.
• 0:12
  SPEAKER_00: Say hello.
• 0:13
  SPEAKER_01: Hello.
• 0:14
  SPEAKER_00: She's the owner of both Stingers places, right?
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 0:17
  SPEAKER_00: Uh for how long?
• 0:18
  SPEAKER_00: How so how long has been Stinger's been here in Corpus?
• 0:21
  SPEAKER_01: Uh 21 years.
• 0:23
  SPEAKER_01: Holy smokes.
• 0:24
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 0:25
  SPEAKER_01: Coming up on 21 years.
• 0:26
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 0:27
  SPEAKER_00: We just had House of Rock on here.
• 0:30
  SPEAKER_00: He's been open just as long.
• 0:31
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, yeah.
• 0:32
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_02: Yes.
• 0:33
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so and I usually go to the one on airline, and I don't know who was introduced, but I I'm thinking about the name Stingers.
• 0:41
  SPEAKER_00: Like, so how did you come up with the name for Stingers?
• 0:44
  SPEAKER_01: Well, you know, it's um I feel like everybody has this elaborate story, and ours is not elaborate at all.
• 0:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um we moved here from Washington State, and when we were talking about coming down here to open a coffee shop, my dad had had a buddy who had um drew a logo for him for a soccer team.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 1:04
  SPEAKER_01: When we were real little.
• 1:05
  SPEAKER_01: And so he called him and he said, Hey, we're gonna um open up a coffee shop.
• 1:09
  SPEAKER_01: He said, We need we need a logo.
• 1:10
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Do you have a name yet?
• 1:11
  SPEAKER_01: He goes, Nope.
• 1:12
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, Any, do you want me to go one way or the other?
• 1:15
  SPEAKER_01: And he says, No, just give me something.
• 1:17
  SPEAKER_01: So he drew it on a little piece of paper, faxed us over our logo that we use today, and he goes, You like it?
• 1:23
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, Yeah, it looks good.
• 1:24
  SPEAKER_01: My dad was good.
• 1:25
  SPEAKER_01: And so we looked at it and he said, What do you want to name?
• 1:28
  SPEAKER_01: And I go, I don't know.
• 1:29
  SPEAKER_01: And my dad said, We're about stingers, and I said, I go, that works.
• 1:32
  SPEAKER_01: And it was just very happened organically.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: This happened.
• 1:35
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's amazing.
• 1:36
  SPEAKER_00: So you're from where from where again?
• 1:38
  SPEAKER_01: From Washington State.
• 1:39
  SPEAKER_00: Washington State.
• 1:40
  SPEAKER_00: Where is that on the map?
• 1:41
  SPEAKER_00: Although I don't even know geography left.
• 1:43
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, Seattle area.
• 1:44
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 1:45
  SPEAKER_00: We're about to take a vacation up there.
• 1:47
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, fine.
• 1:48
  SPEAKER_00: In the next couple weeks, we're going to Seattle.
• 1:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, it's beautiful.
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_01: Is it?
• 1:51
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, shoes.
• 1:52
  SPEAKER_00: I gotta get with these maybe some nice places we can visit up there.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 1:55
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 1:56
  SPEAKER_01: Uh Yakima's on the other side of the mountains from there.
• 1:58
  SPEAKER_01: So we're actually a desert.
• 1:59
  SPEAKER_00: What's it called?
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yakima.
• 2:00
  SPEAKER_00: Yakima.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Oh shoot.
• 2:01
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, that's an Indian name or something.
• 2:03
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:04
  SPEAKER_00: Is there a lot of that up there?
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:05
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 2:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, there's a reservation right by us.
• 2:07
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, okay.
• 2:08
  SPEAKER_00: So it's a the other side of the mountains, you said.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: All right.
• 2:10
  SPEAKER_00: So it's pretty cold up there, I imagine.
• 2:12
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we have all four seasons.
• 2:14
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, dope.
• 2:15
  SPEAKER_00: So what's the change like since you moved over here?
• 2:17
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it took a while.
• 2:18
  SPEAKER_01: It took a little bit to adjust.
• 2:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I I can't believe how many showers I took every day.
• 2:24
  SPEAKER_01: Do you ever stop sweating in this town?
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:26
  SPEAKER_01: Um, now I've got used to it.
• 2:27
  SPEAKER_01: So it's yeah, yeah.
• 2:28
  SPEAKER_00: I love it.
• 2:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I'll go to the beach often or yes.
• 2:31
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, what's up?
• 2:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I go to the beach a lot.
• 2:33
  SPEAKER_00: That's dope.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:34
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, so so Stinger's been in year in in business for 20 years.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 2:38
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:39
  SPEAKER_00: What's that like so far?
• 2:41
  SPEAKER_00: What I mean, what's it like?
• 2:42
  SPEAKER_00: What's it been like?
• 2:43
  SPEAKER_01: It's been a roller coaster.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 2:44
  SPEAKER_01: You know, there's um there's been we've been through everything, you know, the water boils, COVID, and it's just everything you can think of.
• 2:51
  SPEAKER_01: So it's just been about adapting and overcoming.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 2:55
  SPEAKER_00: So why coffee?
• 2:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like what what made you want to get into coffee?
• 2:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, well, I when we were still in Washington, I was going to college because that's what you're supposed to do.
• 3:05
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think my dad was tired of paying for me to go to college for no reason.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_02: Wow.
• 3:09
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but he was he was stationed in the military down here.
• 3:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um he was in the Coast Guard years before.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Sure.
• 3:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um and he loved it down here.
• 3:17
  SPEAKER_01: And so he always said when he retired he wanted to come down here.
• 3:20
  SPEAKER_01: And he came down to visit and kind of think about what he could do post-retirement that he didn't really have to work too much for, and and came down he and he said, There's no coffee shops down there.
• 3:30
  SPEAKER_01: He said, Do you want to open up a coffee shop?
• 3:31
  SPEAKER_01: And I said, Sure.
• 3:33
  SPEAKER_01: And so we on a whim moved down here.
• 3:35
  SPEAKER_00: Holy smokes.
• 3:36
  SPEAKER_01: And then mom finally came in and moved down about like five years later and said, I guess we're really doing this.
• 3:42
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 3:43
  SPEAKER_00: So did you was there a point where you're like, I don't want to do this no more?
• 3:47
  SPEAKER_01: No, no, no, yeah, it really hasn't been.
• 3:51
  SPEAKER_00: So it's I mean, there's definitely there's days where it's like, oh that man today was a day, but yeah, but it's yeah, I guess I'm thinking that wise from like businesses starting up and then maybe something not working out like money-wise or whatever the case might be for businesses, you know what I mean?
• 4:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we found, I mean, we went through the recession and all of that.
• 4:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we ended up closing two of our drive-thru locations.
• 4:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um uh we had one of them we had construction issues, it was drive-thru only, and they had both roads around us cut um cut off on construction if there was no access, and so that was kind of a no-brainer, but you know, it's just kind of um it's interesting, you know, you just roll with the punches and see what you can do.
• 4:31
  SPEAKER_01: How do you make it work?
• 4:32
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's so every day is a new day for me.
• 4:34
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay, okay.
• 4:36
  SPEAKER_00: So uh obviously that's maybe the life of an entrepreneur, like figuring stuff out as you go.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 4:41
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 4:42
  SPEAKER_00: So that's pretty so I mean, so how do you find yourself uh figuring stuff out as you go?
• 4:48
  SPEAKER_01: Well, it you know, in the beginning it was a there was a lot of expensive mistakes.
• 4:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh I didn't I didn't know anything about accounting and wow and my dad said, You think you can do your own accounting?
