Keys to the Shop Podcast ️

Keys to the Shop Podcast ️ Consulting giving shop owners systems, solutions, confidence, and clarity to run an amazing cafe!

01/10/2026

You may have the best advice and information, but then your delivery can often fall flat or even have the opposite effect. This is very common in the cafe leadership environment where things are busy and our emotions feed into how we speak.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how to start paying attention to and adjusting the spirit behind the words you speak and how to make practical adjustments so what you say will be effective.

23/09/2026

One of the coolest things about coffee is how it can be used as a catalyst for change. Today we are going to be talking with someone who has built one of the best examples of how a business with a vision can make real progress for inclusion.

We are talking with Lindsay Wrege, Co-founder of 321 Coffee in Raleigh, NC!

321 Coffee is a coffee shop and roaster built on inclusion. Based in Raleigh, NC, 321 currently employs over 50 adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). They are the ones roasting the coffee, taking the orders, and making the lattes and in this and many other ways 321 is demonstrating the value of an inclusive business model.

The name “321 Coffee” is representative of Down syndrome, which occurs when an individual has 3 copies of the 21st chromosome.

The company was founded in 2017 by Lindsay Wrege and Michael Evans. The two met during their freshman year as Park Scholars at NC State University. They had the vision to build a company founded on inclusion. 321 Coffee started with a couple folding tables and a home coffee brewer set up anywhere that would welcome them. These events helped to develop a presence in the community. Raleigh rallied behind the mission and helped 321 grow beyond those folding tables.

Today, 321 Coffee operates multiple coffee shops in the Raleigh area and is actively finding new opportunities to expand our impact. We roast our own coffee, offer a full-scale espresso menu, and partner with over 100 different companies to provide them with coffee. Together, we are building a company that stands for inclusion and doing business the right way.

We discuss:
🔑 The origins of 321 Coffee
🔑 The importance of inclusive employment and community impact
🔑 Starting with a low-barrier mobile coffee shop
🔑 Designing accessible operations and training for employees with disabilities
🔑 Maintaining quality and integrity at scale while staying true to the mission
🔑 Leadership qualities and character traits essential for growth
🔑 Scaling operations from a small cart to multiple cafes and wholesale
🔑 Strategies for recruiting, training, and retaining diverse talent
🔑 The role of community and customer relationships in success
🔑 Future outlook and advice for other coffee businesses interested in inclusion

09/09/2026

Today we have an impossibly vast range of resources and content about anything you need to learn or know about coffee and coffee shops. What a time to be alive! The issue that comes with these accessible and abundant resources is the issue of learning but never applying or growing. We have become people who seek information as the end in itself, not the means to an end

On this episode I am going to give you some perspective on why we tend to collect content but very rarely apply it, and talk about a framework for approaching the overwhelming amount of advice and instruction so you are more disciplined and get to actually see the benefit that content tends to promise, but only application can deliver.

08/09/2026

If we want our staff to succeed, we have to give them clear target to aim for. Unfortunately shocking number of cafes have what I would describe as invisible targets that only appear once the arrow is released. No wonder managers and other staff feel that winning at work is a rigged game.

In today’s Shift Break we will talk about the importance of providing clear targets, and how to build momentum and confidence in your staff as they grow in their ability to hit them.

01/09/2026

In coffee we can often question the impact of our efforts. Over time though, small consistent steps in the right direction can not only carry you over many miles, it can transform you and those for whom you are working. What may seem like plodding work now, is the foundation for what will be built in the future.

Today we are talking with someone whose work has taken several turns over the years. All of which were in the direction of uplifting farmers with whatever means were at hand. Today the massive impact of those consistent actions has led to impact beyond measure.

We are talking with Ben Carlson of Long Miles Coffee.

Ben Carlson is a coffee industry leader and social entrepreneur with 23 years of global experience, including 16 years on the ground in East Africa. Based in Nairobi, Kenya, Ben serves as the CEO, Chief Culture Creator, and Sales Director of Long Miles Coffee—an impact-driven organization dedicated to producing world-class specialty coffee while uplifting smallholder farming communities out of generational poverty.

