Latest / Coffee People Podcast / Brad Lepper, Council Oak Supply Co.

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Brad Lepper, Council Oak Supply Co. · Coffee People Podcast

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1:08
Hey everyone, welcome to the Coffee People podcast.
1:11
I am your host Ryan Wolt. This show is presented by Rostar
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Coffee Packaging, found online at rostar.com.
1:20
They also do packaging for sweets and chocolates and snacks
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and that sort of thing, but coffee is their primary game.
1:27
This show, the Coffee People podcast is part of our Roast
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West Coast Coffee network. You can go to roastwestcoast.com
1:34
to find recaps of this show and our Coffee Smarter podcast and
1:38
so much more. If you're tuning in and you
1:41
haven't poured yourself a fine cup of coffee yet, now is the
1:45
time to get started on that. Today we're chatting with Brad
1:48
Lepper, founding president of Council Oak Supply Company in
1:52
Sioux City, IA. And by TODAY, I mean literally.
1:57
I spoke to him months ago. He was actually the very first
2:01
interview I did for season 12 back in September, and somehow
2:06
this has ended up being the last episode we're releasing in
2:09
season 12. I can't explain other than there
2:13
was a calendar snafu, a load of content that we brought in, and
2:17
then a weird anxiety about opening this file.
2:21
It was an entrepreneurial mental health roadblock I set up for
2:25
myself, and more on that later. In the short term, there's no
2:30
way for me to truly apologize to Brad for the delay in releasing
2:33
our chat, other than to encourage you to head to
2:37
counciloaksupply.com on the Internet, check out all the
2:41
services they offer other coffee businesses, and maybe buy a few
2:45
bags of their coffee. I've had it, and I definitely
2:48
have it again. Today, though, I'm drinking the
2:52
very last espresso shot of Yeah No, Yeah.
2:55
Coffee that I have on my shelf, linked to that coffee
2:58
collaboration with Relative Coffee out of Minneapolis, is in
3:01
the show notes. I know I'm biased, but obviously
3:05
I'm a huge fan. This espresso shot is so creamy
3:09
and a blend of sweet and salt and bitter and everything
3:13
perfect about coffee. So it's been a minute since we
3:16
got started and by now you should have coffee in your cup.
3:21
I did warn you at the top to get started.
3:23
If you don't, that's on you. But you still have just one more
3:27
second before this coffee people conversation with Brad Leppard
3:32
of Council Oaks Supply Company in Sioux City, IA.
3:42
Yeah. My name is Brad Leppard and I'm
3:44
with Council Oaks Supply and we're a coffee roaster, Cafe
3:48
supply distributor, kind of a one stop shop for cafes with all
3:53
their supply and equipment needs and we're based out of Sioux
3:56
City, IA. Sioux City, IA, which I just was
4:00
in this summer, I got a chance to stop and and see you and I'm
4:04
going to ask you about a bunch of your background and all of
4:06
that stuff. But before we do, I want to
4:09
point out that you have the most beautiful building.
4:12
And I know that you were pretty instrumental in, in the
4:17
renovation and the finding of that building and, and
4:19
everything. It's a, it's a big brick
4:21
building in Sioux City. I'm wondering, and I'll share
4:25
photos if anyone's listening on the, the newsletter and that
4:28
sort of thing. But could you tell me what it
4:31
was like to walk into that building before anything was
4:33
done? And were you able to see, you
4:36
know this beautiful future? Yeah, we got lucky that the the
4:40
top floor of kind of the main portion of the building had
4:44
never really had anything done to it.
4:46
So when you would walk in the front door back when we were
4:49
looking at it, it was all infilled with, you know, 1950s
4:53
era offices and, you know, tile, like the asbestos tile flooring.
4:58
And it just, you know, it looked like every plumbing warehouse in
5:01
the 50s. But we kind of wound around and
5:04
went upstairs and it was the old original brick walls and you
5:08
could see the original wood post and the original wood floor that
5:12
was certainly dirty, but you could see what it was.
5:15
And so that was where it's like, oh, this, this building could be
5:19
quite a bit more than it is today.
