Corona blog: Thoughts from the Head Honcho of Drifter Coffee

3-29-2020 at 4:30 pm. 

Days are blurring into one another.

Photo by The Plant House

We have been in lock down for eight days.  I closed the coffee shop about 14 days ago. There is a global pandemic.  A deadly respiratory virus is attacking lungs all over the world. It’s terrifying and there is no end in sight… Sounds like the plot to a Captain Marvel movie, amiright? Hollywood is going to be all over this.

I know I am not alone when I say that I am grieving.  I am grieving my coffee shop. I am grieving the potential downfall of my career.  Many of us are grieving the momentum of a new season–- so many events and opportunities for growth.  This was going to be the best summer yet. 

The collective energy we all cultivated and the motivation we buzzed on came to a halt. 

MOOD.

You could feel the fear in our customers the last few days we were serving coffee.  We were all afraid to catch the virus or worse give it to a loved one. It was a busy but eerie weekend.  As the news rolling in was graver and graver, it slowly sunk in that we would have to close the shop.

Free books on the porch

Monday morning, my team and I sat around drinking coffee at our sunny table in the greenhouse.  We had to FaceTime Delainie because she was in self-quarantine having recently visited Disney World.  We made lists and possible plans for the future of the coffee shop.

We discussed our fears and thoughts about what the community would say if we closed. 

How do we keep the best interests of the community in mind? How do we keep people safe? It was a tense conversation.

“What is the right thing to do?” I asked.  “Don’t think about the business or money, that’s not the point.  The most important question is ‘what is the right thing to do?’”

We knew then that we had to close the coffee shop for the foreseeable future.

We got to work right away.  Marissa tied up all of our loose ends by calling our suppliers to suspend services.  Delainie started planning PR and social media communications. Liv, Amelia and I came up with a plan to minimize grocery waste.

We decided to let our baristas purchase what they needed for their homes first.  I felt strongly that grocery stores were breeding grounds for the virus. “Don’t go to the store, come buy your goods from us.  We’re safe and taking this shit seriously.”

That’s how we became a grocery store.

(I am furiously typing and my hands are so sweaty.)

The strangest feeling was when I realized that a year ago to the day, we were putting the shop together.  Now we were tearing it apart.

The response from the community was overwhelming.  They were looking for a way to support us and they were in need of supplies.  It was meant to be. Of course we had some backlash. To be honest, there were a lot of patronizing comments coming my way.  I didn’t care.  

A few babes from the grocery team: Alleah, Liv, Marissa.

I view myself as a community leader who is connected to the people around me.  I want to set the example that if we took this virus threat seriously and shut down, we could get back to normal quicker.  I felt that staying open for “to-go only” was only delaying the inevitable.

I am proud of my decision.  I know we did the right thing and that brings me peace.  We spent five days selling all of our stock. Milk, toilet paper, maple syrup, coffee beans & Captain Morgan's rum were just a few of the items on our list.  We had over 200 grocery orders in those 5 days. Our community also chipped in to help our baristas by purchasing gift cards and donating to our virtual tip jar.  It was so incredibly heartwarming. 

Grocery orders ready to go!

I decided that our mission was to continue to be the light in the community.  We would keep being weird and doing silly things on the Internet. We would keep people laughing.  We would still find ways to connect with the community we love. 

For now, all we have is online coffee bean sales and weird videos on the Internet, but I will continue to fight to get the coffee shop back open.  With the community’s endless love and support, I am confident that we will rise from the ashes like a muthafuckin’ phoenix.

Stay home.  Stay healthy.  Continue to be inspired.