• 4:58
  SPEAKER_01: I said, sure, I can't be that and so we hired an accountant and and I spent hours with them and I paying by the hour, and I was like, Oh my gosh.
• 5:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so it I ended up going back to school after a couple years and taking some accounting classes because I'm going, This is way too expensive for this.
• 5:13
  SPEAKER_01: Wow.
• 5:14
  SPEAKER_00: So there was a lot of so has it been a big difference after taking that class?
• 5:17
  SPEAKER_00: So I mean, yeah, definitely.
• 5:18
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I'm still not good at it, but I can get through the data.
• 5:22
  SPEAKER_00: So, like if you hadn't done that for sure, like it you would, I mean, your business would have still been kind of struggling.
• 5:29
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we'd probably be paying a full-time account.
• 5:31
  SPEAKER_01: So yeah, wow.
• 5:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I guess so that alleviates that job or whatever.
• 5:36
  SPEAKER_00: So that's pretty cool.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 5:37
  SPEAKER_00: So is that what you try to do you try to look for ways to like I guess uh keep money in your pocket?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
• 5:44
  SPEAKER_00: That's always the goal, right?
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, right.
• 5:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you know, it's just always looking to, you know, how can I do this more efficient, more effective, and yes.
• 5:53
  SPEAKER_00: And and then you have employees.
• 5:54
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, did you start just by yourself when you started?
• 5:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, when we started, I think I had probably five employees.
• 6:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and uh, but I was a control freak in the beginning, and I've I never left, so I was there open to clothes every day.
• 6:11
  SPEAKER_01: And you know, my dad would bring my son by and drop him off, so I'd see him like for a couple hours and he'd leave.
• 6:17
  SPEAKER_01: And and eventually I was like, okay, I can't keep doing this, I gotta let go a little bit.
• 6:21
  SPEAKER_01: Or at least go home and have dinner, you know, with my son.
• 6:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 6:24
  SPEAKER_01: So it was definitely had to learn to let go a little bit.
• 6:27
  SPEAKER_00: So is so is it because of the business you're that way, or is that just your personality?
• 6:32
  SPEAKER_01: I think that's my personality, but I mean I've definitely gotten used to the I gotta let go a little bit.
• 6:39
  SPEAKER_01: I'll drive myself.
• 6:40
  SPEAKER_00: So how do you do that?
• 6:41
  SPEAKER_00: Because like I know I do that sometimes, you know, with my kids, I guess you can say, you know, and it's like my wife sometimes is just like chill out, bro.
• 6:50
  SPEAKER_00: You're doing too much.
• 6:52
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so it's like how how do you let go of that?
• 6:54
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 6:55
  SPEAKER_00: How do you find yourself letting go of that type of stuff?
• 6:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, well, I'm queen of overbooking myself.
• 7:01
  SPEAKER_01: So I will overbook myself every which way, so I don't have a choice but to step away a type, you know.
• 7:06
  SPEAKER_00: So overbook, like that's interesting because you overbook because you feel like you have to have stuff to do?
• 7:11
  SPEAKER_01: I think so.
• 7:12
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know.
• 7:13
  SPEAKER_01: I wish I knew.
• 7:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think I'm the same way.
• 7:15
  SPEAKER_01: Like a goal in life is like learn to say no and I haven't got there yet.
• 7:18
  SPEAKER_00: That's funny.
• 7:19
  SPEAKER_00: One day.
• 7:20
  SPEAKER_00: What's what's a tap I'm getting better?
• 7:22
  SPEAKER_00: What's what's one thing you booked that it was like, oh this is actually hugger than it than it than it was?
• 7:28
  SPEAKER_01: That's a good question.
• 7:29
  SPEAKER_01: I think it's not, I think it's more so of like things in a day that I try and do, like not so much a biggie bent, but like I can be like I can get this, this, this, and this done.
• 7:39
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure.
• 7:40
  SPEAKER_01: And I'll have it on a piece of paper.
• 7:41
  SPEAKER_01: Like I have to meet on 1001 and I can get there at 1003, you know.
• 7:45
  SPEAKER_00: Like so to the minute, yeah.
• 7:48
  SPEAKER_01: That's usually how it works out.
• 7:49
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that's what's up.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: That's awesome.
• 7:51
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so uh you started you started an airline?
• 7:55
  SPEAKER_00: Is that the first one?
• 7:56
  SPEAKER_01: No, so the first one was at uh Staples and Weber in the Hamlin Shopping Center.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 8:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um, if you remember the uh where the Corvette is.
• 8:05
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, where it's uh oh yeah, the the statue, right?
• 8:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 8:08
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so right next to that is it used to be Pierless Cleaners.
• 8:11
  SPEAKER_01: I don't know what it is anymore.
• 8:12
  SPEAKER_01: And then there's another building right next to that.
• 8:15
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, the little small but then okay, yeah.
• 8:17
  SPEAKER_00: So y'all started there drive-thru only, you said?
• 8:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah, the double-sided drive-thru.
• 8:22
  SPEAKER_01: I would love to have that one back.
• 8:23
  SPEAKER_01: That was a great location, yeah.
• 8:25
  SPEAKER_01: It was it was good.
• 8:26
  SPEAKER_01: It was the setup inside was perfect.
• 8:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it was just to breeze.
• 8:31
  SPEAKER_00: So the setup was good inside, and obviously the customers, the the traffic.
• 8:35
  SPEAKER_01: And we were right by Driscoll.
• 8:36
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, you know, it was like it was good.
• 8:38
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that was a good location.
• 8:39
  SPEAKER_00: So y'all moved a great location, yeah.
• 8:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so y'all moved from there, y'all are moving slowly this way to the south side.
• 8:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so then we had the other the next one we had was a drive-thru on Staples and Holly, right in front of what used to be Whiskey River.
• 8:52
  SPEAKER_01: What was it now?
• 8:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't know.
• 8:54
  SPEAKER_00: But you mentioned the Vine Juice Company.
• 8:56
  SPEAKER_00: It is now.
• 8:57
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, okay.
• 8:58
  SPEAKER_01: It was that building, so yeah, and that was kind of very similar concept.
• 9:01
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then from there we had the one on airline that we still have, and that was our first sit-down with with the lobby.
• 9:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 9:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that was a whole new learning curve.
• 9:10
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, okay.
• 9:11
  SPEAKER_00: So when you look for the second spot, you look for something similar to where it's just drive-thru only.
• 9:16
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, you were ready for the okay, okay.
• 9:19
  SPEAKER_01: And then we went to the to the lobby, and it's a smaller lobby over there, but it works good.
• 9:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, still heavy on the drive-thru.
• 9:26
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, yes, yeah, yeah, it's right.
• 9:28
  SPEAKER_00: Man, that's a good location too.
• 9:30
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, that's a great shopping center.
• 9:31
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, that shopping center is always busy, it's always full.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 9:35
  SPEAKER_00: That all kinds of stores have been through theirs for for years.
• 9:38
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and good name stores and yeah, good name recognition.
• 9:42
  SPEAKER_01: You get an Aldi's there?
• 9:43
  SPEAKER_01: Aldi's Aldi's is going in where Sprouts used to be.
• 9:45
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, shoot.
• 9:46
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I remember used to be there?
• 9:48
  SPEAKER_00: The rec the CD store, the record store.
• 9:51
  SPEAKER_00: That was like in the 90s.
• 9:52
  SPEAKER_01: I was gonna say that might have been before.
• 9:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, but yeah, that's makes me think about that.
• 9:56
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, we used to go in there and actually listen to music and before you buy it, you remember that stuff?
• 10:01
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, nostalgic type stuff, right?
