Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders - Details, episodes & analysis

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Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Chris Deferio

Business

Arts

Frequency: 1 episode/3d. Total Eps: 1173

A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business. We learn from experts both in and outside the coffee industry as they deliver specific, practical, and actionable advice about ownership, optimization, profitability, barista work, employee culture, management, scaling, leadership, personal development, and anything else that will help you achieve success in the coffee shop.

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https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
217 shares
https://www.pacificfoodservice.com/
144 shares
http://www.prima-coffee.com/keys
142 shares

https://www.instagram.com/artobrick
98 shares
https://www.instagram.com/keystotheshop
18 shares
https://www.instagram.com/mcolonnadashwood
5 shares

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Score global : 42%

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SHIFT BREAK! The Logistics of Keeping Your Promises

Thursday, October 22, 2026 • Duration 09:18

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:

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

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632: Addressing the Biggest Challenge Cafe Owner's Face

Tuesday, October 20, 2026 • Duration 26:28

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

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SPONSORS!

"Your Brand Cafe" for all your Cups, Sleeves printing and much more!

The worlds best plant based beverages! The Barista Series!

SB Cafe Owner! You Don't Have to Keep Up With Others

Thursday, October 15, 2026 • Duration 08:18

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:

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/

Special! Interview and Commentary From Coffee Fest Los Angeles 2026! w/ Kevin Mejia of Bevel Coffee

Thursday, October 15, 2026 • Duration 21:49

Coffee Fest LA was awesome and I am finally getting this episode out right before we fly out to Dallas! Stay tuned.

In this episode I sat down with one great presenter and give some of my own thoughts on the show and lessons you can apply in your business and area.

Kevin Mejia grew up in Monrovia, CA as a skateboarding, cycling, and fitness lover. It was through his love for cycling where he discovered specialty coffee around 2013.

Fast forward to the COVID-19 pandemic, Kevin's career started to take a shift when he decided to start learning how to roast out of his garage by watching countless amounts of coffee content online and taking classes with other well known roasting teachers. Kevin's interest in roasting really started to take shape when he started to discover Honduran specialty coffee. As the child of Honduran immigrants in the US, the discovery of something from his parent's home country that he could share with the world became very intruiging to Kevin. In, 2022 Kevin and his fiancé, Dulce, took what little money they had in savings and purchased a 3kg Mill City Roaster and started Bevel Coffee.

From that point, Bevel operated as cottage food operation selling roasted coffee and as a pop-up coffee cart which went everywhere from birthday parties and weddings, all the way to farmer's markets and other pop-ups throughout LA. This journey eventually led Kevin and Dulce to the patio of a pizza shop called Prime Pizza in Altadena, where they began to build their roots in the city for a little over a year before the Eaton Fire came through and devastated the community.

In an effort to continue the Bevel Coffee journey, Kevin and Dulce stayed put, and kept serving the community, attending any and every event related to the neighborhood, and fostering stronger relationships. Eventually, a year and half after the fires, the pop-up finally became Bevel's first brick-and-mortar on Feb 28 of 2026.

Kevin's journey in coffee is very reminiscent of his years spent skateboarding and mountain biking. It required passion, community, and a "get up and do it again," attitude that ultimately led to achieving the goal of opening a cafe where he could share all the coffees he loves with a community he loves even more.

631 Ashley Derrick: The Joys and Challenges of Buying an Existing Cafe

Tuesday, October 13, 2026 • Duration 49:02

Many owners start in the business of coffee shops by buying an existing cafe. Sometimes there is a lot of work to do. Other times, the cafe is already a successful, well love, and established cafe. The later example is actually a bit more daunting since now there is legacy, community, and great staff to steward, all while learning the ropes yourself!

Today is a story of how one woman took on this challenge to take over an iconic cafe and what she has learned thus far.

I am excited to be talking with the new owner of the iconic cafe, Taproom Coffee, Ashley Derrick!

Ashley and her spouse, Alison, have lived in the East Lake neighborhood of Atlanta GA for 23 years. Ashley has been a Realtor for 19 of those years and has consistently taken her clients to Taproom Coffee - long before she wanted to buy it. Doing good work feeds her soul and she loves spending time with community members trying to figure out how to change the world - all while sipping on a cup of coffee.

Links:

https://www.taproomcoffee.com/

https://www.instagram.com/taproomcoffee/

Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive.

Book a free call now:

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

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SHIFT BREAK! Let Your Cafe Be

Thursday, October 8, 2026 • Duration 09:25

In the ecosystem of entrepreneurship we glorify and practice a certain kind of paranoia about our businesses. We are never happy and always suspecting we are behind, or broken in some secret way that we need to find. The result is that, even when we arrive to a good place, our ability to recognize it and rest in it is nonexistent.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why we sometimes need to just let our businesses be. Rest in what has been made and grown and demonstrate to those you lead how to enjoy and be fully present in the moments that you all have worked hard to bring to bear.

