If you want to run a great coffee shop, loving people is one of the most important things to have at the foundation of all you do. It is also sometimes the hardest and requires intentional pursuits of a visions and a tenacity that always seeks out ways to improve communication, service, hospitality, and quality to make sure both staff and customers consistently feel the love.

I am happy that we get to chat with someone whose cafe and pursuit of what coffee service and community can look like has been making an big impact in a small eastern Washington town.

Today we will be talking with the founder of Kittitas Cafe, Mackenzie Cohen!

After working in the food and beverage industry in the U.S. and in Australia for over a decade, Mackenzie found her love for coffee, food, and people was so overwhelming she needed to make it her career!

The Kittitas Cafe's unofficial motto is, "love on people so much, they can't help but love us back." So far, it's worked pretty well for them!

Kittitas Cafe has formed an incredibly loving community, introduced people to coffee and food they otherwise may never have tried, and has provided careers for people that offer growth and fulfillment.

Some things we will cover:

• Inspiration Behind Opening the Cafe
• Influences of Coffee Culture
• What is "The Athleticism of Service"
• What it Looks Like to Love People Well
• The importance of Creating a Supportive Team Environment
• Viewing Management as a continuous learning process
• Challenges, proud moments, and Building Relationships with Customers
• How Balance Staff and Customer Needs
• Menu Evolution From Staff Conversation and Feedback
• Gratitude as a Lifeline to Staff

Links:

• 535: Founder Friday! 30 Years of Coffee! w/ Ana Burgos and Amanda Jones of Hyperion Espresso, Fredricksburg, VA
• 380 : Founder Friday! w/ Cary and Cindy Arsaga of Arsaga's Coffee Roasters
• 480: Focus on What Your Customers Love
• 340 : Encore Episode of "10 Reasons to Love the Customer"!
• 5 Keys to Coffee Shop Staff Retention

Click below to register for our new webinar!

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

or book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

SPONSORS

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

It is that time of year here in the U.S. where many will reflect on what they are thankful for. In this current age where bad news and reasons to despair abound, it is even ore important to fight for and seek out the good and positive in our lives. But even for those of us who see value in this tradition of listing what we have to give thanks for, it often remains only a once per year thing.

On today's Shift Break we will be chatting about what truly being thankful should lead to in the way we live and act toward the people we have in our lives and businesses and even to ourselves when the opportunities and challenges that make up daily work life arrive. When we really believe and know that we are thankful, and we allow ourselves to be impacted by it, great things are more likely to happen and to be recognized when they do.

• Thankfulness and Giving Energy to the Positive
• Priorities and Deep Thankfulness
• SHIFT BREAK! Engaging in the Right Conversations (or how not to accept undue guilt)
• Emotions, Self-Sabotage, and Telling Ourselves the Truth
• 100! Why YOU are the Key

Click here to register for our new webinar!

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

Tickets are limited and you will want to secure your seat soon!

CONSULTING + COACHING

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of 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

And we are back with the second part of our exploration of common barista myths! I have to say, the main point for both the owner and barista episodes is to encourage everyone to exercise a patience, humility, curiosity, and a sense that there may be more to a story that what we initially see. The culture of coffee shops is shaped on aspirations and passion, but also on assumptions that can damage, hold back, and make toxic an otherwise promising career or cafe.

So with all that said I want to cover another set of myths that baristas (ie: future managers, owners, trainers etc) believe and what might be a better way to address what the myth is based on. We cover: Don't expect much from your boss

We will cover:

• Don't expect much from your boss
• Gatekeeping is always negative
• Being a barista is my only option to work in coffee
• My standing in the community is my significance as a professional
• If I am not happy it is the business fault
• My work as a barista doe not make a difference

Links:

• 570: Myths Baristas Believe Part 1
• 556: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 1
• 559: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 2
• SHIFT BREAK! Get Your Cafe to Stand Out Without Losing Your Footing
• 331 : The 7 Deadly Sins of my Career
• SHIFT BREAK: Evil Owners and Lazy Baristas
• 531: Why the Rise Convenience Coffee is a Good Opportunity for Coffee Shops

Click here to register for our new webinar

on December 5th 2025!

