Shows / Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business. We learn from experts both in and outside the coffee industry as they deliver specific, practical, and actionable advice about ownership, optimization, profitability, barista work, employee culture, management, scaling, leadership, personal development, and anything else that will help you achieve success in the coffee shop.
Episodes
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
126 : Kids in the Coffee Shop! | An exploration of approaches and best practices from two different cafes on opposite sides of the same specialty coffee coin
Kids! When you open a shop you are bound to be serving these little hot chocolate drinking future baristas right along side their single-origin cortado…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Patience & Passivity : Career Advice for the Long Game
SHIFT BREAK #30 One of the most important thing you can have in your journey through the coffee industry is patience. One of the most deadly is passivity…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders125 : Confidence in Conflict w/ Kwame Christian : How to use compassionate curiosity in negotiating for your career's and your coffee businesses best interest
Negotiations...No matter what you do in coffee, you negotiate all the time. Whether it is for a raise, a better price from a supplier, or a lease for a new…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders124 : Founder Friday! w/ Emi Fukahori, World Brewers Cup Champion and Co-Founder of MAME Coffee in Zurich, Switzerland : Behind her winning performance, the value of community, growing through competition, opening a coffee bar, the challenges and joy
It's a very special Founder Friday. I am thrilled to welcome to the show the new World Brewers Cup Campion (and first female WBrC Champ!), Emi Fukahori!!! Not…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop LeadersFrom Barista to Owner | Tim Jones of Liturgy Beverage Company talks about 5 things that helped him on the journey to running his own coffee business!
SHIFT BREAK #29 : On the road to starting a shop there are things you must learn and experience that will help you get established. Today, Tim Jones, Founder…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
123 : The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual! : Writing an effective coffee shop manual, barista communication, management and leadership responsibility, casting vision, details of preparations, service, hospitality, dealing with harassment
The Barista Manual, The Book of Knowledge, That Binder That Never Gets Updated...whatever you call it there is usually some assortment of documents lurking in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Thankfulness : The key to joy in the journey
SHIFT BREAK #28 : On this years Thanksgiving I am so grateful for all of you listening to this show and for the amazing guests who have shared their knowledge…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
122 : How be a Cash Register Hero : 6 Essential skills to have in order to set up both the customers and your co-workers in the coffee shop to have a great experience / Changing our mindset toward register work
Working the cash register is not often seen as legit barista work. We'd rather be on the machine because we are closer to the actual product. Fact is, the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Just. Walk. Away. : A critical point of service in the coffee shop that makes a big difference but is hard to do
SHIFT BREAK #27 : When people come in to our shops they have certain expectations shaped by experiences in restaurants, bars, and other cafes. The average…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders121 : Working from Your Strengths w/ Lisa Cummings : How to identify both your's and your staff' strengths in the coffee shop, placing people in positions that compliment their talents, affirmation on the job, framing all work through the lens of str
We really do tend to put too much emphasis on what is wrong with us and others. We focus on our weaknesses and simply overlook our strengths. This missing a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead
SHIFT BREAK #26 : Gossip, we have all done it and in the moment it feels good to commiserate, but gossip is a poison that destroys culture and relationships in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Hospitality Paradox : Preparing for the most critical & perplexing time in retail
SHIFT BREAK #25 : When the weather turns cooler and the holidays get closer, business gets busier. Ironically, at the same time as our shop pick up steam, we…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders120 : Social Media 101 w / Jenn Chen : The most critical elements for coffee companies to consider to have a great on-line presence
Social media is a vast landscape filled with both great and terrible representations of people's brands. At best we enhance a customer's view of us and create…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders119 : Barista Training Masterclass w/ Gwilym Davies : 2009 World Barista Champion, Gwilym Davies joins us to talk hospitality based training, always learning, being ok with being wrong, structuring your coffee trainings, how to prepare yourself, and
Training baristas effectively is a hugely important task. When done well, it sets them up for long term success in the cafe and in their career. When done…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders118 : Founder Friday! w/ Phil & Sebastian Coffee Roasters founders, Phil Robertson and Sebastion Sztabzyb: Entrepreneurship, challenges of getting started, leadership, staffing, maturing as owners and as a business, green sourcing and producer p
