Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

It's Founder Friday! And today we et to talk with a pillar of our community whose journey spans two decades, multiple businesses, professional growth through barista championships, personal growth through growing a roastery and multiple cafes as well establishing long term trade relationships with coffee farmers and providing real care to the team that helps you make it all happen. Today we will be talking to my friend and and a truly excellent operator, Trevor Corlett of Madcap Coffee! Trevor Corlett founded Madcap Coffee in 2008 and has grown it into four cafés in Grand Rapids and metro Detroit, plus a roastery serving wholesale partners and direct-to-consumer customers. His path spans all levels of the craft — nine years competing in barista competitions, including back-to-back 3rd place finishes at the U.S. Barista Championship in 2013 and 2014 and the 2016 Eastern Conference title, followed by 13 years instructing for the Specialty Coffee Association while serving on the Barista Guild of America board, ultimately as Chair, and on the SCA board. In 2025, he joined the Coffee Futures Fund as a founding mentor, contributing expertise in coffee, leadership, company culture, and operational infrastructure. We talk about:  Learning to roast and launching two Illinois cafes before Madcap Madcap's start and the coffee movement in Michigan Producer transparency and the decision to start Madcap Why Madcap stripped back the cafe experience Listening to customers without abandoning values Producer partnerships, creative drinks, and hospitality How Trevor grew from coffee professional to business leader How competition sharpened everyday cafe skills Building structure for sustainable growth Using EOS and Traction to improve communication Health benefits and long-term employee care Paid training as an investment in staff development Links:  https://www.madcapcoffee.com/ https://www.instagram.com/madcapcoffee/   Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive. Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes: 563: Founder Friday! w/ Jared Linzmeier of Ruby Coffee Roaster 526: Founder Friday w/ Fount Coffee and Kitchen Owners, Shawn and Kristen Preissner and George and Katie Kilgore! 471 Founder Friday! Encore Episode w/ Emi Fukahori of Mame Coffee in Zurich Switzerland! 453 : The Craft of Operations   SPONSORS! "Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!    The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!   

"If you don't have house made syrup then it's a red flag!" This is the kind of talking point that is the fodder of the ignorant, self serving (but vibey) coffee influencers of our day. Taking one aspect of a larger thing and making it the litmus test by which you can magically know all things about a place may work for 1990s psychics on the Maury Povich show, but we live in the real world, not the reel world, and understand that there is more nuance to the discussion than is convenience for clicks and giggles.  Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why house made or not is not actually the point and why intentionality is the real green flag we should be waving when it comes to our menus. Related episodes:  Why DIY SHIFT BREAK! Tips For Signature Drink Success   KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING  Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com  

Coffee is built on relationships. Wholesale relationships are particularly important in that there is a need for both equipping and resourcing, as well as connecting and encouraging. How well we engage with and serve people literally sets up the entire industry for success.  With that in mind I thought there might be no better person to represent the heart of what it means to serve clients well, than Bear Soliven Chief Wholesale Officer at Onyx Coffee Lab!  Bear Soliven has spent 15+ years in the coffee industry as anything from a barista, baker, and, for a short season, a roaster.  For 11 of those years, he has called Onyx Coffee Lab home, spending the past 10 as a wholesale representative helping cafés and hospitality partners build their coffee programs. He loves the craft, but it is the people that give the work its meaning: the friendships formed over time, the pleasure of making something well, and the welcome offered across a counter.  Occasionally, he competes in Cup Tasters, chiefly for the fun of it, and perhaps to keep his palate from growing too pleased with itself. Beyond coffee, faith, hospitality, and belonging sweep through every avenue of Bear's story.  He finds much to value in ordinary things: good food, a shared cup, great movies & books, and especially the chance to make someone feel at home. Today we get cover:  Authenticity, confidence, and professional boundaries Supporting cafe founders through uncertainty Wholesale as attentive hospitality, not a sales pitch Depersonalizing friction and offering candid advice Building systems around a relationship-first workflow Setting client expectations and adapting communication Team support, shared expertise, and weekly alignment Why a coffee brand cannot fix a broken cafe culture Bear's advice for people starting in wholesale Links:  https://www.instagram.com/taco.papi_/ https://onyxcoffeelab.com/   Keys to the Shop Consulting: Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related Episodes:  615: The Key to Excellent Cafes, Sales, and Wholesale Support w/ Sam Lewontin!   473: A Master Class in Wholesale Coffee w/ Honor Forte of Olympia Coffee Roasters 246 : Selecting a Wholesale Coffee Provider 133 : 5 Keys to Successful Wholesale w/ Sarah Richmond     SPONSORS! "Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!    The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!   

