Michael:
Great success for you.
Now is the time you must create some marketing. First establish who your/where competition is and find out about them, go to their stores, talk to people about what they like and do no like while sipping your coffee over the paper at different times during the day in all of the places within say 5/6 mile radius. You will be in a niche market so you want to exploit it every day.
It is not a question of what you are going to sell, you are going to do something that no one else does and if you look and think about what "they" do you will find a unique approach for your store.  Your service will be the best, 
because you will teach, teach, teach and test, test your baristas.
As far as what you sell in terms of coffee be it roasted or a drink, other then the usual suspects (espresso, lattes and americanos) you have a huge palate to choose from. You will also "create your own special" beverage.
I would offer my customers things they cannot get at the usual, same old places in terms of fresh roasted. You will of course start with small batches and see how they sell, after a couple of days you have some special coffee to serve so as not to waste. Sell 1/ pounds of a couple of different coffees to get your customers to try them.
There are lost of ways for in store purchase but it all begins with talk, talk and more talk. A barista saying give the freshly roastd  whatever a try for your americano this morning mr whoever.
I think another really big issue for a small business is that the employees need to know that they must always
serve the customer, period. Like most small places of business there is always "other work" to be done and your employee needs to know that your customer comes first,; washing up cups, wiping counters, refilling stuff perhaps gets him/her out the door faster after a shift but your customers will suffer for that.
Seen many people leave a coffee house because the single barista on duty was cleaning and was actually ticked off because customers came in...
I will now stop this random epistle.
Emal me anytime off list as I have a couple of books and articles you may find of interest.
ginny

Gene:
I could not agree more. Great added thoughts.
Also, we don't want clones of the owner; we want thinking, interested baristas who have a feel for your product and can talk "like themselves" to get a message across and not reading something from a card behind the counter. Someone able to because of your training feel ok to ad lib and make suggestions to a customer.
Buying an espresso or cup of coffee is very personal.
Your employees can cripple your business.
ginny
hire a bunch and do the "weeder" thing after a few weeks of training. have friends come in to play customer and see how it goes. you will quickly find out who is "there" and on top of customer service and satisfaction. let your barista
tell a customer try this and if you do not like it, I will build you another! your barista will find out what his/her customers like, want and will try...

Gene:
Right on the money.
In this world everyone wants and needs to be special. 
Having you morning/afternoon/evening cup is a big part of the day for many, many people. Some do not have the advantage of being able to pull a shot of horse whenever they want, they have never had a horse...
Michael, you will give them this advantage.
You have the opportunity to give your local customers something no one has, a different cup, a new taste.
Some will work and others will not but you will know as time goes on what works.
You have the opportunity of starting a revolution of what coffee is; my bet is no one in your area roasts
great beans. 
You can have a "tasters choice" saturday morning where you have 4 coffees for the locals to taste.
The great thing about coffee is that our taste is all different. You will narrow down after a bit what sells the most but my guess is that you will find your niche in roasting elegant coffees for a lot of local coffee folk. They just need to be exposed...............
ginny

same with the Los Gatos Roasting Company. They are right ibn the middle of twon and they could roast 24 hours a day and the local yokels never smell anything.
g

Felow listers ~
After 10 years of thinking about it, 5 years of looking for a site, home 
rosting and gathering information, 10 months of putting together a business plan 
and many, many sleepless, anxiety filled nights, I have decided to take the 
plunge.   I'm opening my own coffee house/small batch roaster.    am going over 
the "letter of intent" from the builder right now and decided I needed to send 
this e-mail out to get not just your support, but any thoughts you all might 
have on,.......well......anything!   From what beans to carry to good medium 
and dark blends to your favorite espresso bean/blend.   Any good ideas for cold 
drinks?   How about all the fru fru Char $'s drinks like machiato's and 
valencia flavoring?   Like I said, your prayers and thoughts are greatly 
appreciated!
Thanks!   Wish me luck!
MICHAEL - A roaster from Vienna, Va.