It's Founder Friday! Today we get to sit down and learn from the founders of Phil and Sebastian Coffee Roasters, Phil Robertson and Sebastian Sztabzyb! In the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Grass Roots Improvement: Tapping into the power of your staffs observations and ideas
Shift Break #24 : Every day, in coffee shops around the world, baristas notice things that are broken, see things that can be improved, and have ideas that…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders117 : Coffee and Cocktails w/ Amanda Whitt : Learning about drink building, guidelines for starting a cocktail program in your coffee shop, tips for great coffee cocktails, what we can learn from the world of craft cocktails and bartending
Coffee and cocktails. Baristas and Bartenders. These are basically two sides of the same bar. Today we are going to get to know the craft cocktail and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Accommodating Special Requests: Best practice for accommodating customers special requests for their coffee
SHIFT BREAK #23 : We all have had moments where a customer orders something "Off Script" and depending on our attitude we can either see it as an annoyance and…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders116 : Understanding Gentrification w/ Dr. Stacey Sutton : A conversation about gentrification and the coffee shop's role in both contributing to it and helping stop it
Coffee shops have become a symbol of gentrification, a process that is made up of a mix of opportunism, policy, and politics resulting in the displacement of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
You Need Standard Operating Procedures: The cornerstone to an excellent shop
SHIFT BREAK #22 : One of the main sources of stress and chaos in the coffee bar is the absence of clearly defined standards and procedures for the work. Turn…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders115 : Finding Success in Mobile Coffee w/ Tim Cox of Communion Cafe & Rail Cart Espresso : Preparing for catering, mobile events, pricing, menu design, customer expectations, Technical requirements, challenges and benefits
Mobile coffee service is an incredibly important element to a successful coffee operation. Be it farmers markets, luncheons, weddings, or concerts- breaking…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Working Clean : Tips for keeping the bar looking and working well while you work
SHIFT BREAK #21 : Working a busy bar AND keeping it clean is one of the biggest challenges we face in the cafe and the importance of how we present the space…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders114 : The New Rules of Coffee w/ Jordan Michaelman and Zachary Carlsen of Sprudge.com : Winning over consumers, approachability in coffee, challenging perceptions of coffee, selecting the rules, coffee as a love language
Sprudge is here!!! Founders, Jordan Michaelman and Zachary Carlsen join me on the show talk about their new book, "The New Rules of Coffee". In this…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders113 : Founder Friday! w/ Matt Milletto of Water Avenue Coffee, Portland, OR : Community, partnerships, business advice, slow growth, keys to a successful shop
It's Founder Friday! Today we are welcoming the great Matt Milletto of Water Avenue Coffee to the show! This conversation is packed with extremely valuable…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Career Advice from Joe Marocco of Mill City Roaster : Mission, learning, goals, mindset
SHIFT BREAK #20 : Today we welcome the first ever guest to the Shift Break series, Joe Marocco! A little while ago Joe posted a brilliant piece on his FB page…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders112 : The Power of Story w/ James Harper of the Filter Stories Podcast : Building community, understanding perspectives, digging deeper than marketing in coffee, ways to integrate story into your cafe
Stories are at the heart of all we do and to truly know coffee, you must know more than dry facts, you must know the story of the people behind it. James…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
PSL PSA : Using seasonal flavors to either alienate or bring together
SHIFT BREAK #19 : Pumpkin spice everything! It's all too convenient to jump on the bandwagon of hating on this, and other, seasonal flavors that may feel to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
111 : Self-Care 101: Six Ways to Make Sure You are taking Care of Yourself While Taking Care of Others :
Instead of being a normal part of our professional development, self-care is often a last resort after we have pushed ourself past where it was healthy in a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Affirmation Vacuum : How to make positive reinforcement a corner stone of your leadership and communication
SHIFT BREAK #18 : Today we talk about one of the most powerful practices for creating a healthy workplace. Affirmation. In leadership, it is easy for us to…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders110 : A conversation w/ Matt Perger of Barista Hustle : Coffee education, standards, research, problem solving , barista training
Coffee education can often be a mixed bag. While resources presenting information on coffee and barista work abound, it is hard to come by reliable and well…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Toxic Vulnerability : Barista care, leadership, vulnerability, thoughtful management, coffee culture, coffee family , professionalism