Ben’s journey in East Africa began in 2010 following a quality survey of Burundi’s coffee sector. Driven by a vision to challenge exploitative supply chains, he transitioned from coffee trading to hands-on production, founding Long Miles Coffee in 2013 alongside his wife, Kristy. What started with a single washing station serving 180 families in Bukeye, Burundi, has scaled into a multi-country operation employing over 130 team members and supporting more than 9,500 farming families across Burundi and Uganda.

Under Ben’s leadership, Long Miles has consistently set benchmarks for quality and sustainability, earning numerous Cup of Excellence awards and achieving Burundi’s highest coffee sales per pound. His current work focuses on pioneering climate-resilient agriculture, including building Africa’s first carbon-neutral, minimal-water coffee processing facility and developing a regenerative model farm on Mount Elgon in Western Kenya.

Recognized as Imbibe Magazine’s “Coffee Person of the Year,” Ben is a frequent international speaker, event host, and competition judge on impact-driven business models and sustainable agriculture. He also serves as the regional distributor for Ecotact protective packaging in Uganda and Kenya. Ben lives in Kenya with his family, continuing his mission to reshape the future of African specialty coffee.

We discuss:
🔑 The start of Long Miles Coffee and its initial vision
🔑 Impact of coffee on local communities in Burundi
🔑 Challenges and innovations in coffee farming and processing
🔑 Scaling the impact: From 100 families to thousands
🔑 The social programs: Coffee Kids Camp and community development
🔑 Market response and the future of Long Miles Coffee
🔑 Advice for those who want to make a difference

26/08/2026

Integrity is hard to identify unless you are actively looking for and working on it. But what is “it”? Well, in some ways it is consistency, but that is not enough. Integrity is more than production of the same thing the same way, it is more related to the mindset and spirit behind that consistency. In coffee, we have a lot of room to improve our consistency, because we are lacking in how seriously we take integrity.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about what integrity means and where it shows up in the work of the daily operations. If we can consciously build integrity in the moments where it counts, we will se ever aspect of our coffee shops improve.

26/08/2026

In order to provide excellence in the cafe, we need to focus on people. Building, caring for, and managing a team is the cornerstone of any great cafe. The potential of your coffee and hospitality depends on this!

Today we are going to be talking with someone who has lead and managed at the highest levels of coffee. With her passion for logistics, people-first leadership, and team development, she has delivered consistent quality for staff and guests alike. I am thrilled to welcome to the show, Ewelina Kania!

Ewelina has spent over a decade in hospitality, starting out as a barista before joining Prufrock Coffee in London. As General Manager during an eight-year stretch, she ran the entire operation, tested new concepts, and navigated the less glamorous realities of the industry – including leadership transitions, operational hurdles, and a global pandemic. She later worked as Chief Operating Officer at Barista Hustle Tools, diving deep into product logistics and global supply chains.

Today, Ewelina is Head of Operations and Logistics at Natoora Copenhagen, connecting small-scale growers with local chefs. For her, moving from specialty coffee to farm-grown produce is a seamless transition: both industries rely on passionate people who care deeply about origin and quality. Across every role, she stays focused on one core principle: a happy, supported team leads to a stronger business and a better guest experience.

We discuss:
🔑 How Ewelina Started in Coffee by Accident
🔑 Mastering Coffee Logistics and Workflow
🔑 Attraction to Leadership and Team Development
🔑 Lessons in Effective Leadership and Communication
🔑 Time Management and Supporting Teams
🔑 Effective Delegation and Empowerment
🔑 Managing Conflict in Teams
🔑 Similarities in Food and Coffee Supply Chains
🔑 Lessons from Food Industry for Coffee
🔑 Role of Coffee Shops in Supply Chain and Community

26/08/2026

If we know anything it is that striking a balance in our communication is very difficult. It often feels like we are neglecting affirmation for fear of not addressing issues, or we neglect addressing issues and challenging our staff because we worry about how they will take it. So we stick to simply working a lot and mostly doing both poorly. No more!

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why you and your staff need challenge and affirmation to both be real and regular practices in the daily work and life of the shop. How we view people and how we speak with and to them has an incredible impact on everything in your operation.