Michael
 All the luck in the world! My last visit to your neighborhood has been 
several years, but in case things haven't changed in the meantime, a qualit=
y 
establishment is sorely needed. The one thing that our local superstar 
"Stumptown" seems to have proven is: compromise on anything necessary excep=
t 
quality of coffee, the whole process, and personable "eyeball to eyeball"=
 
service.
 Again - wish you the best of luck in your endeavor.
 Mike (just plain)
 On 6/24/05, MMore  wrote: 
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Best of times Michael

Good luck. Hopefully you realize a fru-fru Charbucks milkshake style drink 
that may or may not even include espresso is nothing like a macchiato, if 
you don't I'd be seriously concerned. (Hey, you asked for feedback!)
"An espresso macchiato is espresso with the corners rounded off by a little 
bit of milk. The classic is a shot of espresso with a dollop of foam on top. 
Macchiato means "marked" and the dollop of foam marks the surface of the 
espresso." from The Milk Frothing Guide by Aaron De Lazzer on Coffeegeek.
I'd be looking to differentiate from *$ with a focus on quality traditional 
espresso beverages and coffees, along the lines of Stumptown, not emulate 
*$. Tougher to do yet doable.
miKe mcKoffee
PNWGIII 75 Pic Albumhttp://mdmint.home.comcast.net/coffee/Rosto_mod.htmUltimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path traveled by many. ">http://mdmint2.home.comcast.net/pnwg3pics/index.htmlURL to Rosto mods, FrankenFormer, some recipes etc:http://mdmint.home.comcast.net/coffee/Rosto_mod.htmUltimately the quest for Koffee Nirvana is a solitary path traveled by many. 
To know I must first not know. And in knowing know I know not. Each Personal 
enlightenment found exploring the many divergent foot steps of Those who 
have gone before.
<Snip>

I'd be looking to differentiate from *$ with a focus on quality 
traditional espresso beverages and coffees, along the lines of 
Stumptown, not emulate *$. Tougher to do yet doable.
===
Or another way to look at it.  You can't polish a turd, so why bother 
trying?
If you want to do this, bring the thing to the market that is lost,  
QUALITY.  Let folks see what real coffee taste like that isn't covered 
by flavors and overroasting.  Trying to imitate starbucks would be like 
mercedes trying to imitate a yugo.... why?
Let people taste your coffees for what a real coffee made by a real 
talent taste like.  You want to stand out as an individual that has what 
they are missing, and not just be another 'wanna be' starbucks knockoff.
All kidding aside, look at most of us, how it 'changed' us once we 
tasted a real coffee.  I know it was like an epiphamy for me, a real eye 
opener.
On those lines, you probably are going to 'convert' several folks to the 
real coffee crowd, so with that you might even want to think.. possibly 
small at first, but introducing them to equipment to roast their own 
somewhere down the road, and fresh greens too.  Granted this could be 
like cutting your own throat if they 'can do it themselves' but it's 
just another angle to look at down the road once you are established.  
Of course you can also offer one thing that no other place really can,  
personal, face to face, one on one advice and tips.
you can sell already roasted and 'rested' beans too.
Just my two cents.
Aaron

--Apple-Mail-1--387275597
Content-Transfer-Encoding: quoted-printable
Content-Type: text/plain;
	charsetO-8859-1;
	format=flowed
So you have given up filmmaking? ;~)
good luck, and I agree with the rest - don't try to beat $buks at their =
own game.  Roast it and they will come...
SK
On Jun 24, 2005, at 2:16 PM, MMore wrote:
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from 
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medium 
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ideas 
<Snip>
--Apple-Mail-1--387275597
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So you have given up filmmaking? ;~)
good luck, and I agree with the rest - don't try to beat $buks at
their own game.  Roast it and they will come...
SK
On Jun 24, 2005, at 2:16 PM, MMore wrote:
=
Geneva0000,8080,0000Felow
listers ~
=
Geneva0000,8080,0000
After 10 years of thinking about it, 5 years of looking for a site,
home rosting and gathering information, 10 months of putting together
a business plan and many, many sleepless, anxiety filled nights, I
have decided to take the plunge.  I'm opening my own coffee
house/small batch roaster.   am going over the "letter of intent" =
from
the builder right now and decided I needed to send this e-mail out to
get not just your support, but any thoughts you all might have
on,.......well......anything!  From what beans to carry to good =
medium
and dark blends to your favorite espresso bean/blend.  Any good ideas
for cold drinks?  How about all the fru fru Char $'s drinks like
machiato's and valencia flavoring?  Like I said, your prayers and
thoughts are greatly appreciated!
=
Geneva0000,8080,0000
Thanks!  Wish me luck!
=
Geneva0000,8080,0000MICHAEL
- A roaster from Vienna, Va.
=
--Apple-Mail-1--387275597--

