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
571: Worrying and Other Deceptive Replacements for Good Leadership
In my live workshops with owners and teams, coaching calls with clients, and even in interviews here on the show run into many go-to habits that are…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! How Does Your Staff Know They Are Doing a Good Job?
In our world of coffee shops we feel if we can get through the day without too many disasters or fires that we are doing well. The people we put into various…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
570: Myths Baristas Believe Part 1
At this show we believe that the onus for setting people up for success and being the chief servant of those above them is squarely on the leader or owner of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #39: Making Big Impact with Small Batch Roasting w/ Adrian Seligman Founder of Scandinavian Alps Coffee Roasters!
Being a small roastery is beautiful thing. Agility, lower waste, and a different flavor intentionality and flexibility offer many advantages that can aid in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
569: Founder Friday! w/ Hong Shin and Kenny Kuk of Haan Coffee Roasters in Orlando Florida!
It's Founder Friday! I am happy to welcome to the show Kenny Kuk, and Hong Shin of Haan Coffee Roasters in Orlando Florida! Haan Coffee has been in operation…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! The New Classic Cafe: An Era of Understated Excellence
Coffee shops come in all shapes, styles, sizes, and focus on many different aspects of social experience and craft. If we look back we can see that certain…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
568: The Keys to Espresso Machine Care w/ Jon Ferguson, Author of the new book "Coffee Under Pressure"
There are many ways to mess up a perfectly good espresso machine. By contrast, virtually all of them are preventable if you follow only a few specific…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! How Well Do You Know Your Business?
The only way to really know how your business is doing, is to know how your staff are doing. Do you know, to the person, how each staff member is doing with…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
567: James Hoffmann on Cafes, Hospitality, and the Influence of Home Coffee
Almost every conversation you see online about coffee focuses on home coffee vs cafe. It is a very interesting and relevant topic in this time of explosive…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! When To Break The Rules
The great Danny Meyer said, "Policies are nothing more than guidelines to be broken for the benefit of our guests". I come back to this idea often when trying…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
566: The Problem With Systems
Systems are a necessary part of running a great coffee shop, but they do not make the shop great. As much as I talk about systems and structures on this show…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Don't Overwhelm Your Managers
Sharing is caring!...but when you overshare with your managers it can easily be the opposite. You have a lot on your mind and often not a lot of people to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
565: Making Specialty Coffee Shops Special -or- (how to avoid closing 400 stores)
Who you are cannot be what someone else is or is not. What makes you unique and valuable is not born from comparative analysis and cold execution n what you…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SPECIAL! Interviews from Coffee Fest LA 2025! w/ LaNisa Williams, Kat Padlan, Darell Baskin, and Seidy Selivanow
I am excited to share with you another set of conversations from Coffee Fest! This time form Los Angeles 2025! We start with a discussion focusing on the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Why Won't My Baristas Engage Customers The Way I Want Them To?!
Yeah sure your staff take the customer's order, give them the change, and direct them to the pick up area, but you want more! Trouble is, even though you have…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
564: Why It's Not the Bricks, It's the Mortar! w/ Mike Cosentino of Big Peach Running Co.
Knowing all the information and having all the coolest and best gear does not means your shop will succeed. For the purpose of todays conversation let's just…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR#38 : A Better Way to Think About Roasting Dark, w Erik Johnson of Thinkwell Coffee
Roasting excellent coffee should not be relegated to only one finish temp or level of roast. For a significant portion of our history we have favored the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Refreshing the Owner's Soul
We all want to make a difference with our work. The trouble is that the busyness of a coffee shop tends to pull our attention in a million different directions…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
563: Founder Friday! w/ Jared Linzmeier of Ruby Coffee Roaster
Jared Linzmeier is the co-founder of Ruby Coffee Roasters, based in Nelsonville, Wisconsin. After getting his start in specialty coffee with Intelligentsia in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
562: Encore Episode! The 10 Essentials of a Barista Manual!
I love getting to re-air classics. This one on barista manuals is a great one because it provide a structure for essentials that you can build on. Here is the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Is That Character or Neglect?
The difference between dirty, dysfunctional, or neglected, and something that is maintained but has character, is the level of intentionality given to it. In…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
561: How to Motivate Baristas
This is a question that seems to be answered by many with desperate incentives and what amounts to just brute force to get their staff to do the things they…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! What Customers Value and How to Deliver It
We always talk about adding value to the customer experience. In the coffee shop this is usually focused on things like the look, flavor, price, and service…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Taking the First Steps Toward Change in the Cafe
So you have come to the conclusion that things need to change in your coffee shop. Maybe it is something related to systems, schedules, training, culture, or a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
560: Bio-Innovation and Securing the Future for Coffee Farmers and Their Land w/ Felipe Sardi of La Palma y El Tucan
The world of coffee shops is fueled by the world of coffee farmers. For as long as coffee has been grown, the people who pursue the cultivation of the product…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
559: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 2
And the myths just keep on coming! Welcome to part 2 of the series on Myth Coffee Shop Owners Believe. The goal here is to create space and slow down long…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! The Trend of Backwards Hospitality
Who is it we are serving when we start or work in the coffee shop? If you listen to a lot of the way people talk today, you might think we expect customers to…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
558: Digital Natives and the Future of Coffee Shops w/Kosta Kallivrousis
Like Pepsi in 1984, coffee is the "Choice of a New Generation"... but maybe not in the same way as we of older generations are comfortable with. The ways…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
557: Founder Friday! w/ Andre Chanco of Yardstick Coffee in the Philippines!
