Happy Monday team. It’s been fun to watch the Milwaukee area come out of hibernation the last few weeks, though I know we’re all looking forward to even warmer weather and a more constant sun. There are lots more people out and about, and it seems like a good number of them are stopping by SCC cafes. Between the strong spring customer counts, and work across the company on a couple very large projects, we are officially busy.
Even as we celebrate and enjoy that fact, these are the times we need to make extra sure that our teams are running smoothly and everyone has the clarity and support they need to be successful in their role. We never want busy-ness to cause undue feelings of stress, and we will intentionally slow down at times if we need to make sure our foundation is strong.
Here’s an update on work happening across the company – big projects, learning opportunities, things of that nature.
BAKERY EXPANSION – We are currently developing plans to expand the bakery into the space directly adjacent to it – the room we call “The Important Meeting Room” and “The Artist Formerly Known As: The Tasting Room.” We also plan to invest in some new and improved equipment to make the days of our bakery team a bit easier. We hope to have our architectural drawings for this work done by the end of May, then we’ll begin to work with contractors to accomplish the work. In the meantime we will begin to purchase some of the new equipment so we can get some early gains while the work is ongoing. Our hope is that this project creates a space that’s easier to navigate and more organized for our bakers as we continue to see our customers grow in their appreciation for the wonderful products that get made there everyday.
WHITEFISH BAY – Demolition has officially started! It feels great to have some physical evidence of all the work that has been done up to this point. We expect to be able to start putting things back together later in May. That will be quite the process as we work through the sunroom addition and all of the other elements of this space that we believe will make it remarkable come open time. Over the last month we’ve been working on the expanded food menu in partnership with Hailey & Annaliese. We are planning to offer large “Stuff’d Breads” that customers can take home and heat in the oven. On the kitchen side, we’re working on a “Bowls & Boards” menu for PM services that would sit alongside our new wine & beer tap systems. We’re hopeful that this space will be a strong community gathering place at all times of day. Lots more work to do. As you know, we were hoping for a late summer open time, but given all of the elements of this project, early to mid-fall is more likely. We should get a planned schedule from our contractors in a few weeks. At that time we’ll be able to plan a more concrete timeline.
COFFEES & VIDEOS – If you read our last update, you know we’re stoked on all of the coffees that we have coming in. “Juicy Grape Co-Fermented Colombia” and “Blackberry Jam Ethiopia”certainly contribute to that excitement. There are so many more exciting coffees coming. A couple of Gesha Coffees from Costa Rica. An SL-28. Anaerobic Honeys. We also have a new Guatemalan coffee from Huehuetenango that will be medium roasted and featured in this year’s edition of BLOCK PARTY. If you read this and you be like, “What does all of this mean?” Don’t worry. We’ve started making videos to accompany each special coffee launch. In those videos we talk about what makes the coffee unique and what we taste in that coffee. You can find those videos on the individual product pages on our website, or you can just go to our YouTube page: https://www.youtube.com/@stonecreekcoffee3394
DEVELOPMENT CLASSES – To go alongside that digital coffee learning, we announced in our last round of workshops that we were working on a new set of classes that would be available to all employees (and anybody who signed up for the class would be paid for their time). These classes are meant to further your learning and growth in areas that might be important to you. The first class we’re offering is this Wednesday at 3pm – “Farm To Cup: The Business of Coffee.” If you wanted to join us for this class, but you haven’t yet signed up, please reach out to teams@stonecreekcoffee.com by the end of the day Monday. The next class you can look forward to will be “Networks: Building & Managing Professional Relationships” which will be taught by Karen Strange. Stay tuned to the Employee Newsletter for the day that will be offered.
COLD BREW CLASS – The last point of learning (for today) that I want to make sure you know about is a new public Cold Brew Class. In June we’ll begin offering Cold Brew classes alongside the other classes we make available to the public. I’m excited to see this part of how we engage with Milwaukee coffee geeks continue to grow. If you would like to take this new class, please reach out to teams@stonecreekcoffee.com. You will be able to sign up without paying the public fee.
Thanks for your time Team! I’m looking forward to spending the next few months doubling-down on our current operations, making sure we’re ready for these big steps as we continue our work to create more care in our community and our company.
Drew Pond
Director of Development
(940) 733-1414, dpond@stonecreekcoffee.com