5:21
And I don't think at the time I necessarily understood the, the
5:25
full scope of what that would entail and how much work it
5:28
would take. But we're very happy with the
5:30
way it ended up. And we're we're blessed to be in
5:33
a facility like this. From the time that you walked in
5:37
and and you signed the paperwork and this building is yours to
5:41
the point you're at now where you walk in, you have this
5:43
beautiful tasting room and you can see a roaster off to the
5:46
left and then you have your office spaces upstairs.
5:49
How long was that process? We bought it.
5:52
It would have been. I remember it was like January,
5:56
I think of 20 one that we bought it.
6:01
And so we worked on it basically for about 17 months of
6:07
renovations here. So it was, it was a lengthy
6:10
amount of time. It could have gone faster.
6:13
But like you alluded to earlier, we did a lot of the work
6:15
ourselves and I've spent many hours chipping plaster off the
6:20
wall and tearing Lathan plaster off of the ceiling and went home
6:25
far too dirty many days in a row.
6:28
But yeah, it was a it was a long process, but it turned out great
6:32
and we love it. That old saying about blood,
6:36
sweat and tears becomes more real when you do the work
6:38
yourself in a literal sense in some cases.
6:42
Well, let's rewind a little bit, Brad.
6:44
I'm wondering if you could give us a little bit of background.
6:47
You know who you are and and you know, if you have a first memory
6:50
or experience with coffee that made you kind of think this is
6:54
an interesting world. I'm going to see where this
6:55
goes. Yeah, my, my first memory with,
6:58
with coffee would be one that made me think I'd never want to
7:02
drink this, which is growing up in rural Iowa with grandparents
7:07
on both sides that farmed. And so the coffee pot was put on
7:11
at around 3:30 in the morning. And, you know, there were
7:14
multiple batches of either green or red Folgers cans that I can
7:21
recall as a kid. And so that was my first
7:23
experience with coffee and it wasn't a great one.
7:27
And so for most of my life, you know, I would have casual
7:30
coffees at Starbucks and get way too much sugar put in it to make
7:34
it palatable. But I didn't ever really get
7:36
into specialty coffee until later in life when I got into
7:42
the real estate business with some some apartment buildings
7:45
and that thing and kind of started my entrepreneur journey
7:48
there. And then I ended up buying a
7:50
little laundry mat and then came across an old Burger King that
7:54
had closed down not far from our, our little house here in
7:57
Sioux City and thought it would make a great spot for a
8:00
laundromat, but it had a, a drive through, obviously as a
8:03
Burger King. And so I, I reached out to lots
8:06
of different people to see if somebody else wants to put a
8:09
coffee shop in and run it. And I called down to my aunt who
8:13
lived down in Lincoln, NE and she had a coffee shop down there
8:16
at the time. And so I called her to say, Hey,
8:19
why don't you come up here and run a shop?
8:21
And she said, you know, no, I don't think that's the right
8:23
move for me, but you should get in the coffee business.
8:26
And there's a fellow in town, his name is Nick Toff.
8:28
You should go talk to him. And so I met with Nick, who's
8:32
now my, my business partner here.
8:35
And he made me my first quality latte and made some latte art
8:40
and kind of walked us through the the process and the numbers
8:44
and how it worked. And like any young entrepreneur,
8:47
I said to myself, I can do this not knowing what I didn't know
8:52
and just school of Hard Knocks just jumped in and and just went
8:56
to work. And so yeah, that's kind of how
9:00
my initial memories of coffee and turning into what it is now.
9:04
They, they don't really jive very well, but it was really the
9:08
business of coffee and the, the hospitality side and the, the
9:13
artistry side and the design and then the industrial side of the
9:17
engineering and the, the precision of the equipment and
9:21
all of that. That really kind of pulled me in
9:23
and made this my full time career now.
9:26
What is your role at Council of Supply?
9:28
And if you wouldn't mind, I have this Stone Brew is also or was
9:35
your company that original Burger King, Right, That's
9:37
right. That was it was Stone Brew
9:39
Coffee, which is still that that brand still exists, but you're
9:42
also now Council Oak. How do those two work together
9:46
and what is your role in this current iteration of it?
9:50
Yeah, so this is all kind of my fault.
9:53
I started Stone Brew with a friend of mine named Robbie
9:57
Jennings and then another friend of mine named Jeff Boonstra.
10:00
And so we, we started Stone Brew back in 2015.
