A Note Before We Begin
Running a café is hard. Not just setting it up, but keeping it going—day after day, coffee after coffee. It’s not the big things that catch you off guard. It’s the small, persistent ones. The inconsistency in your espresso shots. The drop in regulars. The days your team doesn’t click. The feedback that stings because it’s true.
As a coffee roaster, I’ve worked with dozens of cafes. And over time, I found myself doing much more than just supplying coffee. I was stepping in to help dial in espresso recipes, answer questions about machines, guide baristas through technique, or simply help owners figure out why the café didn’t “feel right” anymore.
That’s how this series came to life—not as a guidebook, but as a response. A response to the quiet, often overlooked struggles that new cafés face once the dust of the grand opening settles.
What Keeps a Café Running is for anyone who's in the middle of it:
– You’ve opened your doors, but some days feel heavier than others.
– You’re a barista who wants to understand more than just your shift routine.
– You’re serving good coffee, but something’s missing.
This isn’t theory. It’s not built on a consultant’s template. It’s built on first-hand experience from the floor—roasting, brewing, tasting, troubleshooting, adapting. It’s about learning the patterns that help cafés survive, and sharing them with those who need it.
In the posts that follow, I’ll share what I’ve seen work, what often gets ignored, and what makes the difference between cafés that just open… and cafés that stay open.
We’ll unpack real-life situations and look at ways to build a more confident, resilient café from the ground up.