I think this short Shift Break may have in it the key to unlocking the kind of culture and relationships you hope for in your cafe.

25/08/2026

As we continue to see specialty coffee shops grow and expand into the furthest reaches of the globe, one thing remains an enduring value to customers. That feeling of belonging. A sense that the hospitality and the good will of those providing it are genuine makes every cup taste sweet and the memory of the experience even sweeter.

Perhaps no professional in recent years better embodies these values than today’s guest, Monique (Mo) Maravilla!

Mo is a Filipino entrepreneur, coffee roaster, educator, traveler, and champion of joyful hospitality.

Her journey began on the guest side of the bar, appreciating the way a single cup could hold identity, story, and connection all at once. Her passion for community and representation led her to open Kindness and Mischief Coffee Roasters in the Highland Park neighborhood of Los Angeles in 2016. Noticing a severe lack of women — and particularly women of color — behind the bar, at the roaster, and at the helm of their own shops, she started learning to roast in 2017 and became the first Filipino woman roaster in Los Angeles.

Coffee became her chosen medium to create meaningful connections, experiences, and safe, inclusive spaces for others, especially those in marginalized groups.

After 12 years running K+M, Mo created Studio Tigre to continue to challenge what the coffee world looks and feels like, and who gets to lead it. Inspired by her Filipino heritage and the symbolism of the tiger, she built a brand that is boldly designed, radically anti-gatekeeping, and rooted in community. Her mission: help people feel confident, capable, and celebrated in the spaces where craft and culture meet — because when you’re not offered a seat at the table, you build your own.

We discuss:
🔑 The importance of community and authentic relationships in business
🔑 Designing coffee spaces for joy, warmth, and connection
🔑 Lessons learned from running Kindness and Mischief after 12 years
🔑 The role of boundaries and self-awareness in in being an owner
🔑 Studio Tigre as a creative extension and omakase coffee experience
🔑 The journey of learning roasting and sharing knowledge
🔑 Balancing passion, business growth, and personal well-being

Every Coffee Fest we sit down with presenters and speakers to talk about their field of expertise and learn from their e...
21/08/2026

Every Coffee Fest we sit down with presenters and speakers to talk about their field of expertise and learn from their experience in coffee.

This time we had a wonderful time talking with three professionals at Coffee Fest Chicago!

We start with Lan Ho, Founder of Fat Miilk Vietnamese coffee bar in Chicago!

Lan Ho is the founder and CEO of Fat Miilk, a Chicago-based Vietnamese coffee company redefining the role of Robusta in modern coffee. Through a platform spanning direct sourcing, roasting, retail cafés, and consumer packaged goods, she is building a brand that connects origin to everyday ritual.

With a background in pharmacy, Lan brings a systems-driven mindset to an industry often led by tradition. She left a six-figure healthcare career to pursue entrepreneurship and has since been featured on CNBC and appeared on Gordon Ramsay’s Food Stars.

Deeply interested in consumer psychology, Lan approaches coffee through the lens of lifestyle, how people drink, feel, and connect through daily habits. She is a leading voice in advancing Robusta’s place in the global coffee conversation.

Next we are talking about approachable and joyful coffee training and eduction with Miranda Haney of Barista Friend!

Miranda Haney is a coffee educator and consultant based in Austin, TX. She is the founder of Barista Friend, a mobile barista training service for home and professional baristas.

Hailing from a long line of teachers, Miranda is especially passionate about delivering information in a way that’s engaging and easy to understand. She’s a permanent fixture at the local latte art competitions, a two-time U.S. Barista Championships national competitor, runner-up in the 2024 Barista League, Denver, and currently serves as vice president of the Austin Coffee Collective. Most recently, she was a 2025 Coffee Sustainability Fellow with The Chain Collaborative.

Finally we talk with Asia Vo of Loba Pastry and Coffee

Asia Vo is a Chicago-based artist devoted to curating intentional food and beverage experiences. In her present role as the Beverage Director of Loba Pastry, Vo honors craftsmanship through her continual pursuit of authentic creation and curiosity.

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