10:04
So from there we, we opened up, we had about 5 cafes that we had
10:08
built over roughly, let's call it a 6-7 year span.
10:13
And then we ended up starting to roast back in 2019, just
10:17
supplying for ourselves. And that was about the time that
10:21
Nick came on as a partner. So once we started to roast our
10:25
own coffee, that's when we started to look at distributing
10:27
other products and started, you know, self distributing to
10:31
Ronnie and then started distributing a few other
10:33
products out to other cafes. And then that business kind of
10:37
the distribution and wholesale side really took off.
10:41
And last year, right around this time, it had grown to basically
10:44
match what we were doing with our cafes as far as sales and
10:47
volume. You know, we had a foot on two
10:49
skis and they were kind of going in different directions and we
10:52
had to choose which one that made the most sense for our
10:54
skills. And so we made the decision to
10:57
to sell the Stone Brew Cafe brand to another local family.
11:02
And so we still continue to for them and supply products to them
11:05
and so forth. But they are two separate
11:07
companies. And now this company that I'm a
11:10
part of, I'm the the president of the company that we with the
11:14
Council of Supply, we're really exclusively a wholesale partner
11:19
for other people running their own cafes and like to come
11:22
alongside them and and help them run better operations.
11:26
Sure, you've been there? Yeah, you mentioned Nick Top a
11:29
few times. I've had the pleasure of meeting
11:31
him. And a great coffee person.
11:34
Great coffee, human. Seemingly a little dangerous
11:37
behind the the handlebars of a bicycle.
11:40
Or a trampoline. Or a trampoline.
11:43
How does that partnership? And I guess the question I'm
11:46
really getting towards isn't about Nick specifically, but
11:49
about you. And how did you find partners
11:51
that you felt matched your skill sets and you were like, hey,
11:56
they can take on these things that I don't know and I have
11:58
these skills that that they might not know.
12:01
And I think they're going to work together because there's a,
12:04
it's like a marriage. You know, you're not, you don't
12:06
know what you don't know, right? You don't know how they're going
12:08
to react under pressure in certain situations.
12:11
How is that developed over the last couple years?
12:13
Nick and I had a relationship for those years that I was
12:17
working at Stone Brew where he was basically our our sales Rep
12:21
for our roaster that we started with.
12:24
And so we had a good working relationship for several years
12:27
before we became partners. And so through that we got to
12:30
know each other and kind of know knew each other's skill sets.
12:33
And I always defer to Nick on the more technical coffee
12:37
issues. He's the head roaster here and
12:40
really kind of dials in the quality and the sourcing on that
12:44
side. And I'm as coming from the real
12:48
estate and laundromat and mini storage, you know, I'm just more
12:52
of general business knowledge and marketing and branding.
12:55
So just yeah, we really have very different sets of skills.
12:58
If you spend time with us, you'll see that we have very
13:00
different personalities, different communication styles.
13:04
But this in the same way that in a marriage that opposites
13:06
attract. It can be the same way in in
13:08
business relationships where you can find another person who
13:12
really that you complement each other and you're able to kind of
13:16
pick different roles in the company and, and work together
13:19
well. And that's that's been going
13:21
great so far. The coffee side of of Council
13:27
Oak, you fall into that specialty craft coffee
13:30
community, but you're also providing wholesale and and
13:34
connecting with other coffee businesses.
13:37
Is your, is your clientele primarily in Iowa?
13:41
I mean, what is Iowa like as a craft community location?
13:45
It's certainly growing. When we started Stone Brew in in
13:49
Sioux City back in the day, it was, it was basically one other
13:53
coffee shop in town that was, you know, making espresso based
13:57
beverages. And that was a place called
13:59
Pierce St. Coffee Works.
14:00
And they're, they're still open here in town and run a great
14:03
business. But we were kind of, I would say
14:05
the second into that game here. And now there's several in our
14:08
community and we've seen a lot of smaller towns really pop up
14:12
with with coffee shops and cafes that we're starting to catch up
14:19
to what may exist more in the coastal portions of our country
14:23
where I think they're probably, let's call it 10 to 15 years
14:26
ahead of us in coffee culture. But there are certain areas or
14:30
certain shops that for instance, I think of like Archetype down
14:35
in Omaha is doing tremendous things, Isaiah and the crew down
14:38
there and there's a few shops down in Des Moines that are
14:41
doing really high level stuff. You have shops in in Sioux Falls
14:45
and Minneapolis, obviously. So it's there's definitely some
14:49
really bright spots of people doing really cool stuff.
