Latest / The Weekly Run / Natoinal Coffee Day | #39
Transcript
- Jeff Perera: Welcome to the weekly run. I'm Jeff. Glen: And I'm Glenn. Jeff Perera: I know. I've got a guest host this week, and it's because, well, it's Tuesday, and we usually don't post on Tuesdays, but it's National Coffee Day. Like, that's exciting, right? No? Glen: That It is exciting. What is National Coffee Day? What is it? Jeff Perera: What does it even mean? Glen: I don't know. I've always asked myself that. Why is today national coffee day? Was it just a made up date? Does someone just make it up? Jeff Perera: I think it's made up date. I'm gonna I'm gonna be a hundred percent like honest. I think it's a made up date. I think it's one of these national holidays that people just want to sell extra coffee on. But we're not selling coffee today. We're actually giving it away. Free coffee today in all Jeff's bagel runs, free coffee or iced coffee with purchase. So I don't know. Glen: Not a bad deal. Jeff Perera: Not a bad deal. I do think it brings some awareness to coffee. Like, I mean, for us, we We're bagel shop, right? Like we had great coffee. That's how it all s you know, this whole relationship started because it was great coffee and it was a great partnership. but a lot of people don't know that yet. Still. Glen: No. They really don't. I feel like the folks that, you know, maybe here are are in Orlando locally know but I think it's hard to tell two stories sometimes, right? Like you got the bagel run. The bagel run and then you have coffee. Jeff Perera: Yeah. We always said though in the beginning, the very first bags of coffee that we created, Jeff's Coffee Run, the blend that you and Danielle tirelessly cupped to make just right for like a perfect drinkable black, elevated diner style coffee. Is how I always describe it. Glen: Yeah, fair. Jeff Perera: and that was Jeff's Coffee Run. And I think the original bags said, Come for the bagels, stay for the coffee. Glen: Yeah, and I think it really we might have talked about this before on the last pod, but I think it really it fit Otus the the Otus brand as well because, you know, I started out with zero coffee experience, as you you're very well aware, and kinda built something kinda cool and I always wanted to be like that sneaky good coffee. And so that just tied in perfectly with like bagels and you know, stay for the coffee. So I think it I think it really worked out perfectly. Jeff Perera: Yeah, people show up at a bagel shop and they don't expect anything but a good bagel and then they get a delicious espresso drink or they get a delicious drip coffee and they're like, Wow, I'm surprised by this. I don't or have to make a second stop. I can just come here for all my morning, afternoon, pick me up needs, whatever, you know. It's it's really nice, so Glen: Yeah. It's kinda that surprise and delight. Yeah. It reminds me of my Ruth's Chris days where like you would the biggest thing we did was like surprise and delights, right? So like I feel like with our coffee program you get a really good bagel and then the coffee's like BAM second punch and you're you're like, Okay, I can get on board with this. Jeff Perera: Yes. Yeah, yeah. 100%. So let's let's refresh everyone's memory. When did you start roasting coffee? Glen: I started roasting coffee in 2017. Somebody I I was actually cold brewing in like a French press with Starbucks beans, dare I say it. And obviously darker, like, you know, darker profile. And I loved it. And then someone gave me a bag of a natural processed coffee. If you were in specialty coffee during that time, there was this like very typical blueberry note from Ethiopia that was coming out of a lot of their coffees. And that hit my cup and I was like, I wanna do this. I don't know how, I don't know when, I don't know what, but I'm gonna do it. And that's when I started roasting coffee in twenty seventeen. Jeff Perera: And you, if I remember, you started roasting in your apartment. You were like Glen: Yep. Jeff Perera: you're a little younger than me, and you're you were a young buck, fresh out of school, living in an apartment. I don't know, fresh out of school, but I mean it's like twelve years ago, eleven years ago now. Two thousand seventeen. Yeah. Glen: Yeah, I was a couple years out of school. Yeah. I was only like two or three years out of s out of school. School for me was like six and a ha college was six and a half years for me. I was one of those. Jeff Perera: Ha ha ha. Glen: so I started roasting coffee fresh out and doing on a popcorn popper. Sitting there cranking it. Jeff Perera: Yeah. I remember when we the first time you tried to explain to me what roasting coffee was, because I honestly had no idea that you even roasted coffee. I just thought you just drank coffee. Like I didn't I had zero knowledge, like let alone understanding the difference between a natural process and, you know, whatever else you cooked up over the years that we've been friends and the the idea that you were roasting coffee in a popcorn popper on the stove in an apartment, just like I c I've I've been there, I lived that life with