Good Luck Michael - you are fulfilling a fantasy that many on this
list have had.  Just promote the heck out of is so people will know
how to find you.
John 
On 6/24/05, MMore  wrote:
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Michael, when you started roasting your own coffee and brewing for yourself=
, 
I'm just guessing you didn't notice anything missing from the cup. Instead,=
 
you probably were astounded with the depth of flavor and complexity from 
beans that looked similar to the ones you ground and brewed before.
The same will happen with your clientele. 
Do not compare and gauge your business with the likes of the well-known 
outlets and their elende Pferdescheisse. Don't substitute cream, sugar and=
 
syrups for the ultra-fresh cup only you are able to provide.
Just raise the bar so high the rif-raf shops will come begging for training=
. 
Of course, lacking the ability to roast on-premises will keep most of 'em i=
n 
their place. 
You'll have to make sure you keep the ability to roast on-premises yourself=
. 
Leasing a space in a commercial mall might abrogate that ability. Can you=
 
get into an industrial complex to supply the workers at the start of a 
shift, or even space inside a factory's cafeteria lobby?
A big factory with a real cafeteria might let you use an existing gas-fired=
 
grill under a vent hood to roast during certain hours. Lots of 
possibilities.
Cheers -RayO the Ersatz Barista, aka Opa!
-- 
"When the theme hits the bass, I dance the Jig!" - -Virgil Fox at the 
Wichita WurliTzer

Definitely wishing you every success!
I love the Valencia flavoring in a chocolate coffee drink - an old favorite=
!
I would recommend you offer some staple coffee roasts, to build up a
knowledgable and consistent clientele.
Then offer a few staple coffee drinks, as you mentioned.
Then roll in seasonal favorites or specials, beit Christmas Blend and
an Egg Nog type drink, something in the fall, mint in the spring,
something light in the summer - have fun.
But if it were my shop, I would always be counted upon for some
guaranteed excellent roasts and blends, and some drinks they can
always count on...
Hope it helps somewhat...
Brett
On 6/24/05, tom ulmer  wrote:
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ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

Michael,
       Best of luck.  I don't have any suggestions, I know I could  
never do it, never been good at the business kinds of things.
         jim Gundlach
On Jun 24, 2005, at 4:16 PM, MMore wrote:
<Snip>

I spent a month in Italy several years ago and one of the things that
I found interesting was how many shops had bottles of liqueur to
flavor coffee drinks as opposed to the torani syrups you find here. 
Not sure how the liquor code is in VA (completely draconian in PA),
but that's something to think about.
Another thing a local place here does is get really good fresh baked
goods - you know, those muffins that are about 500 calories a piece? 
They get a pretty good crowd during the weekdays.
Good luck!
On 6/24/05, Brett Mason  wrote:
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scribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip>
ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip>

MMore wrote:
Let your passion show for good coffee, educate your customers, and bite 
your tounge and serve milk based concactions. (no, not contradictory to 
what I just said)
<Snip>
-- 
Life in the fast lane ......
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.
It is by the juice of aribica that thoughts acquire speed,
the lips acquire stains.
The stains become a warning.
It is by will alone I set my mind in motion.