• 10:04
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 10:05
  SPEAKER_00: So you moved into the you had a lobby.
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: What was that?
• 10:08
  SPEAKER_00: Is that that was a learning curve for you?
• 10:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah.
• 10:11
  SPEAKER_01: Oh yeah?
• 10:12
  SPEAKER_01: I had my first office.
• 10:13
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, isn't it?
• 10:14
  SPEAKER_01: I was really excited.
• 10:15
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, say that's cool.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: I was pretty pumped.
• 10:16
  SPEAKER_01: I was like, I have a real desk.
• 10:20
  SPEAKER_01: It was a little lean to on the wall that my dad built, but but it was my first office.
• 10:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's so cool.
• 10:25
  SPEAKER_01: So, yes, even once like employee meetings were like in the parking lot, and it was like, Oh, darn.
• 10:31
  SPEAKER_01: It was like tiny, you know.
• 10:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 10:33
  SPEAKER_00: So, what's one of the first things you put in your office that you wanted to put up?
• 10:38
  SPEAKER_01: Man, my uh my sister made me um a shadow box, um, and she put an apron in there and she had framed our first uh ticket or sales ticket, and then the first 650 that we made.
• 10:51
  SPEAKER_01: And so it was in there, and I was like, that's going right there.
• 10:54
  SPEAKER_01: So, because before I was like, I don't know where I'm gonna put this.
• 10:57
  SPEAKER_01: Like it was just like kept moving around my house.
• 10:58
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I was like, I don't know if I know where it puts this.
• 11:00
  SPEAKER_01: So, and so that was the first thing that hung up on that one.
• 11:03
  SPEAKER_00: Man, talking about prices, like, do you do you have to go up on prices?
• 11:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's your outlook on that?
• 11:09
  SPEAKER_00: Because obviously the economy goes up.
• 11:12
  SPEAKER_01: It's hard, yeah.
• 11:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I try to stay as competitive as I can.
• 11:16
  SPEAKER_01: Um we gosh, I guess it's been three years now.
• 11:21
  SPEAKER_01: Um, one of the things I did is I started roasting our own beans uh to control that price because coffee is just was going through the roof.
• 11:29
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, oh my, I can't control my pricing if you can't, you know, control the the bulk part of it.
• 11:35
  SPEAKER_01: So um we did that.
• 11:36
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, I mean we I try probably raise them about once a year, uh, maybe a little bit more frequent than that, but I try not to.
• 11:45
  SPEAKER_01: I try to keep it as as best as I can.
• 11:48
  SPEAKER_01: I beg my milkmen all the time to keep the prices down for us so we can keep it.
• 11:53
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, sure, that's gotta be tough.
• 11:55
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, milk's expensive and coffee's expensive, and that's yeah, my two main things.
• 11:59
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so milk and coffee, do you get like obvious obviously?
• 12:03
  SPEAKER_00: Wow.
• 12:04
  SPEAKER_00: I'm just thinking like because I'm like the cup is the coffee is how you make your money, right?
• 12:11
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously.
• 12:12
  SPEAKER_00: So it's like how do you get from just the sit the what is it, eight bucks to like managing like everything?
• 12:20
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know what I'm saying?
• 12:21
  SPEAKER_00: Is it is it a hard curve to learn?
• 12:24
  SPEAKER_00: Because I think a lot of businesses that start out, they're like, How do I get from here to here?
• 12:29
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 12:30
  SPEAKER_00: To actual earning money to take home, you know what I'm saying?
• 12:34
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, is that something that you struggled with when since starting a lot of spreadsheets that I I don't know what I was even doing making these spreadsheets and trying to figure out cost of goods and that's so simple to me now, but looking back you know, 20 years ago, I didn't know what cost of goods even meant.
• 12:51
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 12:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like I had no business running, I had no business running a business.
• 12:55
  SPEAKER_00: So since you started grinding your own coffee, you've seen a difference?
• 12:58
  SPEAKER_01: Yes, yeah.
• 12:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, yeah, because I'm um I'm getting it wholesale and then roasting it ourselves.
• 13:04
  SPEAKER_01: And um we I roast weekly, so everything's fresh.
• 13:08
  SPEAKER_01: I can control it, you know.
• 13:10
  SPEAKER_01: When the market changes, I can switch to a different bean.
• 13:12
  SPEAKER_01: Like might still be a Mexican bean, but it'll be a little bit of a different, you know, and like the Peruvian, you know, I'll just kind of switch it up a little bit to try and get it um not uh not affect quality, but you can get you know from a different region or something.
• 13:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that is that's to help it to help with the taste of the coffee.
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_00: Is that what you're saying?
• 13:30
  SPEAKER_01: To keep the taste, yeah, it'll keep the taste similar, but um, as far as cost the cost goes, I can kind of manage it a little bit better than if I'm buying from somebody else that just says nope, it's 15 bucks a pound this week.
• 13:42
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it's like okay.
• 13:44
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to actively look for places that will wow.
• 13:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so we shop those.
• 13:49
  SPEAKER_00: See how shop Matt, even that is oh my gosh, that seems like that seems like a job in itself because where do you start?
• 13:55
  SPEAKER_00: Like, where do you go?
• 13:56
  SPEAKER_00: But it seems like once you get in the groove, right?
• 13:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, you just it's one of those learners you go thing, you know, you make a few mistakes and pretty cool.
• 14:04
  SPEAKER_01: Hopefully, they're not too expensive a mistake.
• 14:07
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, making expensive mistakes can be expensive.
• 14:10
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah.
• 14:11
  SPEAKER_01: That was when I first started roasting the first couple batches, I burn them.
• 14:14
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm going, I'm like sitting there putting dollar amounts to that.
• 14:17
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I can't keep doing this.
• 14:19
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I've got to get better at this.
• 14:20
  SPEAKER_00: So you have to learn how to actually make the stuff.
• 14:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah like, whoa.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 14:24
  SPEAKER_00: So you get the beans, you put it in, you make it, right?
• 14:27
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, you could do you cook it.
• 14:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, what's the process?
• 14:30
  SPEAKER_01: Uh yeah, so we have a roaster.
• 14:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we use a we use four beans, so we make the blend in itself as the green bean, and then you just dump it into the roaster.
• 14:39
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry.
• 14:40
  SPEAKER_01: Um, that's okay.
• 14:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, just making sure it's good.
• 14:43
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so yeah, you had so you you roast it.
• 14:47
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so uh you kind of dump it in the top.
• 14:50
  SPEAKER_01: There's a big tumble uh tumbler for lack of a better word, it's called the drum, but you drop it in, um flame starts and it roasts and because it's it spins while it roasts, obviously.
• 15:00
  SPEAKER_01: Yep, it spins the whole time.
• 15:02
  SPEAKER_01: Um and there's uh it's all computerized now.
• 15:07
  SPEAKER_01: So you have to create the computer program for the profile that you want, and then it comes out and it looks beautiful and smells beautiful, but you know, there's those mistakes along those but you sell them too, like at the other place I saw that y'all sell them.
• 15:20
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we sell it by the pound as well.
• 15:21
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like you had to start selling stuff or people were asking?
• 15:24
  SPEAKER_00: Like, yeah, yeah.
• 15:25
  SPEAKER_01: People like that it's made fresh because they know we roast every week, so you can't really get that anywhere.
• 15:30
  SPEAKER_01: You know, if you go to the grocery store, it's been there for months.
• 15:34
  SPEAKER_01: You know, you have no idea.
• 15:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah, and it's been sat in a warehouse somewhere before it even went to the grocery store, you know.
• 15:40
  SPEAKER_00: So pretty cool.
