Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

Chris Deferio
  • 4.8 (254)
  • FOOD
  • UPDATED SEMIWEEKLY

A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business or coffee career. 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.

  1. 1D AGO

    SHIFT BREAK! Why You Will Always Be A Small Coffee Shop

    Our image of who we are as a business is not necessarily the same as that of our customer. We see all the inside gears and pulleys that hide beneath the surface. We see the scope and organizational diagram of the cafe, the roastery, mobile cart, online sales, and multiple locations. We see a brand, while they see just a small coffee shop.  Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how no matter the size of our operations, the individual customer will always see and experience your company within a small framework of their cafe, their drink, their seat etc.  This serves to give us pause and to help us consider just how much we can vouch for that singular experience that thousands of individual customers have in our cafes. Are we getting lax because the size and scope of our operations make us feel an undeserved sense of confidence?  My hope is that this episode will get you thinking about that one customer and how, no matter your size, you can run like a small shop. After all, thats how the customer experiences you.  Related episodes on the YouTube channel:  SHIFT BREAK! Why Won't My Baristas Engage Customers The Way I Want Them To?! SHIFT BREAK! What Customers Value and How to Deliver It 480: Focus on What Your Customers Love 591: The Problem w/ Focusing On The Numbers vs The Guest Experience KEYS TO THE SHOP®  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    Related Episodes:    505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood SHIFT BREAK! Considering the Future You When Making Decisions Hiring for Future Leadership What is Professionalism? Some thoughts for the future of service 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

    9 min

  2. 2D AGO

    603: Innovation, Progress, and your Coffee Shop: Finding the Signal in the Noise

    The words "innovation" and "progress" are the favorite buzz words of our industry, but what do they mean? It is usually a lot of noise around the subject of technology, but rarely related to things that deliver lasting positive change in the cafe. The average shop owner has to wade through a sea of claims and sales pitches all making big claims about their products. In the end, they are left with less money and typically the same issues.  Well today we are going to cut through the noise of the industry and its extractive disposition toward business owners and give you a way to think about progress and innovation that simplifies, clarifies, and helps build confidence instead of nursing insecurities.  KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 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    Related episodes:  500! Reflections and The Role of the Coffee Shop in the Industry 485: Your Shop vs The Industry – How to Free Yourself From Dependency 181 : Organizational Self-Knowledge 558: Digital Natives and the Future of Coffee Shops w/Kosta Kallivrousis SHIFT BREAK! "What's Next in Coffee"

    28 min

  3. MAY 7

    SHIFT BREAK! The Mindset of Working Clean

    Having a clean cafe and a clean bar is not just a surface level pursuit. The mindset it takes to keep things clean while busy is a discipline that have far reaching benefits extending to the quality of our products, depth of hospitality, and the health of our relationships behind and across the bar. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the mindset baristas and owners need to have in order to work clean and how this focus is foundational to the building of a solid coffee shop business.  My hope is you can take this and practice entering into this mindset daily and watch as you and your team or co-workers start to become more calm, productive, effective, and fulfilled in working clean.  Related episodes on the YouTube channel:  SHIFT BREAK: Detail Oriented Staff Starts With You Lessons From "America's Best Coffee House" | Ep 581 Is That Character or Neglect? | Shift Break Series   KEYS TO THE SHOP®  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    Related Episodes:    505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood SHIFT BREAK! Considering the Future You When Making Decisions Hiring for Future Leadership What is Professionalism? Some thoughts for the future of service 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

    14 min

  4. MAY 5

    602: Renata Henderson | Cxffeeblack | Putting The Heart Back Into Coffee

    The success of coffee globally is based on what coffee represents...community. A beverage that facilitates rootedness, growth, and fruiting of relationships through shared conversation over a cup in our shops or your home. But today, we are an industry. And our concerns tend to be exclusively around just the business of specialty coffee. Where is the heart?  Today I am honored and excited to present an interview with someone who is actively and tenaciously pursuing the heart of coffee in her community by honoring coffees root and growing the fruit of what it can bring to people. We are talking with Head Roaster, Co-founder, and Chief of Staff for Cxffee Black, Renata Henderson! Renata Henderson is Memphis, Tennessee's first Black female roaster and the co-founder and Chief of Staff of Cxffeeblack, the community-oriented, education-based coffee company she built alongside her husband Bartholomew Jones. Founded in 2019 on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and build an equitable Black future, Cxffeeblack made history by creating the first entirely all-Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis — with direct-trade relationships extending to producers like Stephen and Margaret Kuria of Liwani Estate in Nakuru, Kenya. She serves as Head Roaster, Creative Director, and HR lead, Renata brings her deep background in curriculum, instruction, and education into every dimension of Cxffeeblack, from its Specialist-in-Training internship program to the Barista Exchange Program. Her connection to coffee is deeply ancestral — rooted in Ethiopian women's 2,000-year roasting tradition and a family legacy that includes her grandfather marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike, canteen of coffee in hand. Under Renata and Bartholomew's leadership, Cxffeeblack has earned the 2023 Sprudgie Award for Best Film in Coffee, the 2024 Sprudgie Award for Global Notable Roaster of the Year, and the inaugural 2024 Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity Innovator of the Year award. Built with support from more than 500 community investors, Cxffeeblack's new flagship café and global roasting headquarters opened in December 2025 at 3386 Bowen Avenue in Memphis's Mitchell Heights neighborhood — celebrated with an East African coffee ceremony, live music, and a community brunch — and is now equipped with a new roaster tripling the company's capacity as it expands into Memphis grocery stores and new café partnerships across the city. Cxffeeblack has been featured in Vice, NPR, The Hill, and Black Enterprise, and has collaborated with Miir, Oatley, La Marzocco, NBA player JaeShawn Tate, and West African coffee entrepreneurs at the Black Star Line Festival. For Renata, coffee has always been more than a beverage — it is, as she says "an open air church to experience God and His goodness." We discuss: Her Grandfather's coffee and community justice that inspired her Connecting with Coffee's Origin through Cxffeeblack How Cxffeeblack Is Redefining Coffee with Heart and Justice Living Among the People They Serve in Memphis The hard part and the joyful part of coffee work from the heart Navigating Authenticity and Business Guidelines Celebrating Individuality in Coffee Spaces Personal Growth and Community Impact Links: https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/ https://cxffeeblack.com/   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 of book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes:  542: Founder Friday! w/ Nori and Tin Burmudez of Corridor Flow, Lomita, CA 488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee's Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black! 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop 279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar 451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee 530: Founder Friday w/ Aisha Bullard and Modou (MAD) Diongue of Original Drip in Dakar, Senegal 352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda 139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka

    1h 1m

  5. APR 30

    SHIFT BREAK! "What's Next in Coffee"

    The more we ask this question the more we tend to steal time and consideration away from what we have of value in the present. The coffee shop and the larger industry for that matter, are obsessed with not being left behind and therefore we must constantly disquiet our minds and worry. Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the danger of letting this question be the dominant question we answer. We will talk also about a healthier approach that pursues excellence in the now as a way to secure the future for ourselves, our staff, and the industry as a whole.   KEYS TO THE SHOP®  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    Related Episodes:    505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood SHIFT BREAK! Considering the Future You When Making Decisions Hiring for Future Leadership What is Professionalism? Some thoughts for the future of service 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

    10 min

  6. APR 28

    601: Why Your Cafe Staff Meeting Might Be Doomed To Fail

    Meetings can be a very useful part of running a cafe. The way we tend to use them though has become a real problem. In fact, rather than helping, even the most well intentioned of meetings, might actually hurt your business if it is being conducted improperly.  Today we are going to be diving into why your staff meeting might be doomed to fail and what you can do to make sure that you are using meetings for the right things.  You might end up with fewer but better and more effective meetings as a result of today's episode.  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 of book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes:  463: Tips on Having the Right Meetings Tips for Conducting Great Staff Meetings 583: Unifying Teams Across Multiple Cafes Avoid These Cafe Meeting Mistakes

    27 min

  7. APR 24

    600: Founder Friday w/ Sammy Piccolo of Prado Cafe | Vancouver, BC

    The world of specialty coffee today owes a lot of its success to those who helped build movements and create opportunities in earlier years. The times where new and actually meaningful advances in coffee shops, coffee craft, and service. There were many people and businesses that were at the forefront of the 3rd wave coffee movement and we get to talk with one of those people today!  On this Founder Friday we get to sit down with my friend and coffee legend, Sammy Piccolo, of Caffe Artigiano, and now owner of Prado Cafe in Vancouver Washington. Sammy Piccolo has spend nearly 3 decades in the coffee world. A 4x Canadian Barista Champion, The firs World Latte Art Champion, and 3x top 3 finisher at World Barista Championships including coming in 2nd in After Sammy's brothers Vince and Mike founded Caffe Artigiano in 1999, Sammy immediately jumped on board. Artigiano championed progressive espresso culture, popularized latte art in Canada, and innovated service styles in their massively busy shops. Many future owners and champions came from that cafe. Sammy took over Prado Cafe in 2012 and has grown it to a fleet of almost 10 shops with a decidedly more simple and minimal approach with a heavy emphasis on hospitality and in house baking. Today we get to look back to the early days and talk with Sammy about his journey, the lessons he learned, his opinions and insights into the industry and competitions, and the things he believes are at the root of success for cafe operations. Links: https://www.instagram.com/pradocafe/ https://pradocoffee.com/   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 of book a free call now:  https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min    Related episodes:  544: Love Coffee, Control Caffeine w/ 2013 WBC Champ Pete Licata of Caffeine Control Coffee 391 : Founder Friday! w/ Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida 327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java

    56 min

  8. APR 23

    SHIFT BREAK: Perspectives To Help Your Productivity

    The hustle of business creates a fear culture where operators worry about their productivity at a near constant rate. We scratch our heads over how to prevent burn-out and talk about work life balance, but what about having a balanced perspective on work? Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can shift your view of productivity through clear definitions, willingness to recognize success, and the balance needed to not be constantly worried about how productive you are, but rather, if you produced something of value that you have the ability to stop and enjoy.   KEYS TO THE SHOP®  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    Related Episodes:  Sacrificing Productivity 3 Keys for Work-life Balance SHIFT BREAK: Rest and Meaningful Work   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

    11 min
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254 Ratings

About

A coffee podcast providing coffee shop owners and leaders, with insights, inspiration, and the tools you need to grow and advance your coffee business or coffee career. 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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