In regards to your blends (light and dark) I would steer away from that 
kind of thinking.  Maybe go for Summer and Winter blends in general, but 
pick one (that will change over time) for your espresso.  I really was 
impressed by the varietal selection at Stumptown and only in Press pot.  My 
own personal opinion is to keep away from the flavored syrups 
completely.  Milk based espresso, fine - nothing else (except sugar) to 
cover the taste of the coffee.  No, you will not get everyone, but you will 
get a devoted quality based clientele, and that is all that matter (and 
your self esteem.)
Cold drinks - iced (crushed?) coffee, sweetened optional.  Again, don't 
even offer "flavorings".
I think the biggest question is "why are you opening this 
store"?  Well?  That reason (and you should be able to state it easily, if 
not, don't open the store) should point you directly to what to serve and 
how to serve it.
Aside from all of this - good luck!
At 09:37 6/25/2005 -0400, you wrote:
<Snip>
John Nanci
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting , Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalthttp://www.chocolatealchemy.com/

Forgive me if I missed this in previous posts, but:
Include some blends/roasts that will appeal to folks who are used to 
standard American coffee. Don't make crap, but get a gentle blend that has=
 
good taste at low intensity. You don't want to overwhelm them initially. Yo=
u 
might also want something for the *$$ crowd, a dark roast that's taken shor=
t 
of *$$ char. Once you get them hooked they'll venture towards other blends.
You might want to consider educational aspects too. 
You might also want to have tastings. Long ago, at Susan's Coffee in Akron,=
 
Ohio, they had a tasting that quickly covered many aspects. They roasted 
some Kona, showed everybody how it was done, and gave everybody a pound. 
During the tasting they covered different coffees & different roasts. They=
 
also made many bad coffees. The made it: too weak & too strong; ground too=
 
fine & too coarse; water too cold & too hot. Teach folks not only how to 
make coffee at home, but how to tell what went wrong.
On 6/25/05, Alchemist John  wrote:
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-- 
"Not all things that are countable, count, and not all things that count,=
 
are countable". Albert Einstein

<Snip>
This is excellent advice from Ginny, to which I would add one more thought. 
The one area that I have found worthy of criticism right across the retail 
board is employee training.  A good policy would be not to assume employees 
know a *single* thing that you have not taught them.  This is not my snotty 
way of echoing the "you can't get good help nowadays" whine...when I'm in a 
supermarket and the checkout person has no idea what a vegetable is that 
I'm attempting to buy, I don't blame ignorant employees - I blame ignorant 
management that isn't willing to spend the time & money to train them.
Probably when you start out, it will be mostly you serving the public. 
But, as a small business owner myself, I can tell you that if you are doing 
things right, the time will come when you have to consider hiring people. 
With a specialty product like coffee, I think the first thing I'd look for 
is someone who is *interested* in the product and the process.  A lot of 
things can be taught, but without that basic interest I think you are 
fighting an uphill battle with customer service and all the other 
information you have to impart.
Good luck to you!  And let us all know when we can come sample your wares.
Gene Smith
threading the wild learning curve, in Houston

Right on Gene,
Now that I am in management at the hospital, I am learning a whole new set=
 
of skills. One thing I would add to Ginny's great advice is you are looking=
 
for what the customer wants too. Sure there is educating the customer, but =
I 
was blown away at Stumptown and the two great shops in Seattle that were 
handing out shots in Paper cups! In my opinion nothing but glass or ceramic=
 
is going to touch my espresso! However, they know people want coffee on the=
 
go, so they offer it. On the other hand, they had awesome 3oz cups and 
saucers properly warmed for a snob like me that wanted a good double 
restetto. They even gave me a nice small spoon to skim the yum yum crema of=
f 
for an extra special treat! Where do you want to educate? Where will you 
compromise? What is the customer looking for? Excellent service and opennes=
s 
will bring em back and help steer the course of this new adventure.
 Les
 On 6/25/05, Gene Smith  wrote: 
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of skills. One thing I would add to Ginny's great advice is you are
looking for what the customer wants too.
<Snip>
This is an important point about what drinks to sell.  I have serious 
qualms about the "do it the right way and devil take the hindmost" advice. 
That should be the goal, but I think it wise to provide some "bridges" for 
customers to come over from the "dark side."  At the very least, I would be 
knowledgeable about what the competition is selling.  I recall some years 
ago going into a Diedrich's here in Houston and asking what their 
equivalent of a particular Starbucks drink that I favored was.  They knew 
exactly what I was talking about, knew what they sold that was equivalent 
(better, actually) and were happy to help me find what I was looking for. 
Had I been loftily informed that they didn't provided that sort of inferior 
beverage, I'm quite sure I would not have returned to their shop.
<Snip>
The trick here is just how you go about it.  Do it right and you make your 
customer into the "expert" who will baffle and amaze all his friends with 
his newfound expertise...and bring them all around to your shop to show it 
off.
Do it wrong and you'll just make a potential customer feel dumb...and they 
will most likely not return.  Selling anything is partly about the product, 
and partly about the selling.  The fact that more people seem to 
concentrate on the selling and not the product does *not* mean that if you 
just concentrate on the product it will "sell itself."  There are plenty of 
poor, elderly mousetrap inventors, still waiting for the world to beat a 
path to their door.
Gene Smith
threading the wild learning curve, in Houston