bagels, so like I understand like Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: the the madness and like the the insanity at which other people look at you with. Glen: Absolutely. They're like you stand there and you hand crank that for nine minutes to get a roast and I'm like, yes, and if I do it this long I get this kind of profile and this and they're like, you're nuts. And then I turned into like mason jars and I was selling mason jars of cold brew at my day job and everybody's like, what is this breaking bad situation going on here? And then I finally pulled the trigger on a one kilogram, which is about a two pound, Mill City roaster, where I didn't have to stand there and just spin the dial. It it did it all by itself. Jeff Perera: And that was the first roaster that I ever saw when I was bringing bagels over to your garage when we lived on Mangrove Glen: That's right. Jeff Perera: Cove. I would put Lucas in the wagon and put like a bunch of test bagels in a bag and I'd roll them over to your house and we'd sip cold brew, you'd roast coffee, we'd eat bagels, Jaclyn would come out with Carson, baby Carson, and I think she was pregnant. Was she pregnant with Collie? So she was pr or close. Yeah, yeah. Glen: Baby Carson. Yep. Yeah. Twenty twenty one. Yeah, about. Yep. Jeff Perera: And you know, those, that was the first roaster I ever saw. And like those days were like those were crazy days. I mean, it was like COVID, anything it was like Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: anything goes, right? But that was the first roaster that I ever saw, that one K on the like wooden table that you built, 'cause it was a piece of equipment. You know, I mean it was yeah, it was it's heavy. Yeah. Glen: It is heavy, yeah. I still have that table actually here at the warehouse. I still have it. it's getting Jeff Perera: Yeah. That's awesome. Glen: a little shaky, but I still remember that day, one of the days you came over and you brought the Abby And if for those that don't know, the Abby is obviously one of the bagels of the day. or no, Abby's an everyday bagel, right? Jeff Perera: No. Biggle the day. Salt, onion, asiago cheese. Yep. Glen: Bagel today, yeah, yeah. I still remember the day you brought that over and it was hot, and I remember taking a bite of that and just being like, what what where did this come from? Like, how is this I never had a hot bagel, I never had a bagel that was fresh up until that point. So Jeff Perera: Yeah. Glen: you're saying you never saw a roaster before. I never had a bagel that was hot out of the oven. Not like a frozen bagel that was reheated. And I remember just being like, This dude's got something here. I don't know what it is, but he's got something here. And I just so happen to be roasting coffee, so, you know, that worked out. Jeff Perera: Well, you gave me cold brew for the first time and I was like felt the same way. Like, this tastes delicious. Like, what do you mean? I can just put like a little cream in it and just sip it and it's yum yum. Like it was great. And Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: it was like jet fuel. You know, I was up early every day. So I was like Glen: It was. Jeff Perera: I was a two or three glass of cold brew guy. So it was a lot of cold brew. man, I get like sh sh Yeah, I get like Yeah. I don't know what changed. I Glen: Dude, I can't do it anymore. I can't do it anymore. It's too strong for me. Like I'm a I'm an espresso guy through and through. Yeah, I do. I'm just getting old, maybe. I don't know. Jeff Perera: think that's what it six years has passed and Seven years has passed and suddenly it's like too much for my body. Glen: It's crazy. Jeff Perera: it is pretty crazy. But yeah, so that was like 2020, 2021. And then as the story goes, you were furloughed and laid off from your day job, and you decided to go full coffee. And you were Glen: I did. Jeff Perera: leaning into full coffee right around the same time that Danielle and I were like preparing to open our first shop. So we were Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: kind of running these like parallel tracks and you were leasing a warehouse and buying a bigger roaster and people are yelling at you, you're stupid, Glen: At the same time. Jeff Perera: go get a job. Glen: Dude, they really did. Love my in laws, but they were like, Hey, so what are you gonna do now? And I was like, I'm gonna do coffee 'cause I already had a little bit of a runway, right? I think that's what people don't some Jeff Perera: You did. Glen: people d maybe not know. Like I'd I I was grinding away at it from two thousand seventeen to twenty early twenty twenty. And so I had little little accounts here and there. Obviously you guys opened up your shop eventually and so we had a a decent runway, but yeah, we were like, Let's go, let's just do this. What else are we gonna do? And Just hustled it, man. Hustled hard. Twenty twenty one was a big year. Pivotal year. For you guys too. Jeff Perera: Yeah, we opened our first store in twenty one. That's when Jeff's Coffee Run was born. And I think I think that's when I was