From the August 2006 Hospitality News Featuring CoffeeTalk
by Andrew Hetzel
Past articles in this series have addressed many problems plaguing the quality of coffee served in America’s restaurants and made some suggestions of the first steps that should be taken to resolve them. We now shift our focus away from the current gloomy state of everyday restaurant coffee reality and move onward to showcase and learn from four rare, shining examples of restaurant coffee excellence.
Despite offering different fare, sometimes opposing styles and being geographically separated by distances of up to 3,500 miles, these role model restaurants have more than a few things in common: each is a successful and profitable venture, each enjoys a loyal following as a result of its consistently outstanding performance, and most important for our purposes here, each has made coffee an important part of its business.
Zingerman’s Roadhouse
In 1982, Ari Weinzweig and Paul Saginaw founded a small delicatessen in an historic building near a local farmers’ market with a mission to serve flavorful, traditionally made foods. The deli got its start with a staff of two, a small selection of specialty foods, a host of traditional Jewish dishes and a relatively short sandwich menu. But this was to be no simple deli: Zingerman’s Delicatessen, the Ann Arbor, Michigan institution was born.
A quarter century later, Zingerman’s is one of America’s best-known delicatessens and the cornerstone of a thriving enterprise of eight unique businesses that collectively generate a more than $22 million in annual sales and have earned Zingerman’s national recognition as “Specialty Food Retailer of the Year” by Gourmet News and “Coolest Small Company in America” by Inc. Magazine.
The Zingerman’s philosophy holds true at Zingerman’s Roadhouse, Zingerman’s full-service restaurant that specializes in regional American cuisine, or simply “good American comfort food” explains General Manager Ric Jewel. “Coffee is a vital part of the meal; it’s an important piece of American culture and food history.”
The Roadhouse enjoys the benefit of having their own custom blend of coffee roasted fresh daily by sister-business Zingerman’s Coffee Company – itself, a nationally recognized wholesale artisan coffee roaster. The Roadhouse Joe blend has become a top seller at Zingerman’s locations and also for their mail order business.
Coffee is held in the same high regard as all other menu items at Zingerman’s Roadhouse and is prominently featured in new and ongoing employee training curriculum. Ric routinely looks for staff members that have a keen interest and demonstrated mastery in coffee preparation to identify internal specialists that serve espresso and specialty coffee drinks.
When asked what customers have to say about the coffee served at the Roadhouse, Jewel responds, “More than half of our clientele know Zingerman’s other businesses and what our name represents before they walk in the door. They expect that the coffee they drink to be outstanding – they would only notice if it were anything less than spectacular.”
The Angus Barn
Ms. Van Eure is the charismatic owner and manager of the Angus Barn, beefeater’s icon of Raleigh, North Carolina for more than 45 years. A business co-founded by her father Thad Eure, Jr., the Angus Barn is open 7 days a week and serves from 400 to an astounding 1,500 meals daily to an eclectic crowd of business executives, ordinary folk and the Triangle-area’s elite power brokers. Angus Barn’s celebrated 30,000-bottle wine cellar attracts connoisseurs from around the region to fly in just for the experience.
Van’s careful attention to every detail, adept management and legendary customer service focus has allowed her business to grow and become one of the top 100 grossing restaurants in America rated by Restaurant & Institutions Magazine and earned the Angus Barn hundreds of accolades, including prestigious Ivy, DiRöNA and Wine Spectator Grand awards, as well as, a spot in the Fine Dining Hall of Fame.
“Coffee is huge in this town,” comments Ms. Eure, “almost every table orders it.” “We’ve always served coffee, but in the last 10 years, it’s really taken off. Customers are no longer satisfied with an average cup, they want specialty coffees and cappuccinos.”
The Angus Barn maintains a close relationship with their specialty coffee roaster, Counter Culture Coffee of Durham, NC, who has developed a custom blend of coffee for their menu. The Angus Barn blend has been so popular that it is available for retail sale in the restaurant’s country store.
Ms. Eure credits the performance of Counter Culture with the success of her coffee program, “Counter Culture is instrumental in training our employees to maintain high standards of quality and has truly become a part of our business.” She applauds Counter Culture’s dedication to environmental responsibility; having lived in Kenya for 5 years, Ms. Eure knows first-hand the effect that the coffee industry has on the world’s environment and is committed to making a difference.
In the continuation next month, read the advice from owners of Anchorage, Alaska favorite, Snow City Café, and multiple James Beard award winner, The Magnolia Grill, along with my conclusions.
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Andrew Hetzel is the Founder of Cafemakers, a specialty coffee business consultancy based in Hawaii. Cafemakers assists restaurants, hospitality businesses and coffee shops in North America and worldwide to improve customer satisfaction and profitability by serving better quality coffee. Information is available online at www.cafemakers.com or by calling (808) 443-0290.