Stories are how we communicate something deeper than just information. They help both old shape their worldview and grasp concepts that have far reaching impact on the countless decisions we make through our lives that affect the lives of others. No matter how small, it makes a difference. That is one of the central messages of the book written by today's guest, Wendra Lynn.  Wendra Lynne is an artist and author with a background in commercial art, as a long time member of the Art Directors Guild for Screen and Television. Today, she brings her artistic expertise and love of nature to write and illustrate picture books uniquely painted with real coffee blended into watercolors. Her first book, The Wondrous Cloud Forest, uses coffee-infused illustrations to tell the story of how shade-grown coffee can protect wildlife, support Indigenous communities, and promote sustainability. Her second book, The Little Bean That Grew to Brew, follows a single coffee bean's journey from seed to cup, mirroring a child's journey of growth and discovery while celebrating resilience, finding purpose, and the big difference seemingly small choices can make. Today we get to talk about Wendra's experiences in art, coffee, writing, and we unpack the lessons she has placed in the Little Bean book as well as the lessons she has learned form her life as an artist that we in the coffee shop world can apply to what we create and who we become as we do.  Links:  https://thelittlebean.org/ https://www.bywendra.com/store/p52/The_Little_Bean.html   Keys to the Shop Consulting: Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related Episodes:  622: Lifting Up Coffee Farmers w/ Ben Carlson of Long Miles Coffee! 112 : The Power of Story w/ James Harper of Filter Stories Podcast 519: The World of Coffee People w/ Ryan Woldt of The Coffee People Podcast SHIFT BREAK: Why Your Shop Needs to Tell Stories       SPONSORS! "Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!    The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!       

"I want to have one on ones but they always turn into gripe sessions!" You have perhaps experienced this problem. You go to sit down with staff and begin a habit of good communication and it rapidly devolves into a gossip session about other staff, management, etc. Discussion of issues is a good thing, unless it is poorly managed.   Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can approach your meetings in a way that avoids turning communication into commiseration and healthy discussion into gossip sessions.  There is a lot here and I hope it helps!    Related episodes:  Gossip: How this toxic element destroys community in the coffee shop and what to do instead Shift Break! The Problem of Commiseration Service, Spite, and Compromise Customer Caricatures and Inside Jokes 463: Tips on Having the Right Meetings   KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING  Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com  

Do you find yourself saying this? Over the years I have heard this or a version of this on repeat (the irony!) What is going on? Why do your staff ask you the same things over and over again? Well, the answer may not be what you want to hear, but it may help solve the problem.  Today on Shift Break we will be talking about what the most common reasons are for staff asking and re-asking questions, what it means, and what you can do to solve the real problem or discern whether there is even a problem at all!  This is one of those episodes where you have to come with a mind to take ownership. Related episodes:   Communicate, Duplicate, Repeat : Key habits that make information stick 541: Repetition, Reminders, and Guidance 490: 7 Vital Things to Include in Daily Shift Work   KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING  Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com  

It is easy to fall into the trap of sitting on helpful information and ideas that can help your business and your people because you feel it needs to be perfect. One more class, one more book, one more podcast and then I will act. Really anything, can and does and it become a tool for avoidance not education. Today we are going to be talking about why we procrastinate on taking action and also how we can avoid taking action compulsively out of self interest or ego. The issue that stands in the way of applying information well is typically us. Not the information. Let's talk about it and remove yo as the obstacle.   Keys to the Shop Consulting: Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes: 587: How To Apply Insights To Your Coffee Bar SHIFT BREAK: Getting Over the Awkwardness of Leadership SHIFT BREAK! Taking the First Steps Toward Change in the Cafe   SPONSORS! "Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!    The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!       

We promise people a lot of things. Whether they are implied by marketing, or stated directly, the biggest differentiator between a cafe that is trusted and one that is not will be whether you have a plan for doing what you say you will do.  Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why keeping promises is perhaps the most important area for operators to focus on and how to approach the logistics that need to be in place to actually fulfill those promises related employment, leadership, menu, and service.  Related episodes:  SHIFT BREAK! What It Means To Have Integrity In Our Work Coffee, Integrity, and A.I. Managing Expectations in Systems 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING Helps You Find Joy Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    SPONSORS!   Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com  

People. This is what owners consistently say is one of the biggest challenges they have in running their shops. Why is this? Well, I was just at Coffee Fest in Dallas/Fort-Worth and heard basically the same thing form many experienced owners. Today we will be talking about what is behind this issue and what can be done to begin to unravel and fix the way we view and lead people in our cafes.   Keys to the Shop Consulting: Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes: 194 : Encore Episode! Leadership in the Cafe: 10 Steps to being a People First Leader | Aired January 17 2017 579: How to Really Care For People in the Cafe   SPONSORS! "Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!    The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!     

Am I behind? This was a question I was asked by a coaching client recently. They worried that they may be not to where most people "should be" in their coaching. I have talked with thousands of people in my 3 decades of coffee and one thing that persists is the nagging feeling that you are not as good as others and that you need to keep pace with them or some terrible undefined thing will happen. Whether it is the progress you make in coaching or the growth of your cafe, your situation and journey is yours and no one else's. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about this compulsion we have to always think we should be further along andf how to embrace the road you are walking and steward the people and opportunities you have. This is what brings lasting and fulfilling growth. Related episodes:  Three Questions for Better Cafe Decisions Your Peers are not your Customers 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison 604: 5 Habits Holding You and Your Team Back   KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING Helps You Find Joy Book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    SPONSORS!   Thank you to out sponsors! Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/   The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com