like, I'm gonna be your biggest coffee partner. And you're like, dude, Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: you got so far to go and you don't even wanna make espresso in your store. Like I think we d the best part, I tell the story all the time, people like don't understand the coffee journey Jeff's Bagel run because we opened the store with only cold brew because I didn't realize it was gonna take like four weeks for a coffee machine to arrive. And then when the coffee like machine finally arrived, it didn't even have a plug on it 'cause I didn't like it just came like raw. Like And so So I had to get an electrician Glen: I remember that. I remember that. I don't r Jeff Perera: to install a plug and like cord the whole deal. Glen: I didn't realize you guys didn't have drip to start though. I remember the cord situation. Wow. True cold brew and bagel shop. Jeff Perera: We didn't start with drip, yeah. Cold brew only. I had a Mr. Coffee in the store. I had a Mr. Coffee in the store that I would make hot coffee for Danielle when she came in. Cause she'd, Glen: my Jeff Perera: you know, I'd get to the store at like 3 34. She'd roll in when my dad got to the house sometime between like six and six thirty. Then we'd open the doors back then at like seven. but yeah. And so the evolution was cold brew only, which you were. You know, you were grinding and brewing for us because we didn't even have like a skill set for that back then. And then Glen: That's right. Jeff Perera: then we evolved to drip coffee. And I think some of the drip coffee, we wouldn't sell it every day. So we just started putting it over ice into pitchers. And we started serving it as iced coffee. And that sold well, which was great. So we had cold brew, drip coffee, and iced coffee. And we opened our second store in College Park. And I was like, Are we buying enough coffee yet? And you're like, not even close, dude. And then we started franchising and we opened our third store in twenty four. And that's when we had like branding and menu boards and all stuff and your name was up there. And that was cool. Glen: Yeah, I remember walking in and you guys didn't even tell me and I walked in and it said it said Proudly Brewing Otus coffee. And like for me, I never wanted a retail shop. Like I did obviously we talked about it a lot, but I never like never pulled the trigger on opening a coffee shop. And I always loved the wholesale side of the business. And I remember walking in there and just being like, I'm a part of this now. Like we are Jaclyn and I are now a part of this and it just felt it felt really cool. Jeff Perera: Yeah, I mean Jaclyn had been working in our store. You were getting so busy at the roastery that she couldn't even work at Jeff's anymore. So she just like quit and was Glen: Right. Jeff Perera: working just in the roastery with you. And Glen: Yep. Jeff Perera: I think she probably was there day one in o in Oviedo when we opened that store because we'd introduced espresso. And I think we were like trying to like we we had like two recipes. We were doing like whatever we were doing in Cold Brew, which was I think banana bread and cinnamon vanilla. We just took those over to Espresso and then after that it was like we just Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: kinda figured it out as we went. It was kinda it was fun. It was like Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: it was a it was a fun journey. And yeah, it was that was neat. but at that time that's when we realized like, holy cow. Like Jeff's Bagel run has this coffee program and it's you and it's Jaclyn and that's who it should be. In my mind, that's who it should be forever. So How do we make this happen so it's like a forever thing? Like that's where my head went. And it was, you know, I think Justin might have been like, we need to make sure we have the right supply chain and secure, blah, blah, blah. But like I was like, these are my people. How do we how do we do this together? Cause you were still entertaining the idea of a coffee shop. And I was like, I think I said to you, I was like, why just one? You know, we've got thir Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: I think I said at the time I think we had like 42 agreements signed. I was like, why not forty two coffee shops? Glen: Man, how fa time just goes so fast. Cause back then forty sounded like a lot. And we're at forty. As of as of last week, yeah. Jeff Perera: I know. Dude, forty sounded like a lot. We got forty st now we have forty store. Yeah, forty are open. It's crazy. I Glen: Wild. Jeff Perera: think we're close to two hundred agreements now in total. And so yeah. Glen: Crazy. Jeff Perera: Otus coffee became part of the bigger JBR franchise co family. And now now you're roasting coffee sometimes. You got people to roast coffee. Glen: Yeah, we got a good team here. It's growing. Hired Jeff Perera: It's cool. Glen: my brother. Jake's on board. We got a we got a team, you know? And I think it's Jeff Perera: Did you ever think that? Like what's that like for you? 