We Are Open

We opened promptly at 10am on Monday November third and offered a free late to the first 50 customers it was advertised as if it was a secret and we didn’t want people to know. It worked because we had a line and while they showed up for the latte they decided to buy more than a latte’s worth in food.

James our head chef tweaked the breakfast menu so that even I was impressed. He kept it simple and didn’t offer too many options but I loved all of them and so did the guest. We were sold out by noon and mall employees were coming back to reorder what they had earlier or what their coworkers had.

I decided that I would put Ernest on bar and Kimmy on register while Beth and I was floating and Calling the line (Taking orders and pulling food from the kitchen). We stayed busy so the shift went by quickly. Eythan came in at 1 and the next part of our team came in at 2. The Shift Lead Barteen Jackson and the two afternoon baristas Rebecca Holmes and Dexter Miller both of whom showed up 15 minutes late. The two apologized and set quickly to work just as they were trained. Kimmy went on her lunch first for 30 minutes followed by Ernest than myself. When we all were on I listened as the jokes flowed out of Ernest and Dexter. The two of them were both gay black men in their early to mid-twenties.  Ernest was like a big black old church woman trapped in a young skinny gay man. Ernest talked about his husband and their two children, his dogs.

As lunch rush finished out I could see that there was extra time that needed to be managed, Beth did a good job dividing out midday task and then clocked out to go home at four. Eythan kept an eye to ensure that everyone was doing as they were instructed. I spent a good deal of time in the office where I heard nonstop laughing I stepped out to find Ernest and Eythan hurling insults at one another and customers ready to fall on the floor laughing. It was clear to everyone that at PUC, you paid for coffee but entertainment was free.

The day rolled on and soon my AM shift was replaced by my late night shift, and I went home so that I could be back in the AM. Eythan took over for the rest of the day. 

Getting Ready

After hiring was finished I spent the next few days outlining everything I could about coffee, from the legend of its discovery to how it’s grown and processed, to how each drink was created. Then I went on to creating a manual on how to create perfectly steamed milk, our drink recipes, the general history of tea, suggested food and beverage parings and a synopsis on our fresh juice options.

While I gave lectures on barista knowledge Eythan gave demos on beverage prep. We took turns coaching the team so that everyone was right where they needed to be when we opened.

It was finally here a week before opining and everything seemed like it was in place the store was completely renovated, inventory was all in and accounted for and social media had us looking like the next big thing.

We decided to have a party the Wednesday before we opened with all the staff and a few friends. Everyone got to try any and everything from the menu and was encouraged to give feedback. While the event was mandatory for staff no one griped or moaned about showing up, apparently I did a good job hiring. Everyone was getting along and enjoyed being at work but it was clear that there were many different personalities and I could not wait to see how they would get along with customers. 

Let The Hiring Begin!

The day came when I was tired of working for others, having been a barista for well over five years I decided to start my own café. I worked for several major chains and independent cafes and learned a plethora of that soon customers and coworkers alike was encouraging me to do something with my knowledge and personality, aside from just serving coffee, so I set out to create a café with flair that was fun and just a little sassy. After all, I am the original sassy barista.

Soon it was time for my partner and me to hire a staff. We needed a small kitchen staff as well as baristas. October 1st we had more than enough applications for every position. So we set up interviews and the next thing I knew for the next two weeks I would be spending every day talking to a plethora of different people who had different feelings when it came to coffee, tea and people.

Dante Morton graduated from the Restaurant school 2 years ago and had been working as a line cook at Serafina. He was extremely handsome so I knew I had to let Eythan, my partner, take the lead on this one.

“So what made you decide to apply for the position?”

His response was one that made me pause, “Man, I am tired of making the same thing every day for these stuck up white people.” I looked at Eythan waiting to see his reaction. The best thing about Eythan, while his mouth moved to say one thing his face always only said what he wanted it to say. I was shocked to find that he was looking at me waiting for my response.

I chimed in, “You do understand that it would be awhile before we would feel comfortable making alterations to the menu?”

“Yeah man that be cool, but how much yawl payin.”

I smiled, “Well how much are you looking to make?”

“Like 20 dollars an hour to start.”

“Hmmm is that what you are making at Serafina?”

“Nah man I am making twenty one fitty but I am willing to take a pay cut if I get the job here.”

“Well I will just call Peter to get a reference and we will go from there. “ I could see the blood drain from his face, “I am sure he would give a good reference I knew he gave me one when I left.”

“Yeah, yeah he cool people.”

“Well thank you Dante, we have a few more interviews and if things work out I will be in touch.’