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

or book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

SPONSORS

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

I was invited to speak recently to a group of coffee professionals on the state of the industry based on what I have experienced through my consulting, career, and interviews. One of the main things I shared was that coffee quality in roasted form is at an all time high. But quality is embarrassingly low. The issue is not the coffee, equipment, access to information, or even money. It is a refusal to train staff and continue investing in their abilities to deliver quality.

Today on Shift Break we will be discussing the urgent need for today's coffee shop to invest in and develop their staff with relevant and effective training. This has to be a priority and we are seeing the consequences across the industry as customers faith in our ability to deliver continues to decline and convenience innovations continue o go up. The solutions to your problems are not in tech, finance, or sourcing. It is in relationships, personal growth, and a culture of training that maximizes the value of each opportunity to represent the coffee well and serve the guest with excellence.

Related episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! You Need to Avoid This HUGE Training Mistake!
• 527: Thoughts on How to Approach Training and Onboarding
• You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!
• Ineffective Training
• The Insult of Sink or Swim Training
• 339 : What Good Barista Training Produces

Click here to register for our new webinar!

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

Tickets are limited and you will want to secure your seat soon!

CONSULTING + COACHING

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of 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

Water for coffee. This is the biggest area of quality control focus that we must always monitor and check to provide constantly excellent coffee. Learning about water can come from various sources and for many busy operators it is tempting to learn a couple things and use that knowledge forever vs continually learning and gaining just as thorough an understanding of water as you do with coffee.

Thankfully we have a resource like the book Water for Coffee that has been created and is now in production of the 2nd edition! Today we talk with returning guest and co-author of Water for Coffee, Maxwell Dashwood!

We will cover:

• The background and evolution of the book "Water for Coffee"
• What has changed in the upcoming new edition
• "Built water" is great, but not always
• Water's role in affecting coffee flavor
• How mineral salts change coffee taste
• The case for natural water offering more complexity
• Why different waters are required for different methods of extraction
• The need to open ourselves to the nuances vs dogma

Links:

Get the new book: Water For Coffee

https://www.instagram.com/mcolonnadashwood/

Click here to register for our new webinar!

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

or book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

SPONSORS

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs!

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick

The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series!

www.pacificfoodservice.com

Here is why I am thrilled to be launching this live webinar called "The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success".

The more conversations and exchanges we have where we get to clarify, fortify, and focus on excellence in things that matter, the better all our businesses become.

In the last almost 9 years KTTS has offered free content in the form of the 2x per week podcast to help operators steward and grow their business by focusing on people, operations, and quality.

Now we are prod to announce a new accessibly priced webinar that will specifically address those three areas and deliver insight, tools, and methods to achieve excellence so you and your people thrive in the running of your shop.

The Keys to the Shop: Principle For Cafe Success
Webinar Date: December 5, 2025 at 12:00PM EST
Length: 90 minutes (60 min teaching + 30 min live Q&A)
Investment: $99 (includes workbook + 1:1 consultation for all who attend)

Here is what you will learn:

• One hour of focused content + 30 minutes live Q&A to give you practical insights and tools you can apply immediately to your cafe's operations, people, and quality.
• Develop operational values that guide hiring and unlock culture & performance
• Proven communication systems that produce clarity and buy-in from baristas
• How to be the leader and coach your staff needs
• Which cafe systems help manage the day-to-day business
• How to remain flexible and refine operations over time
• Best ways to schedule your time and organize your energy
• Establish and maintain quality standards and staff training for excellence
• Accountability and staying invested in your and your staff's development

Link to sign up:

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER WHILE THERE IS SPACE!

I hope to see you on December 5th!

-Chris

If you listen to every well meaning linkedIn post or biz hack YouTube video you can stand out so much that you actually lose touch with he foundation of your business.

Today on shift break we will talk about ways to pursue more customer attention but in a way that reinforces your roots and foundations vs pulling you aways from them.

• Differentiation Takes Time!
• 559: Myths Coffee Shop Owners Believe Part 2
• 433: Winning Staff and Customer Loyalty
• 390 : 7 Ways to be Consciously Competitive
• Exclusivity is a Bad Strategy

CONSULTING + COACHING

If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email

chris@keystothshop.com

of 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