• 15:42
  SPEAKER_00: So you roast it and started making it, that's awesome.
• 15:44
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 15:45
  SPEAKER_00: Uh and then the milk stuff, obviously, you get it.
• 15:47
  SPEAKER_00: So I what's the deal with that?
• 15:49
  SPEAKER_00: Like you were saying that you try to talk to the milkman.
• 15:52
  SPEAKER_01: Uh I love my I love my velgrips, but uh, they were here today.
• 15:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but yeah, I just give them a hard time.
• 15:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, all right, guys, you gotta help me out.
• 16:00
  SPEAKER_01: They're they're good to me.
• 16:02
  SPEAKER_01: They're um they're actually doing their printing or buying me these stickers that we're gonna start handing out the first Tuesday of the month.
• 16:11
  SPEAKER_01: So they're designing them and they're super cute.
• 16:12
  SPEAKER_00: Like, oh, they're helping you guys.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 16:14
  SPEAKER_01: They're doing the design and everything.
• 16:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh yeah, you do that.
• 16:17
  SPEAKER_01: And like I will spend a week on a design and be like, eh.
• 16:21
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it's so uh I'm drinking the white mocha.
• 16:24
  SPEAKER_00: I drink white mocha.
• 16:25
  SPEAKER_00: What do you drink regular coffee?
• 16:26
  SPEAKER_01: I I do, I drink black mocha.
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: Is this black coffee?
• 16:28
  SPEAKER_01: This is tea today.
• 16:29
  SPEAKER_01: Okay.
• 16:30
  SPEAKER_01: I've maxed out probably on my caffeine for the day.
• 16:32
  SPEAKER_00: Oh whatever.
• 16:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 16:34
  SPEAKER_00: So so your drink flavors, like, did you start out with so many and then expand?
• 16:39
  SPEAKER_00: What's that like?
• 16:40
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I started out with very few flavors.
• 16:42
  SPEAKER_01: I think we had like 12 when we started.
• 16:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um probably four or five of those were sugar-free.
• 16:49
  SPEAKER_01: And um I just keep adding flavors, and it's terrible.
• 16:54
  SPEAKER_01: I really need to stop.
• 16:55
  SPEAKER_01: But that's kind of the fun.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 16:57
  SPEAKER_01: That's the fun part is we do all these seasonal drinks.
• 17:01
  SPEAKER_01: Like in the fall, we have drinks, we have we have Valentine's drinks, we have St.
• 17:04
  SPEAKER_01: Patrick's Day drinks, you know.
• 17:06
  SPEAKER_01: Every holiday we have drinks.
• 17:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the summer we have drinks, the spring, the fall, like every little thing we have them.
• 17:13
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, to do that, you need the different flavors.
• 17:16
  SPEAKER_01: And so this this fall, I added three new flavors, and my baristas are like, Are you serious?
• 17:22
  SPEAKER_01: Like, where are they gonna go?
• 17:24
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'll get another chef.
• 17:26
  SPEAKER_01: And then and I know they're thinking those are three more pumps we have to clean twice a day.
• 17:30
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow.
• 17:31
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh so cool.
• 17:33
  SPEAKER_00: So you do seasons.
• 17:34
  SPEAKER_00: Is that something that you started doing for customers?
• 17:37
  SPEAKER_00: Like, well, okay, so what you look on like your customers.
• 17:41
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you want returning customers?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I mean?
• 17:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like, what's I love regulars?
• 17:47
  SPEAKER_01: Uh regulars are my favorite.
• 17:49
  SPEAKER_01: Not to say new new customers are not, you know, but my regulars are great.
• 17:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, some of them um you see them, you've seen them grow through the years, you've seen them go through, you get you become invested in their lives, you know.
• 18:00
  SPEAKER_01: They tell you their personal things going on, and you know, you're moving along with it and stuff.
• 18:05
  SPEAKER_00: So, did you did you find did you find that you needed to have that for your business model, or like what what what made obviously the relationship with your customers is awesome, but do you do you feel like that has an effect on your business?
• 18:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think so.
• 18:20
  SPEAKER_01: Return customers, you know, having the return customers, word of mouth in Corpus is huge.
• 18:24
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, it's definitely bigger than anything you can do.
• 18:28
  SPEAKER_01: I think Corpus Christi is extremely big on referrals and working out and things like that.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh, yeah.
• 18:34
  SPEAKER_00: So obviously your reputation is is big, is huge.
• 18:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 18:38
  SPEAKER_00: So I was gonna just ask you, like, how do you keep them coming back?
• 18:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, is it the the the flavor of the coffee?
• 18:43
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
• 18:44
  SPEAKER_01: Like Yeah, I think so.
• 18:45
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I think we have um we have very unique coffee.
• 18:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's not um I'm very particular on it.
• 18:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I want it to be a smooth tasting, I don't like bitter, I don't like burnt, I don't like weak, you know.
• 18:58
  SPEAKER_01: So it's kind of the happy medium to that.
• 19:00
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you can always add extra shots if you want it stronger.
• 19:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, um, but it doesn't get bitter, it still tastes, you know, it just gets stronger.
• 19:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, which is kind of the goal that's my uh bitter is like sour, right?
• 19:11
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's just you know, and then as it cools, like with our like I can drink our coffee when it's hot all the way down to how it's cold.
• 19:19
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 19:20
  SPEAKER_01: Um and a lot of coffee, once it gets lukewarm, I'm like, I'm done.
• 19:24
  SPEAKER_00: Wow, that's pretty cool.
• 19:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, that's all in the preparation in it.
• 19:27
  SPEAKER_00: And that's dope.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Right.
• 19:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, that's nice.
• 19:30
  SPEAKER_00: So so the beans uh I've I'm thinking about the coffee beans because like I want to start just get interested in it.
• 19:38
  SPEAKER_00: Um so you said Mexico, and you said Peruvian?
• 19:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh-huh, Peruvian, Honduras, and uh Nicaragua.
• 19:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay, the South America.
• 19:47
  SPEAKER_00: Cool, cool.
• 19:48
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is there one that it do you do that seasonally or is it mostly um uh yes and no.
• 19:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um our house blend that we use for everything stays pretty much the same, the exception um the Peruvian has been out.
• 20:04
  SPEAKER_01: They've just had a bad market, I guess.
• 20:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um I guess droughts or whatnot.
• 20:08
  SPEAKER_01: And so I haven't been able to get that for like six months.
• 20:10
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, listen.
• 20:11
  SPEAKER_01: And I just got it in today, and I was so excited.
• 20:13
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, oh, so I'm about to add that back into it.
• 20:16
  SPEAKER_00: So dope.
• 20:17
  SPEAKER_00: So and so, and so those go no matter which drink it is, just whatever season or whatever you have, that's what you put in your coffee.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 20:25
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so the ones on the shelf that we have, like the blonde and the dark roast, and those are different blends and stuff like that.
• 20:31
  SPEAKER_01: But as far as what we serve to the customers, it's all one.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 20:34
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 20:35
  SPEAKER_00: You guys, real quick, shout out to Premier Hearing Solutions of South Texas uh for sponsoring the video.
• 20:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yvonne has got your hearing needs.
• 20:42
  SPEAKER_00: I'm starting to lose my hearing.
• 20:44
  SPEAKER_00: I'm 43 years old, so I might need to go to her soon.
• 20:47
  SPEAKER_00: But she's got you guys to go check her out.
• 20:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yvonne at Premier Hearing Solutions of South Texas.
• 20:53
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so we're here at uh Holly Spot Stinger South Side on Staples.
• 20:59
  SPEAKER_00: What's the address?
