Focusing on numbers above guest experience may actually prevent you from achieving the numbers you need to sustain your business long term. Yet still people insist on creating environments in the shop that turn customers into marks to be worked for the sake to extracting as much out of them each interaction as possible so we can see average tickets rise and celebrate record days. In this case, the means to the end truly matters.

On today's episode we will be talking about how to recognize this almost reflexive and default setting cafes fall into, how to foster true service and hospitality, and why we need to focus more on the guest experience with genuine care.

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS 2026!

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! The Difference Between Numbers and Quality Numbers in The Cafe
• SHIFT BREAK: When Numbers Lie
• SHIFT BREAK! Embracing the Meaning of Money
• SHIFT BREAK: Adjusting Our View of Labor Cost

Today we are surrounded by content and it is expected of every customer facing brand to strive to create a brand persona and content to reinforce your values and attract others who share those things.

The bi-product of this dearth of content is the underlying sense of anxiety, disconnect, and lack of grounding as it seems the more we produce and consume, the emptier we feel.

Today on Shift Break we will talk about the shift needed today in a sea of content if we are truly going to make meaningful progress.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• 502: Creating Meaningful Coffee Experiences
• SHIFT BREAK: Rest and Meaningful Work
• 505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood

When you build a trust through serving people with sincerity and passion, those same people support and uplift you. In the business of the coffee shop, those kinds of relationships are the life giving force that carries owners through the ups and downs of ownership. Today we get to talk to two of our industry's sweetest people whose cafe is built on this very thing.

I am so happy to welcome to the show, Patti and Jesse Ventura of Lontra Coffee!

Patti and Jesse Ventura are a husband and wife team and the founders of Lontra Coffee. What began as a shared passion for specialty coffee turned into a journey of building their own company. They have dedicated themselves to creating intentional experiences and spaces that are rooted in quality and hospitality.

After opening their first location in Downtown Los Angeles, they are now expanding and continuing to learn and grow as owners and operators. Their mission is connecting through coffee and allowing Lontra to be a space that feels like home to everyone.

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS!

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related episodes:

• 563: Founder Friday! w/ Jared Linzmeier of Ruby Coffee Roaster
• Founder Friday! w/ Rachel Lehman of Crema Coffee Roasters in Nashville, TN
• 337: Founder Friday w/ Diana Martinez of Cafe Calle, Los Angeles
• SPECIAL! | PART 1 Coffee Fest LA! 2024 w/ Shanita Nicholas of Sip and Sonder + Elisa Hoyos and Leo Abularach of Picaresca Barra de Cafe

Feedback is all around us. From the customers, staff, and the business itself, we can only make great decisions for the coffee shop when we practice listening to understand. Trouble is we often avoid listening for fear of what we will hear, or because we falsely think we know what someone thinks or that their opinion cannot be helpful due to who they are or what position they hold.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about what we stand to lose personally and professionally when we do not pursue listening as a serious part of how our business will grow.

Please take time to listen to the episodes below to dive deeper into the subject of listening!

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli

• 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
• 282 : How to Listen to your Customers
• 291 : What to do if Your Baristas Wont Listen to You

Coffee is a connector. I think we all have seen this in our personal lives, our social lives, and in the community we help facilitate through our shops. In the fast paced often stessful world of cafes and the vocation of coffee, we need to take some time, and leave some room for appreciating the real impact a simple cup can have on people.

On today's episode we will be talking all about the ways coffee does this and how we can use coffee to advance understanding, exploration, and connection with the Director of Room for Cream, Grant Garry!

Grant Garry is an award winning filmmaker, actor, singer, and Certified Grief Educator. He is the director of the documentary Meet Me Where I Am - Grant has played The Cowardly Lion in The Wizard of Oz at Opera San Luis Obispo as Disney's Beauty and the Beast, NCIS: Los Angeles, Legally Blonde: The Musical, Black Cat, Night of the Living Deb, Sweeney Todd, and Cinderella. He hosts the podcast Where I Am on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Amazon Music. A long-form discussion based show about love, loss, and finding meaning as we move forward. His recent release and project is called "Room for Cream", a series dedicated to the exploration of coffee, coffee culture, and the ways coffee facilitates connection.

Related episodes:

• 165 : The Art of Deep Listening w/ Oscar Trimboli
• 415: The Best Lessons On How to Listen w/ Listening Expert, Oscar Trimboli
• 230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
• Founder Friday! Youth, Foster Care, and Human Connections Through Coffee | w/ Miah Sommer of Astute Coffee in Omaha, NE
• 334 : How to Approach Deescalation w/ Melissa Tucker of Mind Over Matters and Pathways to Peace

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS!