14:52
But and that's starting to kind of work its way out more into
14:55
the rural communities and we're trying to help that out.
14:59
You mentioned your grandparents, farmers on both sides.
15:02
I had farmers on both sides as well, growing up in Wisconsin.
15:06
Corn. Dairy.
15:07
It was corn and soybeans and my my grandpa on my mom's side had
15:12
had sheep actually, and had some hogs growing up.
15:15
And so I remember he always used to have to put a bucket on the
15:21
ram's head when he'd go feed the sheep.
15:23
And so I have many, many fond memories on the farm of Balin
15:26
hay and those types of things. I just remember being at the
15:30
farm and my cousins taking great joy in me having to wake up
15:35
early with them so that someone else could empathize with what
15:37
they went through every day. My, the reason I, I bring up the
15:42
farming component of it and Iowa and the Midwest in particular is
15:47
it's already a community of makers.
15:49
They, they wouldn't necessarily refer to themselves as that, you
15:52
know, at least in my grandparents generation, but
15:54
it's people who are comfortable working with their hands and
15:57
figuring out problems. And so there's a little bit of a
16:00
rant on my side of things that we're going to know.
16:02
Brad's the guest here. But I find that the people who
16:05
are getting into things like craft coffee have a knack or
16:08
they have a desire to work through the problems maybe
16:11
longer than somebody who is just like, oh, this is a cool
16:14
industry and they can make some money because they have this
16:17
kind of ingrained desire to build.
16:19
Do you see that with the community that you're working
16:21
with? For sure.
16:22
And I, you know, a farmer might not admit to this or see this
16:27
in, in what they do if you were to ask them right up front.
16:30
But there's there's a bit of artistry, there's craftsmanship,
16:34
there's creativity, there's ingenuity.
16:36
All of those things go into to farming in order to improve the
16:41
operation, but also in rural communities and there's a lot of
16:45
farmers that really take pride in the way that their farm looks
16:48
and the quality of their product.
16:49
And I know like my grandpa would, would walk the, the rows,
16:54
the end rows of his fields and would pull weeds 'cause, you
16:57
know, he didn't want the other farmers driving by and seeing
16:59
weeds in his field. And so there's that kind of
17:01
presentation aspect of it as well and branding that these are
17:06
all things that are existing in these farm operations that maybe
17:11
don't immediately or easily reference each other in like a
17:15
hospitality business. But it's the same mindset and
17:18
it's the same way of thinking in in really any entrepreneurial
17:22
endeavor. And farmers are kind of the OG
17:25
entrepreneurs. I think people that grow up in
17:28
farming communities or near them where they're passing through
17:32
them, even if they're not part of that, have a bit more
17:36
awareness than the rest of the the larger population about
17:39
where food comes from, generally speaking.
17:42
And I'm wondering if that perspective impacts your
17:46
sourcing of coffee at Council Oak.
17:48
Is that something you guys discuss because you have an
17:50
awareness of what's happening on the other side of that?
17:53
Yeah, We purchase nearly 100% of our product is certified
17:58
organic. Most of it is also fair trade
18:01
certified. And these are things that just
18:05
help us tell the story to the people that we sell to, the
18:07
cafes that we provide to, that they can feel comfortable and
18:10
confident that everybody from the farmers to the mills, that
18:14
everybody was treated reasonably fairly in the process of getting
18:17
that coffee to them. And so I think that that's
18:21
understanding the amount of work and effort that it takes to grow
18:25
a crop and harvest it and take it to market and deal with the
18:29
fluctuations in the commodities markets and the unknowns of the
18:32
weather. Yeah, We understand what the
18:35
producers go through and hope to honor them with how we purchase
18:39
and how we roast their coffee and how we sell.
18:43
You've started offering up education YouTube channel and I
18:48
know that was something we kind of briefly chatted about in
18:50
person. Just kind of a desire to share
18:53
some of the things you've learned.
