So... we opened a coffee shop

Yeah, it’s true . After roasting coffee and operating Xanadu Coffee for the past 12 years, we have finally opened a retail coffee shop in downtown Phoenix. Not just I, but we as a team have been hard at work behind the scenes for the past 4 months putting this together and want to invite you to come check us out. The website is going to be changing somewhat to make room for the shop, as well as highlight some of the things we are working on there.

Why?

Well, we have wanted a shop for a few years now. We really just want to have a place that’s part of the coffee scene here in Phoenix. A place where baristas can learn and grow, where we can gather and feel part of something. This industry is so important to us and we want to be a bigger part of it, and a coffee shop just seemed a natural progression to that end. Also, I gotta be honest, it hurts a little but when I go into shops to see if they’re interested in carrying our product and they’ve never even heard of Xanadu Coffee. We’ve been here roasting for 12 years now and seems we just haven’t made the impact we’ve wanted.

How?

Well we’ve been looking for the past 2 years but were having a hard time finding a place in a good location that could accommodate our roasting operation and were also torn between buying and renting (commercial real estate, turns out its expensive af, lol). It was mid-quarantine this year when Preethy, the owner of Tasty Box, approached me and asked about the spot on 7th st. I had been roasting for years out of Tonatierra and met her when she bought those houses across the street. I stayed in contact with her every now and again, and had discussed the possibility of taking over the space at some point. We were extremely concerned about the prospect of opening a shop amidst a current global pandemic, but the space could just not be passed up. After discussing it thoroughly, Jessica and I decided to move forward and build out the space for the shop we were envisioning.

Are you roasting out of there?

No, we are not. After assessing the setup we have decided to continue roasting out of our warehouse on Durango St. The previous shop manager was roasting out of one of the side houses at that location, but for the amount we are roasting currently, it would be a huge hindrance to our operations. HOWEVER, the side house was included in our lease and we are currently using it for a Mutual Aid drop-off spot and might eventually build it out for further projects.

What, no tips?

Yeah, about that… Look, I’ve always hated tips at a coffee shop. It creates such animosity between the employees when people brag about how much they made, and what shifts tips the best. It creates a weird seniority dynamic where the ‘old guard’ always has the best tipping shifts and the newer employees have to be grandfathered in to better tipping shifts (its true, i promise, so weird). And then if you have a back-of-house crew that doesn’t get included in the tips fairly (or at all), they’re always pissed (rightfully so). Plus, you’re always tipping even before the transaction is completed. The drink hasn’t been made and you haven’t tasted it yet. On top of all that, I know baristas feel like they shouldn’t claim cash tips for taxes (because they’re always paid poorly), but when they try get unemployed (thank you Coronavirus), they don’t get as much benefit from it. AND THEN, if they ever try to find a place to live or get a loan, they’re income looks like garbage. It’s just… all wrong. At our shop, we take care of the baristas wages. We have a fully transparent system with milestones and will pay them more and more as the shop is brought to profitability. We see paying our baristas wages as our responsibility, not yours. If you like the shop, you like the coffee, just tell your friends and/or come back. That’s all we ask.

Ok, I hope that answers some of the questions you folks might have about our new shop. I could not be happier with the result of all our hard work and really hope you stop by and try it out.

We’re open for business, bitches!

Jessica, Victor and I checking out a place on Grand Ave in early 2019.

Place is a mess but we got coffee

I did this! The contractor said it was … ‘very clean’.

Ta da