Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

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 feeling like we have become different and this will usher in more motivation, excitement, better quality and hospitality etc. Sadly, no amount of paint, gear,, or remodeling can address the core issues that require people, not place, change. 

Today on Shift Break we will be talkin...

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 topics from business operations, green coffee sourcing - to coffee farming and roasting at origin, as well as crafting great signature drinks!

In order of appearance we have Laila Ghambari of Guilder Coffee , Emily Smith of Hacea Coffee Group, Sebastian Villamizar of Futura Cof...

Designing the experience is pretty much all we focus on. From the colors, textures, sounds, layouts - to the drinks themselves, people's experience is something that is born from design. If we want it to be a good one, we need to put in specific effort across many different areas. One of the areas today' encore episode guest focuses on is the building and space itself where guest drink their coffee and form opiniions that build our...

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 with and for now. Trouble is that we often are stuck at a low level of expectation and accept less than appropriate and right fits because we are defining everything against bad examples from the distant of recent past. 

In today's Shift Break we will talk about why this thinki...

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 simply distractions. Noise vs signal, image vs substance, and so forth. In my year of coffee I have seen plenty of cafes burn out from pursuing and building their businesses according to these distractions. 

Today we are going to detail what these distractions are and what to r...

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 in the validation of our industry before it we are happy with the praise and fulfillment of those we serve through the shop. Truth is, great work, done in secret or anonymity, makes a big difference whether the industry recognizes it our not. 

In today's episode we will be t...

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 going to get coffee worth it. 

In today's Shift Break we will be talking about the necessary costs customers must bear and why they are not inconveniences we should be trying to get rid of, but crucial investments we should be honoring with what we deliver. 

Here are some re...

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 manage them since the term of their employment is short and they are either new, or they have had 6 months or more off from the cafe.

In today's Shift Break we will be talking about some strategies to use when hiring, training, and managing seasonal staff that takes away the...

The landscape of retail is cluttered with messages, distractions, gimmicks, and desperate bids for scraps of customers attention. After a while, it all starts to look, sound, and feel the same. How do you stand out for the right reasons and engage with your customers and future customers in ways that provide something sustainable and unique? 

In today's episode we will be discussing some great ways that you can be engaged with you...

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 professional rugby for over 13 years and started Burra, an antipodean café in Bristol, while still playing full-time. It’s grown to three sites and won multiple awards - shaped by the same principles of culture, teamwork, and performance that he has lived in sport.

The kitchen, kno...

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 those you serve and they are counting on you to be organized and purposeful in the use of your time, energy, and focus.

Today on Shift Break we are going to be covering some advice for how you can better organize your time so you go from being reactive to proactive and can offer ...

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 of the opiniion that the best tools are not necessarily physical, but are frameworks and ideas that help guide our presence, work, and relationships in the work. 

In today's episode we are going to be diving into what I believe are some of the most important tools a coffee s...

"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 which we can see that something, or even we ourselves, need to stop.

Today on Shift Break we are going to be talking about how to see entrepreneurship as not just a one time thing, but as a cyclical practice that helps you enter into needed change to either maintain, add, or t...

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 confidence you and the staff feel together is a synergy born from purposeful work behind the scenes. It is a work not just to assemble people and equipment under one roof and call it done, but work to tend to the things that animate, sustain, and breathe life into it. 

In today's...

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. 

Read more