Once again it is Founder Friday! The world of coffee encompasses vast regions of taste and culture, all united by the communal cup of coffee. In the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Shift Break! The Problem of Commiseration
In forums, trade shows, and conversations everywhere, people are talking about their problems, and that's not a bad thing! The problem starts when the talk is…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
556: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 1
What we believe is often a mixture of what we heard , what we have experienced, and what is convenient for us in the moment. The truth is, we are desperate for…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Considering the Future You When Making Decisions
Have you ever made a regrettable decision in the moment that you would have made differently if you had given yourself a bit more time and space to reason it…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
555: 3 Ways to be Better Cafe Manager
Becoming a great manager is as much for other people's benefit as it is for your own. In order to do this you have to see it as a practice that incorporates…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Message From Chris: Explaining Key Holder Coaching Groups, Consulting, Coaching, and the Goals of KTTS Services
Hey everyone! I was sitting at my desk thinking about the various services and means KTTS has created to help coffee shop owners and leaders in the last 8…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! The Right Place for Creativity in the Cafe
We like to use the word "creativity" when describing ideal traits in coffee shop staff. In some ways, this is admirable and very useful, for a lot of us…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
554: Formal Education vs Real World Experience : Which is Better?
What is necessary before opening a cafe? Which is better to prepare you for the challenges and opportunities you will be presented with in your career and as…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! New Managers: Learning Before Changing
When a new manager is placed in a cafe, they often will try to change a lot of things in a bid to justify their role and/or create what they believe is the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #37 : Tariffs, Relationships, and Resiliency for Roasters | A Conversation w/ Steve Green of Mill City Roasters
These are challenging times for roasters. With the topics of green prices and tariffs dominating the airwaves and minds of owners, everyone is looking for the…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
553: Career Success, Hospitality, and Cafe Culture w/ Akaash Saini
How we grow in the coffee industry will determine how we lead and how we influence those around us. Our guest today has developed a career that has allowed him…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
552: Founder Friday w/ Kristen Redfield and Jenna Currier of Goldie's Coffee Roasters in Anchorage, Alaska!
It's Founder Friday! I am very happy to welcome to the show the founders of Goldies Coffee Roasters Kristen Redfield and Jenna Currier! Kristen Redfield is a…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Should You Remodel or Renew Your Cafe?
If we change anything in the cafe, it will more likely be something related to the optics, branding, or remodeling the physical cafe in order to get that…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SPECIAL! Live from Portland Coffee Fest 2025! w/ Laila Ghambari, Ryan Jie Jaing, Emily Smith, and Sebastián Villamizar
Hey everyone and welcome to another Coffee Fest live series. this time from Portland, OR 2025! We get to talk with four wonderful professionals on a host of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
551: Encore: Designing the Guest Experience w/ Doctor Lisa Waxman!
Designing the experience is pretty much all we focus on. From the colors, textures, sounds, layouts - to the drinks themselves, people's experience is…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Better Than Bad is Not Good
Your decisions in the business related to hiring, quality, operations etc need to be based on what is actually good for the business and the people you work…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
550: Replace These Distractions and Watch Your Cafe Grow!
I don't think there has been a time in the history of coffee shops where we have been so distracted by things that promise to bring value but turn out to be…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
549: The Power of Great Consistent Work Over Time
How do you know if you are doing a good job? Who are you looking to serve and how do you measure success? For many of us the proof of our doing great work lies…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! What Should Coffee Cost a Customer?
Investment is what creates value. There are many other investments beyond the financial that customer must make in the coffee experience that make the act of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Seasonal Staff
I have talked to many clients as well as Key Holder Coaching Group members who employ seasonal staff. There is a big challenge when looking to hire, train, and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
548: Cool Ideas For Customer Engagement
The landscape of retail is cluttered with messages, distractions, gimmicks, and desperate bids for scraps of customers attention. After a while, it all starts…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
547: Founder Friday! w/ Jake Heenan, Founder of Burra Bristol in the UK!
It's Founder Friday! Today we are chatting with the professional Rugby player turned specialty cafe owner, Jake Heenan of Burra Bristol! Jake has played…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Time Management For Managers and Owners
If you are a manager or leader on shift, or the owner of the cafe, how you spend your time really matters. You have been given authority as a tool to help…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
546: Tools That Every Coffee Shop Should Have
In this ever cluttered world of tips, tricks, methods, eqipment, and tools it can be hard to know what to employ in the cafe to really make a difference. I am…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! The Entrepreneurial Case For Stopping
"If you're not growing, your dying", phrases like this tend to drive us pursue a path of growth that often prevents us from slowing down or finding margin in…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
545: Breathing Life Into Your Coffee Shop
Have you ever walked into a shop and noticed right away, this place is different. The hospitality, the quality, the feel, the energy, and the comfort and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Tips For Signature Drink Success
Signature beverages and seasonal drinks are a huge part of what rounds out the cafe menu and, if done well, can make you stand out for all the right reason. Of…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
544: Love Coffee, Control Caffeine w/ 2013 WBC Champ Pete Licata of Caffeine Control Coffee
Coffee. We love it so much! However, in spite of our love for coffee, we have all been burned by taking in just a little too much caffeine as we sip, cup, and…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
SHIFT BREAK! Don't Rush Your Customers
In the busy cafe we tend to want to power through the work and in the process we rush the customer. The average cafe guest can feel as though they are simply…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
543: A Philosophy On Employee Turn-over
Everybody leaves. That is the constant of working in coffee shops. How they leave and how you respond to their absence for their good, the team that remains…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
542: Founder Friday! w/ Nori and Tin Burmudez of Corridor Flow, Lomita, CA
It's Founder Friday! And this one is quite special. Nori and Tin Burmudez founded Corridor Flow in the Fall of 2019 with community and relationship as their…
- Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
RoR #36: Community and Continual Learning w/ Alex Jacob of Vital Coffee Roasters w/ Alex Jacob
Great things happen when we plug into community and open ourselves up to the learning process. This is especially true when you begin your own business and…