WHERE WE ARE

Happy Friday Team, I hope you all have had a good week. Fall has arrived…coffee season! 

Over the last four weeks, our team has begun planning for 2022. This is always an important season for us as the decisions we make shape a great deal of the work for the next year. As part of this work we’re doing a deep dive on the benefits we provide our employees. I want to thank each of you who have taken time to fill out the recent Benefit Survey. The feedback and ideas help us understand what is important to you all. It will also guide our priorities as we work this year to evolve our benefits with a particular focus on providing more for our hourly workers. If you have not yet done so, please take just a few minutes to provide us with your feedback here before the end of the day on Friday, September 17th – https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1V7sRaMYjuOM37ZMPawIokayKy007W7dCrpZ3fleXAaU/edit 

Another aspect of our work is the continued evolution of our wage structure. Those of you who have been with us over the last couple of years know that this evolution stands as one of our Strategic Initiatives – the items of top priority within our company. In March of this year, we increased our minimum wage by $1 in addition to raising the salary of all team members in our cafes, the Downer Kitchen, the Bakery, and Production the same amount. We made that decision while the company was still losing money as the result of the COVID downturn. While this was a financially risky decision, we believed that investing in our teams and betting on our people was the right decision. I am very thankful to report that we started to make a profit again in May and we’ve been profitable each month since. The last 4 to 6 weeks have been particularly busy. We are very glad to see this recovery.

WHERE WE’RE GOING

Over the next few months we will continue our focus on our recruiting and our processes for bolstering the strength of our teams during our busy fall and holiday season. While Stone Creek Coffee is not alone in the staffing struggle (many companies across our country also face this), we know that success in this work is crucial to balancing the work-load and sustaining everyone’s physical and mental health during busy times like we’re currently experiencing. 

Along with this focus on recruiting, we’re choosing to continue our investments into our employee’s wages. Even though we’re still recovering from the economic impact of COVID we will again be raising our starting wages and the hourly rates of our Production, Bakery, Downer Kitchen, and Cafe teams effective Monday, October 4th. This time we will advance the wages by another $2 per hour for everyone on these teams. 

For instance, if you are a Barista currently making $9.50 + tips per hour, you will now be making $11.50 + tips. If you are a Baker currently making $13 per hour, you will now be making $15 per hour. And so on, and so forth. A list of all roles that will receive this $2/hr bump can be viewed at the bottom of this note. All roles will still be eligible for pay review in November Pay & Performance Reviews including some of our corporate team members who are not part of this $2 increase.

This adjustment does pose some financial risk for us. The raises are a substantial investment for the business even as the future remains uncertain. However, we believe this evolution is important. It’s simply the right thing for us to prioritize. When I started this company in 1993, I wanted to create a company that benefited its employees and all who interacted with it. We’ve learned that changes like this in an uncertain environment feel risky (and are a little risky), but we are choosing to do this proactively as we believe in our people. We believe we can create a better future together.

If you have any questions about this change and what you personally can expect, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me, Drew, or any member of the Teams & People team. Our contact information can be found below. Thank you all for your hard work. I appreciate you all very much. I am thrilled with the progress we’ve made over the last 9 months and am excited to see what we can do as we wrap 2021 and face 2022.

I hope you all have a great weekend.

Eric Resch
Founder & Managing Director
eresch@stonecreekcoffee.com

Other Contacts:

Drew Pond
Director of Development
dpond@stonecreekcoffee.com

Teams & People Team (Karen Strange, Hailey Barsch, Rachel Perik)
teams@stonecreekcoffee.com 

Roles Receiving $2/hr increase.

Baristas
Cafe Coaches
Cafe Coach Trainees
Line Cooks
Hospitality Specialists
Bakers
Bakery Steward
Bakery Administrator
Bakery Coach
Fulfillment Specialists
Delivery Drivers
Lead Production Roaster
Production Coordinator
Educators