'Cause I remember what it was like for me when I gave somebody else like the keys to the to the car with you know bagels. What was it like for you to like Glen: man. I remember going back to the old warehouse where we had Jake helping out roast and he like did a couple batches and I remember thinking to myself like I'm scared. Taught him well, but I'm s I'm still scared. But also like I went and did something else and came back and there was coffee done. And I was like, cause I up to that point, Jeff, I roasted every single bean that has gone Jeff Perera: I know. Glen: through Otus coffee and ob obviously also Jeff's bagel run. So like it was it was a good feeling but scary at the same time. Jeff Perera: Yeah, it's a it's interesting because we had when we had O Ocoee and College Park only, I touched every bagel. Every bagel for both Glen: Right. Jeff Perera: stores I had my hands on. And then suddenly I didn't. Literally. And then Glen: Literally. Jeff Perera: suddenly I didn't. And I remember distinctly having a conversation with Dustin because he's like, Man, I'm just trying to do right by your bagels. And I was like, They're not mine anymore. Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: And he looked at me, he kinda like gave me this look and I was like, They're not mine, they're yours. Guests are gonna come in and they're gonna say, Who made this bagel? Where did it come from? Why does it taste so good? And I was like, That's on you. That's you and your team and it's not mine anymore. And that was Glen: Yeah, just because it says Jeff's outside doesn't mean it's yeah, that he Jeff made it. Jeff Perera: And he you know what? And Dustin's I think he's now the third longest running employee at Jeff Bagel Run. Maybe Glen: Crazy. Jeff Perera: actually fourth probably. And Jaclyn technically probably beats Dustin because she started with us like before him before we opened before we opened College Park, yeah. But Glen: He was College Park, right? Yeah. That's right. Jeff Perera: it's kind of it's kinda wild to think about the journey, yeah. Glen: It really is. It's been a w it's been a long one. Jeff Perera: And now we get to celebrate now we get to celebrate National Coffee Day. Like who would have thought? Glen: National Coffee Day. I always wondered what to do for National Coffee Day when it was just Otus. I'm like, do we just have a deal? Do we sell coffee? Do we offer tastings at the warehouse? Like what do we do? I was always like trying to figure it out. Cause it's like a big day for a coffee roaster, right? Like this is your day. Jeff Perera: Yeah. I mean I National Bagel Day is huge for us. It's like it's like the fifth holiday of the year. It's, you know, the day Glen: Right. Jeff Perera: before Thanksgiving, Christmas Eve, Mother's Day, Father's Day, National Bagel Day. Like those are Glen: Crazy. Jeff Perera: those are like the biggest days of the year in the shops. And so yeah, th hopefully National Coffee Day turns into a big day for us because we have great coffee. I want people to drink it. You know, you and you know, the guys at the the nest and Jaclyn have poured hours and time into making it delicious. I want people to know that. Glen: I agree. I mean that's the battle we've been fighting ever since, right? Not the battle, but like again, going back to it, bagels are the focus. But everybody that has a bagel wants a coffee or some kind of beverage, right? And so just the thinking of the beverage the beverage platform as a whole, coffee being a big majority of that, how do we put that in the spotlight? Jeff Perera: I think, I mean, my just because I've known you for so much of this journey that you've been on with Otus and how you've grown it. I mean, selling coffee at farmers markets and trying to get your name out. I mean, you think about like it's been sort of a it is a battle. It's like, how do you showcase something that you're so proud of that you've worked so hard to create? in a world where there's so much of the same thing, or the perceived the perceived same thing. You know, s that's the part that that's the part that I find fascinating is like you still found your people, you still found a way to say this is what differentiates us. Glen: And I think it's even today it's even I don't wanna say saturated, but like the competition is hot in coffee from every aspect. Whether it's Jeff Perera: Yeah. Glen: bagel shop coffee, whether it's you know, just coffee st as a roastery standing up on itself, retail coffee online, like it is one of the most you know, competitive spaces in food, I feel like. And so that was always a challenge from me early on, is figuring out like how to separate it, how to be better. And it's it's a ongo it's a daily thing, right? Every day we're trying to keep up and figure out what's the next move for for where coffee's gonna go. Jeff Perera: Yeah, no doubt. No doubt. So what are what are your plans for National Coffee Day? What are you doing today? Glen: Drinking a lot of coffee. We're roasting a lot of coffee today. Tuesdays are actually our our big roast days anyway. So we do a lot we're gonna do a lot of roasting today and just be all in on coffee. Just