18:54
What, what motivates that? Why add that onto your plate of
18:58
all the things that you're already doing?
19:00
Yeah, I've just, I'm really passionate about about cafes and
19:04
about the business of coffee shops.
19:06
And I think it's an area that is that is kind of underserved in
19:11
our industry, which is really the business side of what we do.
19:16
You know, if you want to watch a video about how to dial in
19:19
espresso, then you type that into YouTube, you're going to
19:22
see all kinds of a different content there.
19:24
But if somebody's wanting to understand how to dial in their
19:29
cost of goods sold or save money on labor or how to effectively
19:33
market their shop, those types of things, that information is
19:35
maybe not as readily available. And that's the side of it that
19:38
I'm most passionate about. So it's something that I'll talk
19:42
about for free and to no end. And so it just made sense that
19:47
it would be something that I would make an effort to create
19:50
some content and hope to provide some value to people in that
19:53
area. What are skills you think serve
19:57
an entrepreneur? I noticed that you outside of
20:00
coffee. When I Google you I come up with
20:02
all these links for lifting powerlifting like this.
20:05
This the thing? Yeah.
20:07
But I'm wondering, you know, what are things that you've
20:09
learned that you think are essential for somebody just
20:12
starting out and dreaming of that coffee shop?
20:16
I think you have to be creative. You have to be a self motivator,
20:23
having an idea to do something. You know that you kind of get
20:27
that period where you have kind of this high of the idea you
20:32
just really ride that wave, but that wave inevitably kind of
20:36
comes down and you've got to continue to work through that,
20:41
right? So I think being being a self
20:44
starter, somebody who's self motivated, willing to learn,
20:47
curious and I think has a genuine passion to provide
20:52
service to people and to take care of people.
20:54
Like hospitality is so, so important in this business that
20:59
if it doesn't kind of make your heart smile when you give
21:02
somebody a great latte and you see them enjoy that first sip.
21:06
If that isn't something that you find enjoyable, then I think
21:08
you're going to have a hard time sticking it out in this business
21:11
that you really need to find enjoyment in that day-to-day
21:14
activity and serving people and and giving them something of of
21:17
value. Kind of a long winded answer to
21:20
that. But yeah, I think all of the
21:22
things that it takes to be a great coffee operator or or.
21:27
Well, I think it's an interesting comment to say that
21:29
you have you have the high. As a burgeoning entrepreneur,
21:33
you have to qualify your own ideas.
21:36
Is this an idea that I'm going to be able to sustain even when
21:39
the high is gone? And that can be hard to be
21:42
honest with yourself about, you know, when you get excited about
21:44
something. At least for me.
21:46
Yeah, absolutely. I have notebooks filled with
21:49
ideas that I didn't follow through on because they weren't
21:51
the right one for whatever reason.
21:52
But in in the moment that I wrote it down, I know I was
21:55
thinking, oh, this is it, This is the thing.
21:58
Yeah, there's a great book on that, by the way.
22:00
It's called The Dip. I think Seth Godin wrote it.
22:03
It's called The Dip DIP. And he talks about that in
22:07
entrepreneurship that you kind of have to understand that, you
22:10
know, are you are you in that, that dip before you start to
22:15
climb? Or are you heading for a Cliff
22:17
that goes nowhere and identifying if you're just going
22:21
through that hard phase right before the thing takes off and
22:25
being willing to push through it or recognizing if it's not the
22:28
right fit for you. So if anybody that's listening
22:30
to this is kind of struggling with those questions, I'd highly
22:33
recommend that book. Yeah, and I'll link to that as
22:36
well in our newsletter. I know I, I mentioned it before,
22:40
but I, I was just so impressed when I was in your space at the
22:43
care and the thought that was put into that building.
22:46
You know, what came out of that process or what did you learn if
22:50
about renovating an old building and keeping this history alive
22:55
to some extent, but giving it a new life?
22:58
I I have to imagine that some surprises popped up in that you
23:01
weren't prepared for. Yeah, it's, it's a lot.
23:05
I, I think doing a renovation is, is a lot like, I don't know,
23:08
like like carving in rock or something like that where you
23:12
have an idea of what you want it to look like or what you think
23:15
it can look like. But as you start the process,
23:18
you uncover things in that process that completely change
23:22
how it ends up. And it's kind of a journey of
23:24
you just seeing what, what positive and negative surprises
23:29
come in that process. Because I, I really, I did not
23:32
envision the space that's there now when we started the project.
