15/04/2024
Go support our friends at Joe Brewski Coffee! For any of our clients/customers that have raved about the strawberry lemonade or salted caramel cold brew (just to name a couple!) you have enjoyed through us, Joe Brewski is the source of all the fabulous drinks we love to serve.
Check ‘em out next time you are in or around downtown Evansville!
*Read to bottom for updates*
The future of Joe.. This is a tough post to write, but a really, really important one. So let’s open this can of worms, shall we?
Joe Brewski is a coffee company built on three legs. In reality, any one of these could be its own company, but we have run them together as one.
Catering – Joe comes to you. Coffee Where You’re At. Kegerator Rentals and Hot Bars.
Wholesale – Joe Roasts Coffee, bottles or kegs product, then sells it to another shop to serve their customers.
Retail – Come into our shop, see what’s going on. Buy cups, growlers, or bags of coffee.
Over the last several months I’ve been digging in to understand how Joe is growing in revenue but has not reached a point of being profitable.
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As an aside here.. “Profit” simply means we bring in more than we spend. If you are not profitable, the difference in money required to stay in operation comes from somewhere. The owner or investors chip it in from personal savings, money can be borrowed in the form of loans, or you simply are unable to pay vendors and bills.. Either way liability is growing somewhere. The ONLY way to escape that is through profit. The money earned above operation costs. That is what is used to pay down liabilities. Profit is essential.
Profit to a business is blood to a body. Without it, death.
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Back to Joe, not being profitable..
I’ve been looking into our lack of profit because frankly.. Joe needs to turn profit. I’ve separated each portion and looked at the numbers. It started to make the picture clear.
Wholesale business is growing. It’s profitable and healthy.
Catering has been streamlined and is profitable.
Retail.. is not healthy. The math says to close it yesterday. The model is broken. If we close retail, we would immediately turn profit. Oof.. Math is a jerk.
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When I realized what this meant, I thought of my team, I thought of the faces we get to see in the shop. We’ve served and built relationships for years. Personally, I don’t want to lose that. I’ve seen too many shops in our region and outside of our region announce closure. It’s heartbreaking.
But.. Joe has something they don’t. A Crewski.
My crew all have multiple priorities and busy lives, but their fingerprints are as much on Joe Brewski as mine are. I ran the math on what it would look like if we were to become profitable. The gap between where we are, and where we need to be. I brought it to our team. The gap is sizable, it’s a lot to take in. It seems like a lot to ask (really it’s too much to ask.. ) but maybe if they are willing, if they are onboard, we can rally.
This is why I’m writing. The Crewski is ready. Now, we’re asking for your help.
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We’ve set some internal goals. If met, the shop becomes healthy and stays open. If unmet, the shop closes and Wholesale and Catering continue on. We are giving ourselves 4 weeks to meet or exceed these goals. May 11th is decision day.
Here is where we need your help. We need to know what makes Joe Brewski special to you.
1. Is there something that would be missing from your life without Joe?
2. Is there something WE are missing, and how can we best serve you?
Please! Like, share, comment. That's how this gets around.
But we also have a survey here that would be JUST as beneficial: https://forms.gle/bi92s5PYx5GhE7eb6
This is our ask of you, if you're a friend/supporter of Joe. We will review these surveys on 4/27 and make an attack plan for the next month.
Of course, stop in the shop and grab a cup, a growler, a bag. Every bean counts.
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Friends, it is an absolute pleasure to serve you.
Nate T, Founder
Joe Brewski Coffee
—Updates—
Thank you for all of your feedback! We are still reading through surveys, messages, comments, We’ve noticed a couple things right off the bat location and hours.
- We’re at 10 NW 6th St Evansville, IN
Open 7a-4p Tuesday-Friday