<Snip>
I think Ginny has put her finger on it exactly.  Despite the apparently 
deeply held beliefs of many on this list, no one *needs* gourmet coffee. 
Caffeine...maybe.
While excellent coffee is a really important part of the success equasion, 
what will bring people into your store - and back again - is part of that 
"personal" thing.  When people feel they are getting something special from 
you that is not available elsewhere, they psychologically become *your* 
customers.
Gene Smith
threading the wild learning curve, in Houston

Keeping in this vein, I would like to add that one should be careful of the 
type of employee you hire to face the customer. It boggles my mind how many 
grouchy people are put on the front lines to face customers. In a 
restaurant this is putting gasoline on the fire. Most people walking into a 
restaurant are hungry, and maybe even a little irritable, due to that 
hunger. For them to be met with "attitude" can result in some interesting 
situations.... :-)
Make sure your employees are cheerful in the face of customers whose blood 
sugar is extremely low and are looking for something to complain about...
Maybe, I'm wrongly extrapolating the Manhattan experience to the rest of 
the country...I certainly hope so...
Ciao,
Angelo
<Snip>
-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Anti-Virus.
Version: 7.0.323 / Virus Database: 267.8.1/28 - Release Date: 6/24/2005

You have received a lot of excellent advice and I agree with most of =
what
has been said. The one thing I keep thinking too is if you don't offer =
what
the customer wants, they will just buy it from someone else. So you want =
to
sell what they want to buy, but better and friendlier than the =
competition.
A house coffee, or house blend, is very important. A lot of people want =
a
cup of coffee, and they want to be able to buy that same cup of coffee
tomorrow and next week and on and on. So for those repeat customers, the
standard great cup is important. Add an origin of the day or week, =
decaf,
maybe a dark roast, I hate to suggest Hazlepoop but maybe.
Decaf espresso drinks may be a good option. I never fix a mocca latte at
home but somehow they hit the spot away from home.
My $.02 offering. Best of luck and success in your business.
Terry
On Behalf Of Gene Smith
Sent: Saturday, June 25, 2005 4:07 PM
 
<Snip>
<Snip>
are
looking for what the customer wants too.
<Snip>
This is an important point about what drinks to sell.  I have serious 
qualms about the "do it the right way and devil take the hindmost" =
advice. 
That should be the goal, but I think it wise to provide some "bridges" =
for 
customers to come over from the "dark side."  At the very least, I would =
be 
knowledgeable about what the competition is selling.

Michael,
Congratulations and best wishes in your new business.
Everyone's given you excellent advice.  My only addition would be to =
either
identify (or have your staff be able to identify) the origin of the =
beans.
It might only important to a few people, but it is frustrating to ask
something like, "So, what's the house blend?"  And hearing, "It's french
roast."  I'd much rather hear, "It's a blend of Ethiopian Sidamo and =
Costa
Rican Tres Rios beans."  
Now that I've racked up some CSA points, I really do want to know what =
beans
are in the blend, or what beans are used in the "french roast".  Just =
seeing
coffee identified as "french roast" now tells me nothing.  Sure, "french
roast" might tell a lot of folks all they want to know.  But if you get =
the
business going and begin get a couple of connoisseurs coming back for =
more,
it would be a great educational platform.  
Definitely have you and your staff be friendly, helpful, and informed.
Offer information and, when people ask for it, offer advice.  Good,
friendly, and informed service is so rare these days, that that alone =
could
get a good business going!
Brent
Roasting in an SC/TO
For drip/moka/presspot brew