23:36
I remember when we made the decision to make the windows
23:39
bigger. And the first time I saw one of
23:42
those openings cut out and I could see like now we can see
23:45
all of downtown and all the light that came in that it was
23:49
just such a great moment. And I remember when we when we
23:52
pulled the Latham plaster down and sandblasted that the old
23:55
Timbers and how well they cleaned up, I had no idea that
23:58
they would would clean up that well.
24:00
It was just kind of a happy accident of just kind of working
24:04
your way through it and finding those gems.
24:07
So yeah, in those processes, I think you just kind of have to
24:09
see there's a base level of of possibilities in a building or
24:14
in a project. And then you just got to go to
24:16
work and uncover them and not be option blind, you know, seeing
24:19
options when they come to you and, and being flexible with
24:23
your vision for the project and seeing an opportunity to make a
24:27
little change that really makes a positive benefit in the end.
24:32
How does Council Oak fit into the greater coffee community?
24:37
You, you, Sir. And when I'm, what I'm asking, I
24:40
think is to clarify what is it that you're providing to coffee
24:44
businesses besides just wholesale coffee?
24:46
You mentioned that you became a distributor.
24:49
What does that entail for people listening that might be in that
24:52
world or in that market, in that community thinking I want to do
24:55
this? Yeah.
24:56
So we're, we're a place that if you show up with a big enough
25:00
vehicle, you can, you can drive away with a, with a coffee shop,
25:05
everything from the coffee to the cups to the lids to the
25:08
equipment. We, you literally could leave
25:11
our building with a functioning coffee shop.
25:15
And so we've tried and bring our experience in building multiple
25:19
cafes and running them for years to help people who are either
25:24
completely new to the coffee business or people who have
25:27
maybe just jumped in and haven't had much time to network in the
25:30
community. To, to hopefully bring them not
25:33
only good products that we feel good standing behind and that
25:36
we're confident in the value of those products, but also how to
25:41
use them and how to get the best value out of those and, and make
25:44
the best product in their cafe and hopefully grow their sales
25:47
and provide themselves with a good living.
25:50
So I think that's we're, we're passionate about the coffee, but
25:53
more important or, or I would say equally or maybe a little
25:57
bit more, we're, we're passionate about the people.
25:58
Like we don't, we don't make great coffee for the sake of the
26:02
coffee in the cup. We make great coffee so that the
26:05
person who enjoys it gets that experience, right.
26:08
It's, it's that connection between people, it's that human
26:11
experience that that we really value and we get excited about
26:15
and, and coffee is a channel to get there.
26:19
So we try and and bring that, the experience and the products
26:22
and those things to to help people start and run better
26:25
coffee shops. You've been continually pushing
26:29
forward in your entrepreneurial career.
26:31
You know, when I look at the the timeline from laundromat to
26:36
multiple cafes to Council Oak Supply, it's fairly quick.
26:40
What is the future of Council Oak Supply look like to you?
26:45
Yeah, I think we're going to, we're, we keep growing.
26:48
We've doubled pretty much every year that we've been in
26:50
existence and this year we'll be close to that.
26:52
So we're having a good year. I think we're, we've been
26:55
largely a, a regional player, but we're starting now with our
26:59
shipping relationships to really kind of branch out across the
27:02
country that we're serving shops in Texas and Louisiana and
27:06
Tennessee and Pennsylvania. And I talked to one in Arizona
27:10
today. So we're not just handling, you
27:12
know, Iowa and the media surrounding states.
27:15
We're kind of branching out nationwide and trying to build
27:18
systems. Not only we, we've moved all of
27:21
our ordering online. So all of our catalog and all of
27:25
our account management is all done through our website now.
27:27
And then we've also developed stronger relationships with our
27:30
shipping partners that almost all of the Midwest for us is an
27:33
overnight delivery that is a part of our standard shipping.