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

It's a common belief that there are not enough hours in the day to do the work that we need to get done in order to run a good coffee shop. The truth of the matter is that, more than a lack of time, this feeling is a result of poor time management. In particular, not having appropriately set and strategize priorities. Today on Shift Break, we will be exploring a few ways to think about time management that will help you reduce overwhelm and get control of your schedule and do the right things that will make a difference for you and your business.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! Time Management For Managers and Owners
• 549: The Power of Great Consistent Work Over Time
• SHIFT BREAK: Finding Time for Change in the Cafe

As a business grows, the relationships in it shift and and evolve. The double edged sword of success and growth in numbers, is a natural pulling away from paying attention to those relationships. IN the end, unless we fight to stay engaged and prioritize the health of our communication and care fro the people that make the cafe possible, it is only a matter of time before things start to go down hill.

On today's episode we will be discussing the need for prioritization of the right things in the cafe when you start to get busy and how to attend to them so all the facets of the business are stable and healthy from the foundation up.

I cannot stress enough how important this concept it. I regularly assess cafes and the common issue beneath most issues is this.

Related episodes:

• RoR #27 : Scaling and Relationships in a Small Roastery w/ Cody Gordon, Cerberus Coffee
• Don't Forget Relationships
• Proactivity in the Owner – Manager Relationship
• 580: Four Cafe Leadership Mindsets to Adopt in the New Year
• 579: How to Really Care For People in the Cafe

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

In our pursuit of optimization, analysis, scientific rigor, and financial success, we may find ourselves wondering, "where is the life in all of this?" Could it be that in dissecting every inch of our business, we have inadvertently killed it? Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the need to remain connected to and act from the heart. Why we might feel a collective burn out and misery in what we are doing, and how, perhaps we can reclaim some joy amidst the frenzy of the shop.

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• 485: Your Shop vs The Industry – How to Free Yourself From Dependency
• 317 : Encore Episode: Death by Comparison
• 227 : Connecting with Hearts and Minds
• 566: The Problem With Systems

Coffee shop insights and resources abound! We have innumerable platforms, tools, and ideas that all have a certain amount of value...if only they are adopted and applied well and consistently to your shop

On today's episode, we will be talking about the steps that owners and operators should take to go from revelation to realization when they get insights that can help their business. Too many people stop at the "aha" moment and lose the potential for lack of application. Let's fix that.

Related episodes:

• 330 : Establishing Systems in Your Coffee Shop
• 566: The Problem With Systems

Sign up for the February 11th Webinar all about

PRINCIPLES FOR CAFE SUCCESS!

https://keystotheshop.com/principles-for-cafe-success/

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

The experience of the customer day-in and day-out is often treated as a given. Something that is expected, but not something that is earned. We work to The real focus of our efforts should be on training and resourcing our staff to deliver a consistently excellent product, space, and hospitality experience every time. Are we truly doing that? Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how training not only needs to be harder than the work we are training for, but that training, coaching, and continued support needs to emerge as the calling card of specialty coffee or else we will continue to be known as people who talk a big game in our marketing, but miss the mark in the real world.

Sign up for the February 11th Webinar all about

PRINCIPLES FOR CAFE SUCCESS!

https://keystotheshop.com/principles-for-cafe-success/

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min

Related Episodes:

• SHIFT BREAK! The Urgent Need for Training in Today's Coffee Shop
• SHIFT BREAK! You Need to Avoid This HUGE Training Mistake!
• 527: Thoughts on How to Approach Training and Onboarding
• You Need to Prioritize In-House Training!

When we think about dialing-in, we automatically think about coffee. Changing the grind, the recipe, and other inputs and variables all to obtain an ideal outcome. Your coffee shop is not just about coffee though, and that means that other areas of the cafe need to be dialed in in order for the product of the cafe experience to be great.

On today's episode, we will be talking about the three areas of product, people, and place and how you can think about and take action to dial in each one effectively. Now is the time in our history as an industry to start truly finessing the details of what we offer in our shops so we can slowly start rebuilding the coffee bar's reputation as a great good place, a spot for consistently excellent coffee, a spot that you love serving in and love to be served in. It all starts with dialing-in.

Related episodes:

• Taste the Rainbow! : Menu knowledge, tasting, flavor, coffee cupping approach to your offerings
• SHIFT BREAK! How Well Do You Know Your Business?
• 406 : Five Ways to Immediately Improve Your Coffee Quality
• 498: 10 Small Things to Fix in Your Coffee Shop This Week
• SHIFT BREAK! Is That Character or Neglect?
• 453 : The Craft of Operations

Sign up for the February 11th Webinar all about

PRINCIPLES FOR CAFE SUCCESS!

https://keystotheshop.com/principles-for-cafe-success/

APPLICATIONS ARE OPEN!

KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

Are you a coffee shop owner looking to join a community of other owners to help bring perspective, insight, encouragement, and accountability in a well curated setting?

Then you need to apply to join Key holder Coaching Groups!

Applications are now open for Spring 2026 Cohort:

Click below to learn more:

APPLY TO KEY HOLDER COACHING GROUPS

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

[email protected]

of book a free call now:

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min