But that's the thing there, it's kind of a catch22.  Having someone 
who's worth a darned, you are probably going to be paying this person a 
bit mor for their services.  Yet the 'kids' hang out at these places too 
I have seen, at least here in florida.  so having a responsible kid 
(yeah big contradiction of terms there :)  might be a good thing too, 
someone the customers can identify with. It goes without saying though 
that you have to be nice to the customers, even the snotty ones...within 
reason.  I will never order another pizza from domino's EVER again 
because of poor service and a pissy attitude the manager gave me, and I 
made sure I told all my friends and a LOT of the guys on base what 
domino's attitude towards the military is.  Papa Johns is getting a lot 
of the ex domino business now.   Moral of that story was, yeah even 
though someone might be a jerk, word of mouth can do a lot of damage if 
you treat your folks wrong or give poor / shoddy service.
I sincerely hope this works out for you and who knows, when I am old and 
cranky... im half way there now :)  mebbe Ill come work fer ya,   Will 
work for coffee!!
Aaron
Angelo wrote:
<Snip>

<Snip>
Brent's post made me think about differentiatiating between "education," as 
in: important stuff that you really need to know and "education," as in: 
information that makes the experience more fun.
I have believed for years that restaurants should be thought of as 
performing arts venues rather than calorie loading stations.  I am reminded 
of a cartoon from some years ago where the wife informs the husband that 
not everybody takes "That was a real gut-buster!" as a compliment.
I also believe that when you get above the McWhatever level that quality is 
appreciated by many customers who may not consciously realize - and 
certainly not be able to articulate - just what it is that they like about 
a place.
Some people, clearly, just want a cuppa coffee as quickly as possible and 
that's IT.  However, the pleasures of knowing a bit about what you are 
enjoying appeals to more people than is generally recognized, I think. 
Knowing something about where the coffee comes from - in both general (like 
altitude) and specific geographical terms adds pleasure.  The history of 
coffee and coffee consumption is pretty interesting, too.
I think as long as it is presented in a way that customers may take it or 
leave it, based on individual interests, temperament and the scheduling 
demands of the day, all the information that we on this list find so 
interesting about coffee would be a welcome addition to the general 
"atmosphere" of a coffee shop, too.
Gene Smith
who would kill for some of the espresso poster art from the 30's & 40's

We just had a coffee shop open in my neighborhood.  My wife and I each
ordered a two ounce shots of espresso.  I was so excited to see the
three young women all about 18 years old grinding for each shot,
carefully tamping and timing each shot.  About 25 minutes later and
maybe 10 thrown out shots they presented us with the best shop
espresso I have ever had.  They were apologetic.  I was super happy to
see the time and care they used.  They will get better and I will be
back often.  Good luck.  Jared
On 6/24/05, MMore  wrote:
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Michael,
  Sounds like you've gotten a lot of good advice.  We have a local 
coffee roasting shop within smelling distance, so the one thing I would 
add is try to be considerate toward your neighbors when roasting.  When 
roasting in larger batches, there is definitely a smell much stronger 
than home roasting produced from the smoke.  I think our local shop runs 
8 pound batches and it clearly can be smelled 3/10ths of a mile away 
most of the year.  In fact, until a neighbor of ours told us what it 
was, I thought I was having occasional car trouble when I'd drive home 
and they'd be roasting due to the burning rubberlike smells.  I would 
suggest roasting at at time when people are least likely to be able to 
smell it. 
David
MMore wrote:
<Snip>

...like during an atomic bomb drill, or during the poporn roasting festival=
?
Wishing you est of luck, and hoping you hit the g-spot of roasting
non-detection....
Brett
On 6/26/05, David Matz  wrote:
<Snip>
ribes) go tohttp://sweetmarias.com/maillistinfo.html#personalsettings<Snip>
-- 
Regards,
Brett Mason
 HomeRoast
      __]_
   _(( )_  Please don't spill the coffee!

When I roast strangers walk up the drive because it smells so good.