“Yo, you know where da footlocker at in this mall?”

“I am sorry I do not, but if you make an immediate left information is in the center and they will be able to direct you.” Eythan had an expression on his face that I knew all too well, it screamed “Are you serious?” I laughed hysterically and said, “One down and 24 to go, for this position anyway.”

The next few interviews went well some being more interesting than the others, my next favorite was Brian Lowery.

The line of questioning began just like all the others. “So Brian what made you decide to apply for this position?”

“To be honest I just really need a job.”

“Well I appreciate your honesty, what are your qualifications?”

“I graduated from community college with my associates in culinary arts almost six years ago and was working for Cosi until 2 months ago.”

“What happened?” Eythan asked and seemed more interested than I had seen him in any other interview.

“I got a promotion and my boss decided it was not a good fit.”

“That seems kind of odd,” I asked intriguingly.

“Well I was made assistant kitchen manager, little did I know that the store manager needed a scape goat and she promoted me to be just that. I did my job as she asked and soon little did I know there was a case against the store and I was called into the office for miss managing funds and product and so the district manager fired me. I didn’t have a leg to stand on because I had no proof that my boss asked me to do it, just that it happened.”

Eythan and I looked at one another, it was not his skills, nor his personality that captured our attention, but the fact that here in front of us sat a man who needed us. Brian presented a challenge, we wanted to make him into a man and so we closed the interview and decided to hire him.  

We had made our selections for a chef, his assistant, and two other people who would work in the kitchen. Next we needed our barista staff and for this we needed at least 10 people, 4 shift managers and six baristas. Eythan and I would fill in as needed and then hire additional accordingly.

Our first applicant was Beth Johnston, she was a curvaceous woman in her mid-thirties but she looked much younger. She had a look on her face that expressed she was not in the mood for bull shit. But when she smiled the sun seemed to shine brighter and I was ready to hire her on the spot before we even said hello.

I began the same way I did with all the applicants, “So what made you decide to apply for the position Miss Johnson?”

“Well I have been working for Nordstrom for over 8 years and decided it was time for a change.”

“What position do you currently hold at Nordstrom?” I was trying not to seem too relaxed but given her experience I knew that if the right money was offered she had the job.

“I am the A.M. Barista Lead.”

We went on talking about her time spent at Nordstrom and even talked about her family for a brief while and after she left Eythan expressed that he wanted to hire her on the spot.

“Hello Kimberly how are you today?”

“Umm can you just call me Kimmy, that’s what everybody calls me?”

“Oh ok, not a problem.” Eythan paused cleared his throat and pronounced her name in the most condescending way. “So, Kimmy, What makes you want to be a barista?”

“Umm like I hear you get tips and it’s a cool way to meet people.”

“What do you know about coffee and tea?”

“Oh I don’t drink coffee.”

“What about tea then?”

“Oh I like iced tea and I drink hot tea when I have cramps, my friend Becka told me about it and she like swears by it. At first I was like no, then she was totally like try it and so I said ok and then I was like, you’re right and now I like tell all my friends about it and they are like how I was and then I am like I know right but it like totally works and then they are like O.M.G. and then yeah like you know.”

“Wow that was quite a story. . .”

“Oh thanks I have a lot of cool stories, my ex-boyfriend Jamie said that I could talk for days with all the stuff that is in my head.”

My jaw just dropped as Eythan without missing a beat continued the interview. “Tell me about some of you prior jobs.”

“Oh I never had a job my mom said that working before going to college was a bad idea so I just did like extracurricular and stuff in high school but now that I am almost finished college my dad was like, ‘Kimmy you have to figure out what you want to do with your life.’ So I told him I would get a job because like my mom was all like you should just get married like I did and make me a grandmother. And I was all like the hell with that I don’t want to be like my mom. Like she is cool and all but I am still young and there is so much I can still experience in life. Like do you know what I am saying?”

We both just looked at her, the ditz just made a valid point.

I just had to ask, “So Kimmy are you willing to learn about coffee and tea?”

“Oh like totally I like learning new stuff I have a 3.5 GPA. So I was going to go for my masters but my Dad said he won’t pay for me to just be a like a professional student or something like that, like how do you become a professionally student, if I could get paid to go to school I could do that but like I don’t even know where to start so I went to craigslist and saw your ad and all my friends kept saying don’t work for Starbucks they suck even though I love the pumpkin spice late the people never seem too happy to be working there so I decided not to even bother.”

It was official I found Kimmy annoying as all hell But the potential was there so we concluded the interview and knew that we were going to hire her. 

It only took a week before I had a full staff and I set it up so that the following week we would begin training.