What is more “specialty coffee” than coffee catering?
It was this time of year that each year that was the beginning of what I called the long season. While I loved the holidays, it also meant the start of 7 day work weeks that started crazy early and ended crazy late.
(One of our custom built, folding coffee bars)
EVOKE was built on a coffee catering platform and we loved doing it. We were good at it. We had it down to both an art and a science. We could get set up quickly. We could serve lots of drinks per hour. It was a huge part of what made EVOKE… EVOKE.
I think probably the coolest part of the coffee catering division of our company was that many of our “regulars” at the cafe were folks that we met out catering. There is just something extra special about taking what we loved to the people that wanted to drink it in their own space. It was different than when they came to visit us in Downtown Edmond in OUR space.
Anyway. I will never forget the holidays around EVOKE. It was 2014 I believe and we were maybe one or two people short going in to this season and we had 52 catered coffee bars on the calendar between Thanksgiving and Christmas.
52.
Well, I made the decision to just tackle them on my own. Each day, I’d wake up around 4a to get the car packed and head out for 2 or 3 coffee parties.
Banks…. Schools…. Corporate Open Houses….. Home Holiday Parties…..
Some had 20 people. Some had 150.
That was the busiest coffee season I have EVER been a part of and while I do not miss the load in and load out. The clean up and set up. I loved how excited it made people to walk up to a coffee bar at an event.
Unexpected. Delish. Fun.
It took a toll on me each year. I missed my own holiday parties with friends and family. I missed nearly a month of hanging with my kids and wife. I missed alot.
I don’t celebrate that part of my business decisions or think it was the right thing to do looking back. I just had one sole focus and that was to do everything I could to keep the business moving forward.. our staff paid.. and people drinking good coffee.
I felt like I owed it to those that had invested in me to keep the company as healthy as possible and this was one of those tasks that had to be done to make that all happen.
I should probably get a post going on the gear we used catering and also a bit about “not giving up what you have for what you want”…
Stay tuned!
Happy Holidays, friends. I hope you find a way to celebrate the way that is best for you. Keep it simple. Slow Down. Enjoy it!