Isaiah Sheese - Archetype Coffee

MARCH 19, 2020 © Right Here, Right Now.

So actually I left last Saturday. I left on the 14th and ended up coming back on the 17th. I was in close contact with my importer down there, like should we go? Should we not go? Waiting to kind of see how things developed here. It was still, at that point, developing relatively slowly so I wasn’t too worried about it. Plus we can only visit farmers once a year and so it’s not like, “Hey, postpone your trip one month, or two months.” You know cause harvest in Mexico is this one small window so if you’re gonna go see the farmers and you’re gonna visit their plantations or farms and see how they’re processing things like this is it…so that’s the reason why it was kind of like, important. It felt very important because this is the first time. We’ve been buying coffee from them since last year and we wanted to meet them and tell them we’re gonna support them.

It was surreal because, like, life was normal there. We were down in Oaxaca. So you started seeing sanitizer bottles being set out but I mean as far as like, life…life was normal. You know, I mean, it was a holiday weekend so everyone gathering in the town square like people were still protesting and, like, you go into the market and it as just jam-packed full of people. Like I don’t know if you've traveled down there but meat’s just sitting out, you know what I mean? They go to cook meat and they just grab this meat that’s been sitting out there all day and throw it on the grill. Everything is business as usual so it was really surreal. Getting bombarded hugely by texts from staff…people like, “Hey what do we do, what do we do? Are we shutting down? Are we closing? Are we…” And so it was just kinda weird being there, things are normal, and just watching it disintegrate here.

Josh - What was it like when you got back?

I mean, hit the ground running haha just…came to the shop. Just trying to figure out exactly what we’re gonna do. I mean we were already, you know, to-go only, paper cups, no people gathering, sanitizing the crap out of everything all the time, being safe. But then just trying to figure out like the financials of everything, you know? Because my goal is to have staff on as long as possible cause unemployment probably isn’t gonna pay crap for them. So just getting the finances figured out like do I need to get one of those micro loans that they’re giving out? Do I not? All of those things.

Josh - How have you all dealt with this?

So I’ve sent out a couple emails and in the emails, I tell a bad dad joke just try and haha lighten things up. But I mean…just telling people like you have to take care of your hope, you have to stay hopeful. You can’t just sit at home and read every news flash, every one person’s commentary on it. You need to make sure you’re taking time for yourself to separate from those things. Like mental health is huge, right? Especially in pandemics when people are freaking out. I don’t think there’s ever really a reason to panic unless lava is chasing you, then I think you kind of panic. But other than that I think you just stay level headed. I said if everyone ever has any questions, shoot ‘em my way. If people want laid off I’ll lay them off. I mean, obviously, they’re putting trust in me to keep them on but I don’t want them to not have the resources that they need. So just trying to navigate that even…for me, obviously as a business owner, it would be easier just to lay everyone off, financially, then I would just work..but they’re also the people that have helped build this community, build this business and so as long as I can employ them I will.

It’s been weird. I’ve been doing coffee for fifteen years now and you don’t realize how much interaction you have with people on a daily basis. Like, I see Josh Foo every day, I know you, whether it’s a one-minute interaction to five-minute interaction, I get like brief glimpses of your life every day, you know what I mean? So when you have these regulars you have that contact with them. It’s almost like a photo, but a live-action photo of people’s lives daily. So when that goes away or you see them fewer and fewer it’s just a really weird…you know, how are they doing? You know about their kids, you know about their job, vacations coming up…all of those things. And so when they’re not around, it’s weird.

I’m super grateful for the community of people that have supported us on a day to day basis when life is going normal, you know what I mean? So it honestly elevates that gratitude even more for the people that continue to support us because, obviously, this is like one of the last affordable luxuries, you know what I mean?. Like coffee is an affordable luxury for almost everyone, whether you’re a student or not it’s like you figure out how to work that into your budget. And so when you’re taking away that last little bit of income for people, you know the people that are still coming to support you, you know that that’s a little bit more of a sacrifice than usual. So I think, if anything, that’s elevated my gratitude for our community of people.