SHIFT BREAK #17 : Being vulnerable in leadership is a great quality but it can turn into something toxic when it becomes an excuse for bad behavior that drives…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
109 : Leadership Abandonment Syndrome :Why there is a lack of development for senior staff and what to do about it. : Leadership, coffee shop management, professional development, responsibility of owners
There is an interesting phenomenon in the cafe where as you move up support, communication, and development tends to be harder to come by. The result is…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders108 : Founder Friday w/ Dorian Bolden of Beyu Caffe, Durham, NC : Community, diversity, business, core-values, live music, coffee shop as the 3rd place, hiring, leadership, concept evolution, mentorship, self-care
It's Founder Friday and boy do we have a great episode in store for you today! Today we welcome Dorian Bolden, Owner of Beyu Caffe in Durham, NC. Beyu (be-you)…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Latte Art Expectations
SHIFT BREAK #16 : Latte art competitions are fun and inspire us to greater heights of presentation and skill. They can also, when taken without context…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders107 : Kyle Glanville & Charles Babinski of G&B Coffee / Go Get Em Tiger : The shift to roasting their own, the challenges and learning curve of roasting, shop expansion, dialing in, roasting for beverage quality, business philosophy, how they start
Live from Los Angeles! G&B Coffee and Go Get Em Tiger are two of the best shops you can find in this world. Since the beginning owners Kyle Glanville and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Introducing Chaos
SHIFT BREAK #15 : In spite of our best intentions, we who are leaders in the cafe can often introduce chaos through the way we act without consideration for…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders106 : Changing Lives Through Coffee w/ Pamela Chng of Bettr Barista
Changing lives through coffee! It is something we all want to take part in and learn how to do with our businesses and careers. Well, today's guest is doing…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
"It's not my Job" & Self-Sabotage
SHIFT BREAK #14 : We explore that all too familiar cop-out, "It's not my Job", how giving into that notion will sabotage your career, and what to do and think…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders105 : Leadership & Management Masterclass w/ Maria Cleaveland : Leadership in the coffee shop, importance systems and clear vision, shaping a career, servant leadership, taking advantage of opportunities, going the extra mile, challenging yourself, l
Maria Cleaveland is a master of management, leadership, and organizational systems and process. She has spent over 30 years in hospitality leadership, the last…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop LeadersSpiders !
SHIFT BREAK #13 : What can we learn about hospitality from spiders? Today on Shift Break we talk about just that.
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders104 : How to Deliver Difficult Feedback w/ Tom Henschel : Why is it hard to give feedback, how to effectively give difficult feedback, 4 steps process model, developing your coffee shop staff, coaching, follow through
Giving feedback is not an easy task. We often psych ourselves out and/or procrastinate on delivering it, dreading the conversation and what might happen when…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Barista Slump : Thoughts on how to deal with times of love-loss, uncertainty, hardship, and weariness in your coffee career
SHIFT BREAK #12 : It is bound to happen. One day we are inspired, passionate, and the wind is in our sails , but the next we are down, weary, questioning our…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders103 : The Colombian Coffee Connection w/ Ervin Liz : True relationship coffee, effective representation of origins, growing up on a coffee farm, retail coffee's role in connecting effectively with farmers
Ervin Liz is an indigenous Colombian of the Nasa tribe who grew up on a coffee farm helping his family plant, pick, process, and sell their harvest. Years…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders102 : Founder Friday! w/ Justin Hartman of Ozo Coffee Co. in Boulder, CO : Operations, hiring, expansion, management, restructuring leadership,
It's Founder Friday!!! Today we get to sit down with Justin Hartman who is the Founder of the standard bearing OZO Coffee Company. Justin brings a very down to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Don't Just Do It! : Delegation, Burnout, facilitating skills development, mistakes coffee shop managers make, teaching and coaching for future return
SHIFT BREAK #11 : When it comes to work that needs to get done in the shop the default for a manager can be to just do it ourselves. It's faster and at least…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders101 : Avoiding Legal Pitfalls in Coffee Retail w/ Marshall Fuss, Attorney at Law : Coffee shop leases, business types, build out, partnerships, raising capital, and trademarks
There are countless details that go into setting up a great coffee shop. At the top of the list of priorities are the legal considerations that provide you…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
SHIFT BREAK #10: We take our coffee very seriously. We obsessively taste, cup, evaluate, and discuss all to perfect the way we extract and serve it to the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
100!!! : Why YOU are the Key : Community, being a resource, conspiring to each others success, trusting in you experience, providing insight, inspiration, and tools.