like we do every Tuesday. Jeff Perera: That's that's the way it should be, it feels right. It feels Glen: Yep. Jeff Perera: right. What's the future of coffee? Glen: man. What is the future of coffee? I've been thinking a lot about this lately because I feel like coffee has hit a point of Coffee is perceived in so many different ways, right? Like specialty coffee, and and I feel like everyone today is chasing that specialty coffee, whether it's Jeff's Bagel Run, whether it's Chick-fil-A, whether it's the mom and pop shop down the street. And I feel like coffee is just like gonna go back to its roots of just the morning cup, a a solid morning cup of coffee. And The coffee market, as y I don't know if you've seen it, has been just on an absolute roller coaster. It is coming down. It has come down a little bit, which has brought some relief to us roasters. But like just going back to basics with coffee, man. That's what I want to do anyway. Just getting back to basics. Jeff Perera: I love it. I think people are finding joy in the simplicity of things. And that resonates, you know, I don't need someone to brew my coffee through some crazy system or some methodology that they had that makes it taste better. I just I just want a cup that I can pour from a pitcher and enjoy. Glen: And I think to your point there, I do think if you want to ask more specifically about where I think coffee's going, I think it's going to convenience with quality. I think there's been so much like convenient coffee that hasn't been very good, and then there's been the other side of the coin, which has been like higher end specialty slow coffee that has really hitting the hit hit the marks on quality. I think it needs to be a middle ground of like, let's make coffee easier for everybody, whether it's at home or in the shop, but also bring that quality together. So I think that's where I think that's where coffee's gonna go. Jeff Perera: I love that. I love that. Do you remember when you would go in the summertime, you would go to the old warehouse that didn't have air conditioning, you'd roast early in the morning and I would bake and we'd get on the phone and we'd talk just nonsense. One of the things Glen: I do. Jeff Perera: one of the things that we talked about that was nonsense was a was a coffee shop that was like Dual branded. One was like a slow coffee side and one was a fast coffee side. And you had this like, you know, dark, moody, barista with the mustache, leather chair, takes you seven minutes to get a cup of coffee. And literally through the same swinging door was this like bright, vibrant, delicious, you know, just quick cup of coffee, convenient, and you could go. And we started talking about that after. One of the Ethiopian naturals, I think that you had done the berries and cream coffee. Glen: Yeah. Jeff Perera: And I was like, Man, if we could get this if I I kept I just remembered if we could get people to drink this naturally processed coffee, loas you know, roasted on the lighter side, that tasted like a bowl of berries with whipped cream, just without nut without anything in it. You didn't have to you just had to drink it. I thought people would buy that. I thought people would buy that. Glen: I I really think there's something to that. I still to this day think that like is it a little gimmicky? Absolutely. But if you did have both sides of the coin and that was what you were known for, and like I I really think there's something there. I do. Jeff Perera: I feel like I could see the vision of it. Like it's something like almost you would it it You open the doors and you've got this like half half circle like tile floor that's very like just nondescript brown, tan, whatever. And right down the middle, you've got like a a half wall and then it goes to a full wall and you're just running two separate coffee shops. And if you look at you could see both of them from that point when you enter and then you get to decide on your journey and you would get two different completely cups of coffee, but it would be your choice. Glen: I think it's I I think it's brilliant. You'd have like cheaper machine, two pr Jeff Perera: I'm just giving away my best idea. Glen: cheaper equipment on one side, literally cheaper Jeff Perera: Yes. Glen: coffee, but you would get it in literally like set like they would have just pre Jeff Perera: Instantly. Glen: made lattes or right whatever and on the other side they're making like pourovers and infusing shots and doing everything. I th I really think the gimmick would would sell on itself. Jeff Perera: I think it would work. we're just giving away our best ideas here over on the pod. It's okay, ninety percent of people don't take action on their ideas. So maybe one day we'll get there. But this Glen: Day. Jeff Perera: has been awesome reminiscing. Glen I really I appreciate you and your friendship and partnership in Coffee. It's been it's been an awesome, awesome run so far and I'm just looking forward to the next seven. Glen: Dude, ditto, all of that, here we go. Jeff Perera: Bake fresh, bring joy, build community. We'll see you next time. Bye.