27:37
And we're, you know, roughly 2 to three days for almost all the
27:42
rest of the country. So just kind of continuing to
27:45
try and build relationships and expand out from just regionally
27:49
here around Sioux City. That's always something that I
27:53
think it's overlooked when people are starting coffee
27:56
businesses in the Midwest. There's this extra shipping
27:59
effort to get coffee from a port somewhere into your location and
28:04
that adds time and a little bit of expense and how you work
28:07
around that is, is AI was going to say strategy, but it's just,
28:12
it's just another business concern you got to think about
28:15
in that location. Every geography will have its
28:18
own challenges when you're out and about and a new coffee shop
28:24
opens up. They probably bought supplies
28:26
from you in Sioux City or nearby, but you go there for the
28:29
first time. What are you going to order?
28:32
It depends if they have pour over.
28:35
I might try that. I always coming from my
28:39
background of not being a sophisticated coffee drinker, I
28:43
still love a great mocha. So I always kind of will judge
28:47
some of those things on that, but I I'm you can't typically
28:51
nail me down on an individual drink.
28:54
My what I drink every day here is I love to do a triple shot 12
28:58
ounce latte with the honey and a little bit of cinnamon.
29:02
That's my, my morning jam. But there's always lots of other
29:07
caffeine opportunities that pop up through the day.
29:10
And it's, and it's funny because it's like, I know that that in
29:15
3rd wave coffee and in in all that coffee is that adding
29:19
something like honey to your coffee might be frowned upon by
29:22
some people. But it's kind of the the journey
29:25
that I went on. And it's, it's if I get the same
29:28
drink every time, besides drinking the espresso straight,
29:31
it helps me to make sure that the flavor is correct and the
29:34
things are that the shot tastes well balanced.
29:37
And I can get that with drinking a straight shot of espresso, but
29:40
I don't enjoy that as much as I do with the milk, with the steam
29:44
muffin with a little bit of that sweetness added to it.
29:46
So I guess I don't make too many apologies for for enjoying the
29:51
coffee the way I enjoy. It and that Midwestern honey is
29:54
pretty damn good. I'll have to get you some from
29:57
our our family beehives. That'd be awesome.
30:01
Did I miss anything today that you want people to know about
30:04
you, about this effort that you're putting forward?
30:06
Yeah, if people feel so inclined, they can follow me on.
30:10
I'm on TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook.
30:13
Just look, look up Brad Lepper. It's me.
30:16
And then there's a fellow with the same name who's a hardcore
30:19
archaeologist out of Ohio. So don't get confused unless
30:22
you're into archaeology, then that might be a great fine.
30:25
But yeah, I'm the the coffee guy, so yeah, people can can
30:29
follow on there and if there's anything we can do to help them
30:32
out in their cafes or if they have questions about starting up
30:35
coffee shops, I'm always happy to take phone calls and emails
30:38
and have conversations on the top.
30:41
Brad, I really appreciate you taking some time this afternoon
30:44
to chat with me on the show. And I feel like I, I got more
30:48
advice out of you than I, than I normally would ask out of
30:51
someone. But it's only because I, when I
30:52
talk to you, I think this is a guy who kind of knows how to get
30:55
stuff done. So I certainly appreciate the
30:57
time. Well, it was a pleasure.
30:59
Thanks for having. Me.
31:09
OK, some of the key takeaways are going to be shared here, but
31:12
head to roastwestcoast.com to see some more context and links
31:17
in the newsletter. Last season, Season 11, George
31:21
Fukerson of Peerless Coffee was making a point about how it is a
31:25
lot easier to find a good to great cup of coffee even in a
31:29
small community in a place like Iowa.
31:32
Much easier than it used to be. Much more like it is when you
31:36
head to a larger metropolis with lots of options.
31:39
My family and I put that to the test each summer as we drive
31:42
across the country. This last summer we actually did
31:44
stop for coffee in Iowa, specifically at Council Supply
31:48
in Sioux City. And I can attest that George was
31:51
right. You can definitely get a great
31:54
cup of coffee in Iowa. When I was passing through, I
31:58
had one brewed by Brad's partner at Council Oak, Nick Top.
32:02
That coffee was good and the building, What a lovely piece of
32:07
architecture. But back to our show.
32:10
Brad's first memory was a common 1.