Wooo Hooo! It's the 100th episode of Keys to the Shop!!! Thank you so much for listening to and supporting this show! I can think of no better way to use this…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Fix the Small Stuff! : Management, Morale, Coffee Bar Culture
SHIFT BREAK #9 : One of the best ways we can make a big difference in the cafe is by taking care of the small stuff. Unfortunately we all know that the small…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders099 : The Barista League w/ Steven Moloney : Community, Competition, accessibility, fun
Competitions don't have to be expensive, complex, or stressful! The Barista League is proof. Today we are talking with Barista League founder, Steven Moloney…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Laziness & the Most Important Decision
SHIFT BREAK #8 : We all have a bit of laziness in us. Throughout the day there are dozens of opportunities to make decisions that will either pave the way to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
098 : Loving the Closing Shift : We discuss the common problems, outline powerful solutions, address the responsibilities of both managers and baristas, and talk about a philosophy of work in the coffee shop that will help adjust your mindset to thr
As shifts go, the closing shift is normally not a covent one. We can suffer from boredom, lack of motivation, disillusionment, isolation, and end up feeling…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
097 : Founder Friday w/ Erica Escalante, Founder of The Arrow Coffeehouse :
It's Founder Friday! Today we are honored to hear from the owner of The Arrow Coffeehouse, Erica Escalante. Erica is a 10 year veteran of the specialty…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The One-on-One : How one meeting can dramatically impact your coffee shop's culture and morale.
SHIFT BREAK #7 : At the heart of every health organization is a prioritized and regular system of communication that gives a voice and an ear to their staff…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders096 : Instant Specialty Coffee w/ Voila Founder, Kent Sheridan : Controversy, Convenience, and Connection
Did you say "Instant specialty coffee"?! Yup, that's right. Not only does it taste 300 times better than traditional instant but it may well change the way you…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Gentrification 2 Ways : Exploring a mentality practiced in cafe leadership that is a microcosm of gentrification / staff culture /neighborhood needs / conversation not monologue
SHIFT BREAK #6 : Today we are exploring a mentality practiced in cafe leadership that is a microcosm of gentrification. Changing this behavior and mindset can…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders095 : Dealing with Stress in the Cafe w/ Joe Sanok : Insights into the causes of stress + ideas, tools, and techniques to combat it for both baristas and coffee shop owners.
In coffee shops we know a thing or two about being stressed! It can range from nagging to debilitating just with a single shift. If you want to experience more…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
The Power of Questions and Connecting with Community
SHIFT BREAK #5 : Conferences, trade shows, and podcasts all bring together people and ideas that help us grow and get answers to questions we have that unlock…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders094 : How to Map it Forward w/ Lee Safar : Coffee career planning, setting goals, dysfunctional behavior, stop blaming, becoming professional, running a better business, increase wages
We all want a fulfilling career in coffee but often times we feel trapped and disappointed with where we are and cannot see the next move. Enter Lee Safar. Lee…
Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop LeadersMaking the Customer the Enemy
SHIFT BREAK #4 : We are in the hospitality business and we recognize that the guest experience hinges on how they are treated. There is, however, a pervasive…