Needy By Nature

I’ve had a lot of things on my mind to explore deeper as of late. I think you’ll find my more developed thoughts in upcoming blogs. For example, “How do we better define and convey the true value of working in restaurant service when it’s so often improperly seen as a lesser job or something one does before getting their “real” job”.   

I also wonder, “What expectations are customers coming into our business with, what are appropriate expectations to have, and what expectations should we be setting for our guests?” I ponder these things each time I encounter a situation that exposes I don’t have, but need, clear answers. But something else struck me this month that was interesting to consider. I’m curious about the ecosystem of business and community that is influenced by our small business, FTC. 

Another clogged toilet, a broken HVAC motor, two sluggish refrigerators, and a broken brewer knob in the month of September had me thinking about how much our plumber, HVAC tech, refrigerator repairman, and coffee equipment suppliers need us to stay in business. I heard it said before that the only people making money in the restaurant service business are the equipment suppliers and repairmen. It’s kind of funny and may be true. They really do need us, don’t they?   

We need them and they need us in this ecosystem of small business and community. But sometimes there’s not always a value exchange happening. One day a gentleman used our space to conduct his interviews. I enjoyed great conversation with him, he had a great time, he spent about 5 hours handling his business matters and was very complimentary of our space. Real nice guy, who didn’t buy a thing. No money spent for him or his guests to use our space to achieve their goals. He brought his own bottled water and left to find a cheeseburger during lunch. Thus, my pondering customer expectations. 

Real value exchanges are happening daily and most don’t see them. Did you know for the right to play music in our shop, we pay $2,000 in licensing fees to various music licensing companies annually. Any business playing music for the public is required to properly compensate music artists. Which seems appropriate. But now our ecosystem is beyond local repairmen to Nashville or L.A..   

So why does a cup of coffee cost $3 in a coffee shop? Why doesn’t it cost $300? A coffee shop supports the trades, the arts, food and beverage vendors, utilities workers, internet technicians, cleaning service teams, bankers, lawyers, CPA’s, government employees, government tax initiatives, benefit providers, merchant processing groups, office supply companies, storage facilities, surveillance techs… at least those are some of the line items on my P&L. We also support employees and their goals, local students and their education, surrounding business and their foot traffic, community organizations, and customer needs. Thus, my pondering why a restaurant service job would be seen as any less valuable than any other. They need us and we need them. If Fort Thomas Coffee went away, the affect would be far greater than losing your favorite barista and cup of joe. No pressure, but a lot of people would benefit from FTC being as successful as it can be.   

This blog post pairs perfectly with the Negroni Pour Over, crafted with skill, equipment, technical details, and elements from both the coffee and cocktail bar.  

Recipe: Prepare a Double Rocks Glass + Ice Spheres. Build in Mixing Glass: 1.25oz Sweet Vermouth, 1.25oz Gin, 1.25oz Campari. Stir 25 seconds. Grind 22g Depper Roots Community Blend Coffee. Brew in Pourover Set Pouring Cocktail Ingredients Over Coffee Grind. Strain into Rocks Glass + Ice Spheres. Garnish with Expressed Orange Peel