• 21:00
  SPEAKER_00: 40 not 40.
• 21:02
  SPEAKER_01: Uh 7042.
• 21:03
  SPEAKER_00: 7042 South Staples, way South Staples, 7042.
• 21:08
  SPEAKER_00: Check it out, you guys.
• 21:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um yeah, that's cool.
• 21:12
  SPEAKER_00: Getting into the coffee business 20 years.
• 21:15
  SPEAKER_00: That's a really long time.
• 21:16
  SPEAKER_00: How do your how does your family feel about your do you do you have anybody wanting to take over the business or what's what is that like?
• 21:23
  SPEAKER_00: Yes.
• 21:24
  SPEAKER_01: So my daughter, I have an 18-year-old daughter.
• 21:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and she she's a freshman in uh at Shriner University up in Kerrville.
• 21:33
  SPEAKER_00: Nice.
• 21:34
  SPEAKER_01: And she's going to school for business administration.
• 21:36
  SPEAKER_01: She has all these plans and she's gonna do this and that.
• 21:39
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, it's yours to grow.
• 21:41
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, have at it.
• 21:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um that's a good thing about you know being self employed, is the sky's the limit.
• 21:47
  SPEAKER_01: There's nobody telling you, no, we're not doing this, we're not doing that.
• 21:50
  SPEAKER_01: So she wants to um, she's talking about doing a franchise and she wants to open one up in Curvo.
• 21:56
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, have at it.
• 21:58
  SPEAKER_01: I'm here for it.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: Amazing.
• 22:00
  SPEAKER_00: It's do you feel like you've been an influence on your kids in that way?
• 22:04
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I think um I think they're kind of spoiled in the fact that I can be at any event at any time for the most part.
• 22:12
  SPEAKER_01: Right.
• 22:13
  SPEAKER_01: You know, because I write my own schedule.
• 22:14
  SPEAKER_01: I can work, you know, if I have to be off early, I just go in early, you know, or you know, however it works out, or maybe I end up working on a weekend or something, or I can work remote now, like everything is on the computer anymore.
• 22:25
  SPEAKER_01: So a lot of things can be done, you know, in the car while I'm waiting in the pickup stream.
• 22:29
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 22:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um, but so I think they've seen that yeah, that ability and the thought of um of them going and working like a nine to five, they're like, I don't want to do something.
• 22:40
  SPEAKER_00: I want to do that.
• 22:41
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:42
  SPEAKER_00: You know, I'm like because you think that they see us like working it, and sometimes we're probably hard on ourselves, like, am I spending enough time with them?
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 22:50
  SPEAKER_00: You know what I'm saying?
• 22:51
  SPEAKER_00: And and then here you have a daughter going to school for business, and it's like it paid off, you know what I mean?
• 22:57
  SPEAKER_00: Hindsight 2020, I guess you could say.
• 22:59
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, and they they get frustrated, they're like, Are you really on your phone right now?
• 23:03
  SPEAKER_01: Are you really working right now?
• 23:04
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, and I joke and I tell them, I'm like, But do you want power on when we get home?
• 23:08
  SPEAKER_01: I don't like that internet.
• 23:10
  SPEAKER_01: That's funny, it doesn't happen on its own.
• 23:13
  SPEAKER_01: But my youngest is funny.
• 23:15
  SPEAKER_01: She tells people all the time when her friends come through, she's like, Oh, thanks, I could have lunch today.
• 23:21
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 23:22
  SPEAKER_01: Is that I mean, that's really how it works.
• 23:24
  SPEAKER_00: Do you make your do you make your coffee at at your at home or like or um you just work stays at work?
• 23:30
  SPEAKER_01: Very rarely, you know, I'll make coffee at home, but for the most part, I usually just get my country.
• 23:37
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we do the uh the K cups now, so I have some of those at the house.
• 23:41
  SPEAKER_01: So on the weekends I'll have those if I don't if I don't come in.
• 23:44
  SPEAKER_00: But so you're drinking tea.
• 23:45
  SPEAKER_00: When did you have tea to the menu?
• 23:47
  SPEAKER_00: Did you feel like you had to?
• 23:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:49
  SPEAKER_01: It's not a big seller.
• 23:51
  SPEAKER_01: Um it's a I guess it's a big seller in like cold season right now.
• 23:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like everybody wants hot tea.
• 23:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 23:56
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, we sell a decent amount of it, but you know, definitely focus more on the coffee.
• 24:01
  SPEAKER_00: So is that on like the curve of like just adding more stuff to the menu?
• 24:06
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, but tea's easy.
• 24:08
  SPEAKER_01: You know, it doesn't take up a lot of space.
• 24:10
  SPEAKER_01: It's not uh that's cool.
• 24:11
  SPEAKER_01: It's pretty easy to add to.
• 24:13
  SPEAKER_00: So it's just an addition.
• 24:14
  SPEAKER_00: Could you run your shop off of tea?
• 24:17
  SPEAKER_01: They have places that just do tea.
• 24:18
  SPEAKER_00: Tea places?
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 24:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 24:21
  SPEAKER_00: Man, that's awesome.
• 24:22
  SPEAKER_00: Um, yeah, so being in business this long, um say say you're giving some advice to your your daughter or somebody that wants to do what you're doing, like what what would you say to them starting up starting out?
• 24:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think the b biggest advice is um to not get stuck in one way and be flexible and be able to pivot and whatever whatever your customers want, give them what they want.
• 24:52
  SPEAKER_01: You know, each business has their niche and find it and go with it.
• 24:56
  SPEAKER_01: Oh you know, stick with what you're good at and yeah.
• 24:59
  SPEAKER_00: Do you feel like you're so on that on the topic of like nights staying stuck in one way, uh how do you find yourself learning new stuff?
• 25:07
  SPEAKER_00: Do you read books?
• 25:09
  SPEAKER_00: Um, do you learn from other people?
• 25:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like you know what I'm saying?
• 25:12
  SPEAKER_00: Because it seems like people that are in business they're always feeding their brain with information.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 25:18
  SPEAKER_01: There's um we go, there's uh some different coffee festivals that they have that we go to.
• 25:24
  SPEAKER_02: Cool.
• 25:25
  SPEAKER_01: Um, Coffee Fest is a big one.
• 25:26
  SPEAKER_01: I usually go every couple years on that.
• 25:29
  SPEAKER_01: Um there's not a lot changes in a couple years, and yeah, and they're that's always a flight and it's a weekend, you know, and it's kind of and it's expensive to go to those.
• 25:37
  SPEAKER_01: So um, so we go to those to kind of keep up the things.
• 25:41
  SPEAKER_01: Um and and a big part of it is just listen to my employees.
• 25:44
  SPEAKER_01: They go to different, they go out of town and they come back and they'll be like, oh my gosh, you never can't believe what we did.
• 25:49
  SPEAKER_01: And they'll show me and they'll tell me, and they're like, we can make it here, and then we'll try it.
• 25:52
  SPEAKER_01: Like, let's do it.
• 25:53
  SPEAKER_01: Like that's amazing.
• 25:54
  SPEAKER_00: So just kind of keeping up with the trends and yeah, and bring up a good topic about your employees.
• 25:59
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so what what's the importance of them uh to your business?
• 26:03
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, they're huge.
• 26:05
  SPEAKER_01: They are huge.
• 26:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um I I joke that I'm like, I love all of them.
• 26:11
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, if I didn't, they wouldn't be here, you know.
• 26:13
  SPEAKER_01: But like um, because you know, it's important that I trust them.
• 26:16
  SPEAKER_01: I'm I you know, I have to like them, I trust them, I want them, you know, they're the face of my business.
