9 Year Anniversary Raises $2769 for Mercy Kids
Our Newport, KY Cafe turned 9 years old on Saturday, September 17th and it was wonderful to experience the outpouring of love and support you gave us!
We had a blast with lots of fun prizes and a promise to donate the profit - gross revenue minus the cost of goods sold - for the day from both cafe sales AND online sales to The Mercy Kids.
The first 100 customers who spent $10 or more received a BOGO card. And everyone who purchased a bag of coffee was entered in a drawing to win a 6 Month Coffee of the Month Subscription!
When all the dust settled, we raised $2769!!! And Robert Wells was the subscription winner!
Early on in our business we decided that the best way we could celebrate milestones like this would be to use them as opportunities to live out our mission as a philanthropic roasting company. The past few years we have been allowing our customer base to participate by doing a "pay what you want for your drink" day and then giving 100% of all the money that came in to one of the organizations we support.
This year as inflation is crushing all of us, we decided to do things a little differently, keeping prices normal and then giving the profits from both Cafe and online sales.
Probably the best part of the day was that so many of our long-time regulars made a special trip to see us. Let's face it, the coffee business is all about people. From the supply chain all the way through to the customers and the community, relationships are what drive and move us.
I love seeing how our shop has become a community living room, a safe place for all the gather. The love of coffee is universal the world over, and it is wonderful to experience people from vastly different backgrounds intersecting within our four walls.
I also love the sense of ownership our regulars manifest when it comes to our place and how it has matured.
The people who have attached themselves to this business have given us so much life since we started roasting back in 2009. It may sound strange now, but opening our shop was honestly something Emily and I viewed as a big risk. We had no idea if it would work, but also knew that we had no choice but to go for it and try.
Our first staff was just 6 of us, with two of the baristas living in our home with us! We were passionate about serving quality coffee, committed to making our space friendly, upbeat and welcoming to all, and dedicated to providing the best hospitality we could. Nine years in, we are a staff of 22, have learned a TON and remain committed to remain true to our original values.
Cheers to 9 more years!