32:12
He tasted of Folgers at the family farm and it wasn't for
32:16
him. It was only later in life, when
32:20
he had become an entrepreneur, that he was introduced to
32:22
specialty coffee. He purchased that old Burger
32:26
King building to turn into a laundromat, but the building
32:29
came with a drive through window, which he thought might
32:31
work as a cafe. When he couldn't find an
32:34
operator, his aunt suggested that he do it himself and
32:37
introduced him to Nick, his now partner in Council Oak Supply.
32:42
At Council Oak, they roast coffee and they distribute
32:45
equipment as a wholesaler in addition to operating their own
32:48
tasting space. It is a key to a successful
32:51
business relationship to find a partner who complements and
32:54
perhaps enhances your skills, as Brad is done with his business
32:58
partner and the head roaster, Nick Top.
33:02
Beyond just his own business, Brad is passionate about the
33:05
business of coffee shops and it's inspired him to start
33:08
sharing his knowledge to a wider audience, primarily through
33:12
YouTube. Some skills and character traits
33:14
that he finds essential to success in the industry include
33:18
being creative, willing to learn, self motivation, and
33:22
being able to ride the wave up and down as you provide service
33:27
to others. At Council Oak, they sell
33:30
everything from coffee to the cups and lids to the machinery,
33:34
and then they spend the time to teach their customers how to
33:37
effectively and efficiently use it all.
33:40
Brad joked that if someone had a big enough truck, they could
33:44
leave their building with an entire coffee shop in the back.
33:48
At Council Oak, they're passionate about coffee and
33:52
equally, if not more so, passionate about the people
33:55
behind it. Finally, to clarify, Brad Leper
34:00
is not the archaeologist with the same name.
34:03
He's the coffee guy. You can learn more about Council
34:07
Oak Supply online at counciloaksupply.com or follow
34:11
their social media at Council Oak Supply.
34:14
You'll find all the links in this podcast episodes, show
34:18
notes, or in our online newsletter at
34:20
roastwestcoast.com, where we'll also share Brad's YouTube
34:25
channel and some photos from our visit to Iowa.
34:29
And that's our show for today and the conclusion of another
34:33
season of Coffee People. Interviews for Season 13 are
34:37
already on the calendar, and many of them will be available
34:40
as video podcasts on Spotify or our burgeoning YouTube channel.
34:45
If you've enjoyed or been inspired by an episode of Coffee
34:48
People, it really helps us if you tap the follow button on
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support the Coffee People podcast, one of the best ways to
35:00
support the show is to tell a friend.
35:03
Share this episode or share one of our newsletters from
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35:10
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They're our presenting sponsor, and they'll help you tell the
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It's because of them that we can continue to share the stories of
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Yeah, no, yeah. And the bags look as good as the
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Thank you for listening to and sharing this podcast.
35:59
I mentioned at the top entrepreneurial and anxiety
36:02
roadblocks that sometimes we set forth for ourselves, or at least
36:06
I do, and I know that that's something that I'm working
36:09
through as we go through this big expansion in 2025.
36:14
Sometimes there's just something that for whatever reason gets
36:17
stuck and you have to work through it.
36:21
I know that when I finally opened this file and I started
36:23
working on this interview with Brad, it was like a weight had
36:26
lifted from my shoulders and I realized there was nothing to be
36:31
afraid of. It was a great chat, and I'm
36:34
excited that you're all finally listening to it.
36:36
Once again, I'm sorry to Brad for taking so long.
36:39
That's on me to the rest of you. We'll see you next season,
36:45
Season 13. This episode is was has been
36:48
written, produced, researched and recorded by me, Ryan Wolt.
36:53
This show, the Coffee People podcast is part of our Roast
36:56
West Coast Coffee network. And wherever you find yourself
37:00
today, I hope it's with a fine cup of coffee keeping you
37:04
company. Thank you for listening to us
37:06
share the stories of Coffee People.
37:22
If you are in the early stages of your coffee journey, we want
37:26
to support you. Check out the Coffee Smarter
37:28
Education podcasts. Coffee Smarter is designed to
37:31
enable coffee drinkers to brew a better cup of coffee at home,
37:35
and Coffee Smarter Pro covers industry specific topics for
37:39
baristas, roasters, shop owners, and aspiring coffee
37:42
professionals. You'll find both shows on your
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favorite podcast platforms or on our website at
37:48
coffeesmarterpodcast.com.