• 26:20
  SPEAKER_01: So um they're all so good, they have good attitudes, they work hard, yeah, you know, and and they all drink coffee too.
• 26:28
  SPEAKER_01: So they want it to taste good, you know.
• 26:29
  SPEAKER_01: They don't want they're like, I don't want that, that's not what I want to drink.
• 26:32
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 26:33
  SPEAKER_00: So I yeah, so what's the vetting process like?
• 26:35
  SPEAKER_00: Obviously, that's a challenge for a lot of businesses.
• 26:39
  SPEAKER_01: It is I have been very fortunate.
• 26:43
  SPEAKER_01: Um, when we first opened, um I stumbled onto a young life group of kids, and they're they were all in one big group, like all best friends, and they're like, Oh, can we all work here?
• 26:55
  SPEAKER_01: And I was like, absolutely.
• 26:56
  SPEAKER_01: And they were amazing, so cool.
• 26:58
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and you know, I've just been kind of going through it.
• 27:02
  SPEAKER_01: We have a lot of high school kids.
• 27:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um the biggest thing for me that I do is I work with their schedules.
• 27:08
  SPEAKER_01: So they're all of all of my employees are involved in sports or academic programs or different, you know, they're outgoing, so they're gonna be busy.
• 27:16
  SPEAKER_01: That's good.
• 27:17
  SPEAKER_01: And those are the people, you know, that's who I want.
• 27:19
  SPEAKER_01: You know, I don't want the quiet ones, you know, I want them to be outgoing and cheerful.
• 27:23
  SPEAKER_00: And there's a whole vibe, like a whole vibe that you're looking for.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 27:26
  SPEAKER_01: So, you know, with that being said, I gotta work with schedules, and you know, when football season comes around, I know I'm I'm only getting him on Sundays, you know.
• 27:35
  SPEAKER_01: And then once season's over, then then another sport rolls in, and I'm like, okay, you're working more hours and now you're not, you know.
• 27:41
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 27:42
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, I was uh man, I was thinking something.
• 27:44
  SPEAKER_00: Uh yeah, your employees, um you're basically helping them like uh you know with their lifestyle, like money-wise, too.
• 27:53
  SPEAKER_00: So that's something that that's interesting to me.
• 27:56
  SPEAKER_00: You as a business owner, you know what I mean?
• 27:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, like you're helping uh helping to pay their bills is pretty cool.
• 28:01
  SPEAKER_00: Even I mean, it's it's just the way I'm I'm seeing it is is weird, you know what I mean?
• 28:05
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it's fun wanting me seeing them again these years later and be doing it for so long, you know.
• 28:11
  SPEAKER_01: See these people they show up with a husband and kids, and I'm like, oh my gosh.
• 28:14
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, how does this happen?
• 28:15
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, I'm not old enough for you to have kids.
• 28:17
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 28:18
  SPEAKER_00: Well, so that's so obviously there's a certain so okay, it's the younger kids, right?
• 28:23
  SPEAKER_00: Millennials, I don't know what you call them.
• 28:26
  SPEAKER_00: So working with them, is there misconceptions that you see that people say about them?
• 28:31
  SPEAKER_00: Do you know what I'm saying?
• 28:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um yeah, you can definitely um every couple of years I find myself, I'm like, okay, I have to reconnect, but like I've gotten older and they haven't, you know.
• 28:42
  SPEAKER_01: And so I'm like, all right, what do we what is now since the new things and it's fun, and my kids laugh because they'll they'll make comments or say little trippy things and I'll know what they're talking about.
• 28:51
  SPEAKER_01: They're like, how do you know that?
• 28:52
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow, I work with all secrets.
• 28:55
  SPEAKER_01: So I'm like, oh so they keep they keep me young for sure.
• 28:59
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, that's that's cool.
• 29:00
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 29:01
  SPEAKER_00: So you had your employees, obviously, and you wow, do you and you do you manage so you said you worked, right?
• 29:08
  SPEAKER_00: You work at the at sometimes, right?
• 29:10
  SPEAKER_01: So do you not as much as I used to.
• 29:12
  SPEAKER_01: I used to make coffee all day long between the stores.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:14
  SPEAKER_01: Now I've kind of stepped back from that.
• 29:16
  SPEAKER_00: Um okay, so you have like a manager like I don't have managers.
• 29:20
  SPEAKER_01: I just uh Wednesday was I had a manager here, and Wednesday was his last day.
• 29:25
  SPEAKER_01: He'd been with me for seven years.
• 29:26
  SPEAKER_01: Oh wow.
• 29:27
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so right now I don't have managers.
• 29:30
  SPEAKER_01: Um I do have um a lot of my um baristas have been with me for several years, so they get the title senior baristas.
• 29:38
  SPEAKER_01: So they have a you know, they do a little bit of extra things for me to help keep track of things for me and make my life easier.
• 29:45
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, for sure.
• 29:46
  SPEAKER_00: Seems like a lot of moving parts.
• 29:48
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:49
  SPEAKER_01: And I've definitely got ADHD, so they're always like reminding me things, and I'm like, got it.
• 29:54
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah.
• 29:55
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, those dental reminders are wonderful and very appreciative.
• 29:58
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 29:59
  SPEAKER_00: I like that topic, ADHD.
• 30:01
  SPEAKER_00: So are you self-di like undiagnosed or self-diagnosed or yeah, self-diagnosed.
• 30:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, see.
• 30:07
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 30:08
  SPEAKER_01: But there's no, I mean, I I used to have um a couple at the other shop used to tease me and they're like, we're gonna start putting Ritalin in your coffee in the mornings.
• 30:16
  SPEAKER_01: And I'm like, I'm like, you know what?
• 30:18
  SPEAKER_01: I don't think I'd be mad.
• 30:19
  SPEAKER_01: We should try it one time.
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: You know what?
• 30:20
  SPEAKER_00: Just give me a just give me a puzzle.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, let's see.
• 30:22
  SPEAKER_00: Put it on the sale.
• 30:24
  SPEAKER_00: That's funny.
• 30:25
  SPEAKER_01: Let's see how productive I am, and then maybe it can be a thing.
• 30:27
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, man, that's dope.
• 30:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I uh I think I was diagnosed in in middle school.
• 30:32
  SPEAKER_00: Forgot about it for years and then got married, and I had those I had ADHD taken into my marriage, so I'm like, okay, I have to re-research this, you know what I mean?
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_02: Yeah.
• 30:44
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's it's interesting that people like us can have have businesses, you know what I mean?
• 30:50
  SPEAKER_01: Well, for me, I think it's great because uh there's always something else I can do.
• 30:54
  SPEAKER_01: Like, yes, you know, I get distracted with this and I'm like, oh, I need to do this, you know.
• 30:58
  SPEAKER_01: And um at the end of the day, it all gets done.
• 31:01
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 31:02
  SPEAKER_01: But um, I don't get bored with one thing after it.
• 31:05
  SPEAKER_00: What is your is your desk messy or neat?
• 31:08
  SPEAKER_01: Uh it depends on the day.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Depends on the day.
• 31:10
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it'll get messy, messy, messy, and then I'm like, oh my gosh, and then I next super clean it, and then it's spotless for a little while and then and then it falls apart again.
• 31:18
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 31:19
  SPEAKER_00: I'm the same way.
• 31:20
  SPEAKER_00: So yeah, that's yeah, that's cool, man.
• 31:22
  SPEAKER_00: Like I really like coming coming across business owners that are neurodiverse, you know, maybe autistic or ADHD and can still be able to function in society and have a business, and even though people don't see what our lives are like when you know, behind closed doors when we have our quirks and stuff like that, we come out in public and we have to like, okay, maybe hey, uh I'm out in public, you know what I mean?