Coffee is one of those very rare industries where you can affect positive change locally, nationally, and globally. It’s one of the few habits that people have…I don’t even think it’s a habit it's more of a ritual, you know what I mean? Like I don’t have to have coffee. Some people might have a headache for a couple days but like you don’t have to have it. But it’s like one of those beautiful rituals, whether it’s locally, nationally, or globally and everyone partakes of it. And it’s one of the biggest places a community gathers. Whether you’re an introvert or extrovert, some may want just this one-on-one contact, and that’s what they need. You know that one point of contact you need. Or whether you want to be a part of a bigger community…you can affect positive change all along the whole chain. So for me, obviously I’m very passionate about farmers, making sure that…whatever you think about sustainability, making sure that farmers have a little more wage, you know, and making sure they’re taken care of. That’s part of the reason why we went to Mexico just to kind of say, “Hey, we’re still here. We’re gonna do our best to support you.” But I mean, you can affect everyone along the chain. There are very few, I think, industries that do that, can do that.

We’ve had lots of people come by to say thanks for being open. That’s been a hard one for me to navigate as a business owner because some people would say, you know, why are you still open you should just shut it down. Which we’ve taken every precaution we can, you know, making sure people are six feet away, sanitizing things. But that’s even part of the reason why keeping employees employed…if you’re sitting at home isolated by yourself and you aren’t the type of person that can shut off the social media, shut off the news…it’s just gonna fester and fester and build so I think even having a little break of monotony, a little break of being bombarded by all those things. I think being open adds a little glimmer of light for people. I think it’s important. Just even if it’s a three-minute interaction - you walk in, you get your coffee, how are you, are you hangin’ in there, are things going well…you know? We’re gonna support each other as much as possible. I think that’s huge. For everyone. It’s reciprocal, you know? You’re getting an interaction, you’re getting a beverage and a smile and in return you’re helping us stay afloat as a business and a community.

Small business is super, super hard. A tricky dance. Margins are small, especially in a business where you’re trying…we’re buying nice coffees, we’re paying premiums for coffees, we’re not just buying the cheapest stuff and roasting it. I mean all our coffees are double fair trade prices probably? And we’re trying to pay our employees a better wage so yeah it’s a little bit trickier dance even for a business like us…not buying the cheapest thing, paying the lowest wage. Like we’re trying to do this in a more holistic fashion as responsibly as I can so yeah the sustainability of the business, being able to stay open. As I said, this is a luxury for most people so if the economy is closed down for long periods of time…you know…haha, you gotta, you know…the first thing you cut out is eating out. Oh crap I can’t drink beer or wine and then it’s like uhhhh I’ll get rid of…cigarettes? And coffee? I don’t know haha I don’t know where exactly that falls for everyone.

I think a spotlight has been shown on small businesses more than ever, I would say. Especially the restaurant world, the bar world, and the coffee world - which probably hasn’t been as bright as it is now. Like oh crap…those are my places. When something is taken away from you, you don’t realize how much of a part of your life it is. That’s why it’s always like hug your loved ones, tell them and the people close to you that you love them. You don’t realize it until it’s taken away and then once it’s taken away it’s like shoot…that’s like a huge part of who I am and what makes me me, you know, being able to go to Nite Owl or Fizzy’s or Noli’s or whatever place you like to frequent. That’s a part of your community and a part of who you are. So I think it’s been great to see the support people are trying to show as much as possible. Hopefully if we’re able to stay in business, it’ll make those communities even stronger. And hopefully moving forward as a nation people will support their local businesses even more because it really is the heart and soul of America. Yes, we have those big conglomerates that will always be there haha. Support local. Support your community. And stay away from the big box stores as much as possible.

I’m grateful for lots of things. Josh Foo and Lauren haha. No for real. You guys sharing the stories, I think that’s huge. I think that’s a big part of it. I’m grateful for the community that’s supporting us here locally, which is huge. But even that, like, our site has blown up nationally which is very humbling. You know, cause it takes everything to make this ship go. I’ve always talked about local, national, and global, the global is more us supporting farmers, national is just like trying to rep the midwest that we’re doing great things. So it’s just nice just to see our website getting orders from all over the U.S. That’s very humbling, you know, being a small company in Omaha.

Josh - Have you seen a boost in sales online as many people are avoiding going out?

Oh, huge. And I mean that’s part of the reason why we’re doing competitions is just to try and get a little bit of that spotlight nationally and really to put Omaha on the map. But yeah it’s been overwhelming how much support we’ve gotten on the website these last two weeks. It’s been like more than Christmas sales online.

Just continue showing up as long we’re able to stay open. Yeah. Buy coffee. Stay healthy. That’s important for all of us haha if everyone can do their part in quarantining as much as possible, that’s huge as well.

Josh - Anything else you want to add?

Stay thirsty my friends. Haha.