What Went Wrong (With My Lease Negotiation)
I have written a detailed account of my attempt to secure a lease for the available space at 250 Ontario Street. You may link to it by clicking here. I am currently in discussions with another landlord about space downtown.
Just Ask
When I work alone, (I always prefer to work alone) I have the time and quiet to think. My early work career was spent as a stone mason engaged in physically demanding work which was solitary in practise. Each day, no matter how much effort I expended, I returned home refreshed after a day of thought and reflection. It was during one of these days recently while working on my house renovation that I spent time considering what I wanted coffeeco to be. This was process was accelerated by the plans in place to build a third coffeeco in downtown Kingston.
I have a considerable amount of experience in the coffee business, and have visited my fair share of espresso bars. No doubt I, along with my close circle of advisors, could create a layout and menu which is both unique and modern. But who is it for? Who is coffeeco intended to please, me or my customers? If I polled a hundred customers and asked them what is special about coffeeco, I doubt beauty, machinery, exotic coffees or pretentious trivialities would factor highly. What I believe would be well represented is community, friendly engaged staff, care and attention to products and the local nature of our business. It seems to me that a great many businesses indulge their own interests and hope to bring the customers along, rather than indulging the customers and enhancing those experiences. Every time I read an online post describing the subtle nuances of an espresso bar’s products, I wish it was authored by a customer instead of the proprietor. Maybe we should all make an effort to ask our customers what they taste and experience, rather than telling them what they are experiencing.
Coffeeco Holiday Hours
We would like to wish all of our customers a very Merry Christmas from all of us at coffeeco
Holiday Hours:
December 24 closed at 12 pm
December 25 closed
December 26, open 8 am – 5 pm
December 27,28,29,30
Open Regular Hours
December 31, closed 5 pm
January 1, 2011 closed
Multatuli Holiday Hours
Following are our hours at the Multatuli Coffee Merchants Roastery on Progress Avenue.
December 24 8-12
December 25-January 2 Closed
Re-open for regular hours beginning Monday January 3.
Cheers and Happy Holidays.
Coffeeco 3 Update
A quick post updating all on my thoughts relating to our new location at 250 Ontario Street. The past two weeks, I’ve been waiting on a lease document from the landlord. This time has allowed me some more reflection on what I want this location to be. When you walk into the store, the fantastic array of kitchen equipment is immediately apparent. This equipment will essentially open up any and all possibilities for a new food manager to impress us with their creativity, imagination and execution. But coffeeco is an espresso bar first and foremost, where the baristas serve the freshest and finest coffee available in Kingston. In short, my job is to ensure coffeeco 3 will be an espresso bar with a full kitchen, not a kitchen with an espresso machine. I hope to share photos of the renovations as they happen, in less formal blog posts over the next month when renovations begin in earnest January 3.