• 31:47
  SPEAKER_00: Um, so it's pretty cool to come across business owners such as yourself.
• 31:51
  SPEAKER_00: But the successful business for 20 years, that's that's gotta be something, you know what I mean?
• 31:56
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, and you have two locations.
• 31:58
  SPEAKER_00: You're you came into this lobby is huge compared to the other one, you know.
• 32:02
  SPEAKER_00: So what's it like being here now that you moved into this big location or bigger location?
• 32:08
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's it's definitely different, it's a different vibe.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 32:12
  SPEAKER_01: Um the challenge over here is that um, you know, we'll have people come and sit all day long.
• 32:19
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, and as much as I love that, I'm like, if somebody else is coming in, I'm gonna need you to wrap it up or buy another drink or something.
• 32:27
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, yeah.
• 32:28
  SPEAKER_01: So that's kind of the challenge here.
• 32:30
  SPEAKER_01: And then and then other customers will complain, well, they've been in that table all day, and I'm like, I'm like, I'm so like it's just a hard position for me to be in.
• 32:36
  SPEAKER_01: I'm Sildari.
• 32:38
  SPEAKER_02: Like wow.
• 32:39
  SPEAKER_01: And so it's yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 32:41
  SPEAKER_01: Uh once uh but so we have this room, so it's kind of nice.
• 32:44
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, if it's not reserved, we can open up and be like, hey, you can have the space right here.
• 32:49
  SPEAKER_01: Uh but this room stays pretty booked lately.
• 32:51
  SPEAKER_01: It's been really yeah, it's been good.
• 32:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's good.
• 32:54
  SPEAKER_01: Um so like parties or or like what what that a lot of business meetings, um, and like like realtors will meet in here to work out details and things like that.
• 33:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a lot of like book clubs, church, church groups come in here, Bible study, um kind of you name it, some PTAs, a lot of the like booster clubs will meet in here.
• 33:15
  SPEAKER_01: Um so it's been good.
• 33:17
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 33:18
  SPEAKER_00: Did you expect that to happen when you moved into this place?
• 33:21
  SPEAKER_01: That was the goal.
• 33:22
  SPEAKER_01: Was it um because you know, the over on airline, my lobby's tiny.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_00: It's small, yeah.
• 33:26
  SPEAKER_01: Five little tables, you know, and so people were always coming and meeting, they'd push all five tables together.
• 33:32
  SPEAKER_00: Like, go outside, we got a patio out there.
• 33:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's too hot outside.
• 33:36
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it is hot out there.
• 33:37
  SPEAKER_01: Um, you know, so that was kind of the goal was to make this little room, and it's been good.
• 33:42
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we do have some people, I wish it was bigger, and I'm like, Oh, just gotta get a lady so much.
• 33:49
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, no, that's cool.
• 33:50
  SPEAKER_00: That's another another business avenue to have revenue coming in.
• 33:53
  SPEAKER_00: That's pretty cool.
• 33:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, it brings in people that you know, if there's a meeting in here, maybe two or three of those people have never been here before, you know.
• 34:01
  SPEAKER_01: So that's been that's the kind of the big benefit for me.
• 34:04
  SPEAKER_00: That's a cool way to look at it.
• 34:06
  SPEAKER_00: Yes, for sure.
• 34:07
  SPEAKER_00: Like that.
• 34:08
  SPEAKER_00: So, how do you find yourself getting new customers?
• 34:11
  SPEAKER_00: Like, what's do you have a plan or just kind of obviously that's pretty cool though?
• 34:18
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, we've been I try and do social media and hit or miss on it, you know.
• 34:22
  SPEAKER_01: You'll see I'll post like crazy and then it'll go stagnant for a while.
• 34:25
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.
• 34:26
  SPEAKER_00: So social media is a big part of your business?
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 34:29
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 34:30
  SPEAKER_00: If you didn't have social media, how would would it affect your business?
• 34:33
  SPEAKER_01: How would it affect I don't I don't think terribly.
• 34:36
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I mean, I think it has its benefits to it.
• 34:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um I think it's got its benefits, but I don't think it's uh, you know, a deal breaker.
• 34:43
  SPEAKER_01: Make it break.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: Okay, okay.
• 34:44
  SPEAKER_02: Pretty cool.
• 34:45
  SPEAKER_01: You can definitely tell when I'm actually doing it and working it and sending those emails and wow.
• 34:50
  SPEAKER_01: And now we have the app so I can send push notifications, but I don't like getting so many of them, so I don't want to send so many, you know.
• 34:57
  SPEAKER_00: This voting season is crazy, right?
• 34:59
  SPEAKER_00: With all these, oh my god.
• 35:00
  SPEAKER_01: So over like so many text messages.
• 35:03
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, how do you guys get my phone number?
• 35:05
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly.
• 35:06
  SPEAKER_01: And yeah, you stop and and remove yourself from each one, and then another one comes.
• 35:10
  SPEAKER_00: Every time I go to stripes, or they're oh, can you put your number for the rewards?
• 35:13
  SPEAKER_00: I'm like, why?
• 35:14
  SPEAKER_00: So they can the send me these voting messages.
• 35:18
  SPEAKER_01: I'm like, where do they get our numbers from?
• 35:20
  SPEAKER_00: Exactly, man.
• 35:21
  SPEAKER_00: Oh yeah, that's pretty cool though.
• 35:22
  SPEAKER_00: That's so phone email still is interesting.
• 35:27
  SPEAKER_00: Email's still around, right?
• 35:29
  SPEAKER_00: And it's still a business avenue.
• 35:32
  SPEAKER_01: Um, the cool thing is, you know, our computer system tracks uh how many of you how many emails are opened, how many orders are generated from that email.
• 35:39
  SPEAKER_01: And it's like, I mean, things way above and beyond me, but I'm like, oh that's cool.
• 35:43
  SPEAKER_00: So y'all do online orders?
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:45
  SPEAKER_00: Okay.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:46
  SPEAKER_01: So we have an app and then um and then you can do it from the website too if you cool.
• 35:51
  SPEAKER_00: So people order and they come and get their drink takeoff or whatever.
• 35:54
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah.
• 35:55
  SPEAKER_00: So online, so it seems like that has so if you didn't have that, how would that affect your business?
• 36:02
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we didn't have it for years, and it was, but I guess when um, you know, what really sparked it is when COVID hit and everything went contactless and all of that, you know, that kind of took the took on a life of itself and it kind of forced everybody into into doing it because everybody was doing it, you know.
• 36:21
  SPEAKER_01: And it is, it's nice, you know.
• 36:23
  SPEAKER_01: It's like the orders come in, you make them, you set them there, and people come in and they're like, hi, bye, face.
• 36:29
  SPEAKER_01: You know, when they're in a hurry, it's like, I get it.
• 36:32
  SPEAKER_01: You know, we're all in a hurry on you know, any given day, we could not have time.
• 36:35
  SPEAKER_01: It's like if I place this order, it's gonna be on that counter.
• 36:39
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 36:40
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, it seems like COVID did a lot.
• 36:42
  SPEAKER_00: I mean, it seems like and I was talking with uh Casey from House of Rock, and he was saying that regardless if COVID happened or not, it it seems like it was gonna go that way anyway.
• 36:53
  SPEAKER_00: Right?
• 36:54
  SPEAKER_00: You think so?
• 36:56
  SPEAKER_01: I mean, I I think it definitely pushed it real far.
• 37:00
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, you know, it definitely gave it a big boost and and out opened eyes, uh, things that you can do.