Related episodes:

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!

630: Two Dollar Drip and The Fight For Accessible Menus w/ Tim Riley of Heavy Water Coffee, Los Angeles, CA

Monday, October 5, 2026 • Duration 43:21

The coffee shop experience is one that should be accessible to a wide variety of people. How we go about building a welcoming and hospitable space is not only the work of interior design, workflow, and service standards; it also extends to the menu and what we offer.

Enter the 2 dollar drip. An item that represents an intention put into action to offer something to anyone who has less but still wants to experience the beauty of what a coffee shop has to offer its community.

One of the people championing this item and the philosophy behind it is the founder of Heavy Water Coffee in LA, Tim Riley.

Tim has over a decade of coffee experience from barista, to roaster, and now brick and mortar cafe owner. Heavy water is a family run business that is the culmination of Tim's coffee journey and the lessons of balance between quality, excellence, and genuine hospitality.

Today we are going to talk with Tim all about his career, how he has grown as a persona and a professional over the years, and what is behind the 2 dollar drip and the neighborhood focus of Heavy Water.

Links:

@heavywatercoffee https://www.instagram.com/heavywatercoffee/?hl=en

Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive.

Book a free call now:

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

Related episodes:

SPONSORS!

629: Founder Friday! Stephanie Jones of Mrs. Jones Cold Brew is The OG Cold Brew Queen!

Friday, October 2, 2026 • Duration 42:38

Cold brew only is not a normal thing for a coffee bar. It takes deep dedication, innovation, and focus to drive that concept and offer customers out of the ordinary that they both remember AND love. For ten years now our guest has been blazing a trail for cold brew lovers to experience a fun, hospitable, pure, and deliciously crafted cold brew menu.

Today we will be talking to Stephanie Jones, Founder of Mrs. Jones Cold Brew in Pensacola, FL

Mrs. Jones Cold brew is a brick and mortar cafe that specializes in high end bottled cold brew with a full menu of flights, specials, flavors, a build your own concept, and classics, all with just cold brew. No espresso machine in sight.

What started as an idea in her kitchen, grew to farmers markets, and not 3 years into her own cafe, Stephanie Jones is sitting down with us to tell the story of here humble beginnings, lessons learned, and the secrets to serving customers cold brew with genuine warmth.

Stephanie is also a 3x Key Holder Coaching Group cohort member! So I have been blessed to see this businesses recent growth.

Here community has raved about her and her team for years and I am thrilled to get her on the show to tell her story and show us what is possible with cold brew and a dream.

Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive.

Book a free call now:

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

Related episodes:

SHIFT BREAK! Don't Build Compromise Into Your Business

Thursday, October 1, 2026 • Duration 09:10

What happens when we build into our systems exceptions for the less than desirable habits of staff? Well for starters we rob that staff member of the opportunity to grow and receive correction to meet the standards. We then rob our business of reach its potential as we now erode the foundations from the inside. Lastly we rob the customer of a great experience because all the little compromises and permissions we give to issues that should be addressed, make their way into the cup.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about why operators should not build into their systems and policies, exceptions and leeway that further promotes bad behaviors and habits. It is important that we consistently call ourselves and others up to high standards rather than lowering them for avoidance or convenience.

Related episodes:

KEYS TO THE SHOP CONSULTING HELPS YOU MAKE YOU CAFE BETTER!

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/

628: Start With Reasonable Hospitality

Thursday, October 1, 2026 • Duration 26:37

We love extremes. Novel services, events, specials, and stunts to catapult us into the consciousness of our customers seem to be what we favor and are fixated on. After all, it proves that we are different, better, and that we care about people and quality!...right? Not exactly.

Just like Settling the Table before it, Wil Guidara's great book, Unreasonable Hospitality has been making the rounds in the coffee sphere. Many draw inspiration from this book and it helps them make their shops better. Others I have seen take the idea of "unreasonable" and jump over the basics directly into extreme and novel one off efforts or give into the compulsion to reinvent vs refine who they are and what they do. This I feel is a mistake.

Today we will be talking about why we need to start with and more successfully maintain reasonable hospitality in order to naturally bring about the kind of moments we can later say were unreasonable, but fit with who we are, vs efforts that we slap on to our shops that are flailing in the basics.

Consulting to help you and your coffee business thrive.

Book a free call now:

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

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Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders - Details, episodes & analysis

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Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders - Details, episodes & analysis

Podcast details

Recent rankings

Apple Podcasts

Spotify

Shared links between episodes and podcasts

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Instagram99+

Amazon99+

RSS feed quality and score

Publication history

Latest published episodes

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Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Related Shows Based on Content Similarities

Other99+

Instagram99+

Amazon99+

Apple Podcasts

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