There is another solution, but it is not cheap.  The two times I have 
visited Stumptown, they were roasting, and had been for some time.  I 
smelled no roasting coffee at all.  They have a really well set up 
afterburner system.  Not cheap, but it completely takes care of that smoke 
problem.  I recall visiting a shop where they had not roasted in a couple 
of days, but all they had was ventilation.  Well, no, that was not all they 
had - they also had a stale smoke smell around the place, complaints by the 
neighbors, and not much business.  $0.02 worth.  Smoke is going to be a 
serious consideration.
At 23:45 6/25/2005 -0800, you wrote:
<Snip>
John Nanci
AlChemist at large
Zen Roasting , Blending & Espresso pulling by Gestalthttp://www.chocolatealchemy.com/

I coffee shop I used to frequent spent a fortune to have the roaster vented=
 
through a plate glass window. They had a beautiful red enamel & chrome drum=
 
roaster, and a large rotating cooling tray. The idea was that watching the=
 
beans being roasted would get folks to stop & maybe come inside. It had the=
 
opposite effect, even with the vent pipe extended up high you could smell=
 
it. Roasting was changed to out of hours, and eventually off site, except=
 
for events/demos.
--MikeW
On 6/26/05, Alchemist John  wrote:
<Snip>
y
<Snip>
 
<Snip>
g
<Snip>
e
<Snip>
I
<Snip>
e
<Snip>
r
<Snip>
-- 
"Not all things that are countable, count, and not all things that count,=
 
are countable". Albert Einstein

<Snip>
My word - that can't possibly meet building code. Sounds very cool 
but where in the world was that roaster located
Tom
-- 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
                   "Great coffee comes from tiny roasters"
            Sweet Maria's Home Coffee Roasting  -  Tom & Maria
                      http://www.sweetmarias.com                Thompson Owen george
     Sweet Maria's Coffee - 1115 21st Street, Oakland, CA 94607 - USA
             phone/fax: 888 876 5917 - tom

Tom,
Susan's Coffee, in their original location in Akron Ohio. The location now=
 
closed & the original owners sold it.
They were in a store in a strip mall. The roaster was right up front, 
visible from the front walk through the window. The corner it was in was 
surrounded by tile, direct access blocked by display shelves but still 
visible to customers.
The plate glass was special ordered and the vent pipe was double-walled so=
 
the outer wall was cool -- they make zero-clearance chimney pipe like this=
 
too. Two narrow metal flanges, one on either side of the window with machin=
e 
screws passing through the gap between the pipe & the window glass complete=
d 
the installation.
--MikeW
On 6/26/05, Tom & Maria - Sweet Maria's Coffee  wrote:
<Snip>
 
<Snip>
<Snip>
-- 
"Not all things that are countable, count, and not all things that count,=
 
are countable". Albert Einstein

I have to echo the comments on customer service.
A local business puts customers first, always going the extra mile,
always cheerful.  In response their customers are willing to pay more
than the competition, wait patiently while others are served, and keep
coming back.  Their marketing emphasis is on quality, quality,
quality, but their employee training is about service, service,
service.
This deli, founded in 1982, has grown to a local family of companies,
centered around food service.  There is, in addition to the deli, a
bakery, a creamery, a coffee roaster, a restaurant, a catering
service, mail order business, and a training organization.  All the
businesses share the emphasis on quality and service.  They are
immensely successful.  Some of their "alumni" have moved on to found
local companies of their own, also successful.
Echoing some other comments in this thread, they've also been
successful at educating their customers without making them feel
stupid.  Their motto (or it should be, anyway) is "you CAN taste the
difference."  They are upfront that quality costs money, and that they
don't take shortcuts.  They offer "tastings", which always have an
educational component along with tasting various cheeses, or hams, or
whatever.  They're always willing to give free samples, even of
ridiculously expensive items.  They know that an educated customer is
more likely to buy the "good stuff."
Their training organization offers seminars on various aspects of
running a small customer-oriented, quality-oriented business.  I have
no interest in the company other than as a (frequent) customer. 
Information about the training seminars is available at
, if you're interested.
=Spencer in Ann Arbor, MI