• 37:06
  SPEAKER_01: Like, I mean, people can work from home and they have no expense overhead of an office building, you know, all of those things, like you know, people didn't work from home that much before that, you know, it wasn't so at uh so at what point did you see that as an opportunity to keep your business going?
• 37:25
  SPEAKER_01: We did um we I mean we were fortunate enough to have the drive-thru lane because the city's shut down everything inside, so we could only operate drive-thru.
• 37:34
  SPEAKER_00: Oh wow.
• 37:35
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and there was a lot of restrictions then um that we had to abide by to be able to stay open that a lot of places just closed because it was too hard, you know.
• 37:45
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and I I get it, like it was hard.
• 37:48
  SPEAKER_01: Wow, it was hard and um it's wild times, yeah, for sure.
• 37:53
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like it seems like that would like break a business, but yeah, people figure it out like how like you guys, like yourself figure out how to make it through there.
• 38:03
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, I went through a lot of gloves.
• 38:04
  SPEAKER_00: You see what I'm saying?
• 38:05
  SPEAKER_00: But yeah, geez, it's amazing.
• 38:07
  SPEAKER_00: And and it's like it shows a lot about your character, you know what I mean.
• 38:11
  SPEAKER_00: Um that you can keep it going, you know what I mean?
• 38:15
  SPEAKER_00: It seems like you have to be that way when you're just stubborn, I guess, right?
• 38:18
  SPEAKER_00: Stubborn, yeah.
• 38:19
  SPEAKER_00: Like that's a good word to use.
• 38:21
  SPEAKER_00: Stubborn, like to the point.
• 38:24
  SPEAKER_00: How do you make a good stubborn?
• 38:26
  SPEAKER_00: Is stubborn ever good?
• 38:28
  SPEAKER_00: We made it good.
• 38:29
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks a lot, Holly, for uh coming through.
• 38:32
  SPEAKER_00: Uh, is there anything you want to mention?
• 38:33
  SPEAKER_00: Talk about?
• 38:34
  SPEAKER_01: Um, let's see.
• 38:36
  SPEAKER_01: Events-wise, we've got a couple things coming up.
• 38:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, we have a I'm trying this out.
• 38:43
  SPEAKER_01: This is a new thing.
• 38:44
  SPEAKER_01: Uh paint and sip.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 38:45
  SPEAKER_01: So uh, you know, the um where normally you go and drink wine and paint with your friends.
• 38:50
  SPEAKER_01: So we're doing that in here.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_02: Cool.
• 38:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um that is on oh, I want to say it's November 5th.
• 38:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, it's that first week in November.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_02: Okay.
• 38:59
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so I'm excited about that.
• 39:01
  SPEAKER_01: It's a little cute little gnome with the little coffee cup.
• 39:03
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 39:04
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so that's our first time we're doing that.
• 39:06
  SPEAKER_01: Um trying to find ways to do more community things in here.
• 39:10
  SPEAKER_01: Okay, okay.
• 39:11
  SPEAKER_01: Um, and then we have a vendor pop-up show in November 15th.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Nice.
• 39:17
  SPEAKER_01: Um, so we did one last month.
• 39:19
  SPEAKER_01: It was the first one.
• 39:20
  SPEAKER_01: We had about five vendors, just little craft stuff.
• 39:23
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, somebody did crochet um little stuffed animals.
• 39:27
  SPEAKER_01: There was t-shirts, there was jewelry, cool, cookies, things like that.
• 39:30
  SPEAKER_01: So we're gonna try and make a go of that and hopefully kind of grow that and get that.
• 39:35
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, those are the two things we got going over here.
• 39:38
  SPEAKER_01: Um, what else?
• 39:40
  SPEAKER_01: I guess the first of every um first Saturday or second Saturday of the month, we do bike blessings.
• 39:44
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, um, over at the one on airline.
• 39:46
  SPEAKER_01: So this is fun.
• 39:47
  SPEAKER_01: Um they do bike blessings, motorcycle.
• 39:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh the we have a group, the bikers for Christ come, they set up their tent and they pray over the bicycles, and it is it is the craziest.
• 39:58
  SPEAKER_01: And you see these big burly guys hanged up, and then they just like sit there and pray over it.
• 40:02
  SPEAKER_01: It's really, it's a really cool thing to see.
• 40:04
  SPEAKER_01: It's so awesome.
• 40:05
  SPEAKER_01: It's really cool.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 40:06
  SPEAKER_01: But yeah, that's what we got coming up.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's up.
• 40:08
  SPEAKER_00: So get involved in the community a lot more.
• 40:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's that's cool.
• 40:11
  SPEAKER_00: It's it's it's uh pretty cool.
• 40:13
  SPEAKER_00: Like the pops up pop-ups are cool.
• 40:15
  SPEAKER_00: You support those businesses too, those little local businesses.
• 40:19
  SPEAKER_00: Pain is sip.
• 40:20
  SPEAKER_00: I like that idea because not everybody wants to drink wine.
• 40:22
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I don't drink, I'm not I it's been a minute since I drank, but I drink coffee, so yeah, having that opportunity for people that want to try that stuff out without the alcohol.
• 40:33
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, I think it's a good idea, you know.
• 40:35
  SPEAKER_01: Yeah, so I'm excited for that one.
• 40:36
  SPEAKER_00: That's cool.
• 40:37
  SPEAKER_01: We're gonna try and do um one a month and then just the holiday themed ones.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: So cool.
• 40:42
  SPEAKER_01: We'll see how it goes.
• 40:43
  SPEAKER_01: If it if it works, great.
• 40:44
  SPEAKER_01: If it doesn't, we tried.
• 40:46
  SPEAKER_00: Nice, nice.
• 40:48
  SPEAKER_00: What's your which is your favorite holiday?
• 40:50
  SPEAKER_01: Oh, that's a great question.
• 40:52
  SPEAKER_01: Um, I love Halloween.
• 40:55
  SPEAKER_01: It's gotta be Thanksgiving, though.
• 40:57
  SPEAKER_01: Um, strangely enough, Thanksgiving's always been my family's holiday, so all of us siblings get together.
• 41:03
  SPEAKER_01: Um, all the nieces, nephews, cousins, everybody's always together on Thanksgiving.
• 41:07
  SPEAKER_00: So cool.
• 41:08
  SPEAKER_01: So I think it's gotta be Thanksgiving.
• 41:10
  SPEAKER_00: That's what's uh amazing, amazing.
• 41:13
  SPEAKER_00: Well, thanks a lot, Holly, for coming through.
• 41:14
  SPEAKER_00: Yeah, thank you.
• 41:15
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for letting me interview.
• 41:16
  SPEAKER_00: Thanks for letting us use your place that last time for the last interview.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: Hey, anyway.
• 41:19
  SPEAKER_00: That's amazing.
• 41:20
  SPEAKER_00: Your coffee's great.
• 41:21
  SPEAKER_00: I like the frozen that uh frozen white mocha you guys tried out.
• 41:25
  SPEAKER_00: Um, but anyways, thanks a lot, you guys.
• 41:28
  SPEAKER_00: Shout out to Premier Hearing Solutions of South Texas for sponsoring the video.
• 41:31
  SPEAKER_00: And uh stay tuned for Holly's episode coming out this coming Tuesday um in uh October.
• 41:38
  SPEAKER_00: I think it's the last Tuesday of October.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: I can't remember.
• 41:40
  SPEAKER_00: Sorry, my brain is everywhere.
• 41:42
  SPEAKER_00: Anyways, but thanks a lot, you guys.
• 41:43
  SPEAKER_00: Y'all have a good one.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_00: Bye.
• 41:44
  SPEAKER_01: Thanks.