February 27, 2023
Who am I kidding, I knew I couldn’t keep this up
Y’all, blogging is hard. Like, not so much the writing aspects of it, but in being diligent and timely and sticking to a schedule and keeping everything up to date. The truth is, a million little things have been happening over the past many months, and while a lot of that would be good content, there just aren’t enough heads for the number of hats around here. That’s small business life. But here I am to catch you up on everything (not really) that’s been happening on our end.
Nearly a year ago, Mammoth Coffee Company took over the space next to our retail space, Mammoth Espresso. It was formerly a fitness center, and we’ve spent the past months transforming that into an expanded seating area, training facility and roasting site. We’ve encountered a number of challenges along the way, many of which are not of our own making, but to be honest, some are.
Aside from an extensive renovation, the site needed a new gas line, which proved to be a much larger bit of construction than we originally planned for. And while the roaster has been successfully delivered, we’re still waiting on the fabrication of the exhaust system before we inch closer to firing it up onsite. We’ve still got some plumbing and electrical work to go, but the path to wrapping this project up is so much clearer than it was several months ago.
Until then, we’ve continued to roast offsite. It’s a tricky pursuit to run a roasting operation that you aren’t physically in, but we have a small team of very capable partners who are using an identical roasting system as the one we’re installing here. We’re hoping for a smooth transition later this year.
All the while we’ve been sourcing some really amazing coffees. We just updated the lineup to include two super fun Ethiopian coffees (see here). Something I’ve been really proud of is our ability to know what we’re looking for, partner with really excellent import/export folks and build a diverse and exciting menu.
Finally, we’ve been working on another Mammoth Espresso retail store. We’re part of the new Arrive Hotels development that’s coming up in the Bywater. Delays in construction have pushed this project back significantly, and more recently, a fire destroyed two electrical panels, further delaying the hotel's completion until sometime later this year.
I’ve learned over the past year that no plan is ever perfect, and that even a good plan can have critical elements that are simply out of my control. I’ve learned a lot about patience, humility and gratitude. I’ve learned that, even amidst a sense of failure, there are a hundred meaningful successes to be celebrated.
Will I keep up this blog? Haha, I hope so. There’s a lot I’d like to share with you. :)
Nearly a year ago, Mammoth Coffee Company took over the space next to our retail space, Mammoth Espresso. It was formerly a fitness center, and we’ve spent the past months transforming that into an expanded seating area, training facility and roasting site. We’ve encountered a number of challenges along the way, many of which are not of our own making, but to be honest, some are.
Aside from an extensive renovation, the site needed a new gas line, which proved to be a much larger bit of construction than we originally planned for. And while the roaster has been successfully delivered, we’re still waiting on the fabrication of the exhaust system before we inch closer to firing it up onsite. We’ve still got some plumbing and electrical work to go, but the path to wrapping this project up is so much clearer than it was several months ago.
Until then, we’ve continued to roast offsite. It’s a tricky pursuit to run a roasting operation that you aren’t physically in, but we have a small team of very capable partners who are using an identical roasting system as the one we’re installing here. We’re hoping for a smooth transition later this year.
All the while we’ve been sourcing some really amazing coffees. We just updated the lineup to include two super fun Ethiopian coffees (see here). Something I’ve been really proud of is our ability to know what we’re looking for, partner with really excellent import/export folks and build a diverse and exciting menu.
Finally, we’ve been working on another Mammoth Espresso retail store. We’re part of the new Arrive Hotels development that’s coming up in the Bywater. Delays in construction have pushed this project back significantly, and more recently, a fire destroyed two electrical panels, further delaying the hotel's completion until sometime later this year.
I’ve learned over the past year that no plan is ever perfect, and that even a good plan can have critical elements that are simply out of my control. I’ve learned a lot about patience, humility and gratitude. I’ve learned that, even amidst a sense of failure, there are a hundred meaningful successes to be celebrated.
Will I keep up this blog? Haha, I hope so. There’s a lot I’d like to share with you. :)