Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders

The success of coffee globally is based on what coffee represents...community. A beverage that facilitates rootedness, growth, and fruiting of relationships through shared conversation over a cup in our shops or your home.
But today, we are an industry. And our concerns tend to be exclusively around just the business of specialty coffee.
Where is the heart? 

Today I am honored and excited to present an interview with someone who is actively and tenaciously pursuing the heart of coffee in her community by honoring coffees root and growing the fruit of what it can bring to people.

We are talking with Head Roaster, Co-founder, and Chief of Staff for Cxffee Black, Renata Henderson!

Renata Henderson is Memphis, Tennessee's first Black female roaster and the co-founder and Chief of Staff of Cxffeeblack, the community-oriented, education-based coffee company she built alongside her husband Bartholomew Jones.

Founded in 2019 on a mission to return coffee to its African roots and build an equitable Black future, Cxffeeblack made history by creating the first entirely all-Black coffee supply chain from Ethiopia to Memphis — with direct-trade relationships extending to producers like Stephen and Margaret Kuria of Liwani Estate in Nakuru, Kenya.

She serves as Head Roaster, Creative Director, and HR lead, Renata brings her deep background in curriculum, instruction, and education into every dimension of Cxffeeblack, from its Specialist-in-Training internship program to the Barista Exchange Program. Her connection to coffee is deeply ancestral — rooted in Ethiopian women's 2,000-year roasting tradition and a family legacy that includes her grandfather marching alongside Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. during the 1968 Memphis sanitation workers' strike, canteen of coffee in hand.

Under Renata and Bartholomew's leadership, Cxffeeblack has earned the 2023 Sprudgie Award for Best Film in Coffee, the 2024 Sprudgie Award for Global Notable Roaster of the Year, and the inaugural 2024 Coffee Coalition for Racial Equity Innovator of the Year award. Built with support from more than 500 community investors, Cxffeeblack's new flagship café and global roasting headquarters opened in December 2025 at 3386 Bowen Avenue in Memphis's Mitchell Heights neighborhood — celebrated with an East African coffee ceremony, live music, and a community brunch — and is now equipped with a new roaster tripling the company's capacity as it expands into Memphis grocery stores and new café partnerships across the city. Cxffeeblack has been featured in Vice, NPR, The Hill, and Black Enterprise, and has collaborated with Miir, Oatley, La Marzocco, NBA player JaeShawn Tate, and West African coffee entrepreneurs at the Black Star Line Festival.

For Renata, coffee has always been more than a beverage — it is, as she says "an open air church to experience God and His goodness."

We discuss:
Her Grandfather's coffee and community justice that inspired her
Connecting with Coffee's Origin through Cxffeeblack
How Cxffeeblack Is Redefining Coffee with Heart and Justice
Living Among the People They Serve in Memphis
The hard part and the joyful part of coffee work from the heart
Navigating Authenticity and Business
Guidelines Celebrating Individuality in Coffee Spaces
Personal Growth and Community Impact
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/cxffeeblack/
https://cxffeeblack.com/
 
KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email 
[email protected]
of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 
 
Related episodes: 
542: Founder Friday! w/ Nori and Tin Burmudez of Corridor Flow, Lomita, CA
488: Founder Friday! Honoring Coffee's Root w/ Bartholomew Jones of Cxffee Black!
230 : Making room for Community in your Shop
279 : Founder Friday! w/ Daniel Brown and Nephthaly Leonidas of Gilly Brew Bar
451: Business Growth, Integrity, and Coffee Farmer Equity w/ Martin Mayorga of Mayorga Coffee
530: Founder Friday w/ Aisha Bullard and Modou (MAD) Diongue of Original Drip in Dakar, Senegal
352: Music, Culture, and Coffee w/ Hip Hop Artist, Propaganda
139 : Founder Friday w/ Kusanya Cafe co-founder, Phil Sipka

The more we ask this question the more we tend to steal time and consideration away from what we have of value in the present. The coffee shop and the larger industry for that matter, are obsessed with not being left behind and therefore we must constantly disquiet our minds and worry.

Today on Shift Break we will be talking about the danger of letting this question be the dominant question we answer. We will talk also about a healthier approach that pursues excellence in the now as a way to secure the future for ourselves, our staff, and the industry as a whole.
 
KEYS TO THE SHOP®  1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected]
OR... book a free call now 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 
 
Related Episodes: 



 
505: Maintaining Excellence in the Everyday Work of Coffee Shops w/ Maxwell Colonna-Dashwood
SHIFT BREAK! Considering the Future You When Making Decisions
Hiring for Future Leadership
What is Professionalism? Some thoughts for the future of service
Thank you to out sponsors!
 
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
 
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com

Meetings can be a very useful part of running a cafe. The way we tend to use them though has become a real problem. In fact, rather than helping, even the most well intentioned of meetings, might actually hurt your business if it is being conducted improperly. 

Today we are going to be diving into why your staff meeting might be doomed to fail and what you can do to make sure that you are using meetings for the right things. 
You might end up with fewer but better and more effective meetings as a result of today's episode. 
KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email 
[email protected]
of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 
 
Related episodes: 
463: Tips on Having the Right Meetings
Tips for Conducting Great Staff Meetings
583: Unifying Teams Across Multiple Cafes
Avoid These Cafe Meeting Mistakes

The world of specialty coffee today owes a lot of its success to those who helped build movements and create opportunities in earlier years. The times where new and actually meaningful advances in coffee shops, coffee craft, and service. There were many people and businesses that were at the forefront of the 3rd wave coffee movement and we get to talk with one of those people today! 

On this Founder Friday we get to sit down with my friend and coffee legend, Sammy Piccolo, of Caffe Artigiano, and now owner of Prado Cafe in Vancouver Washington.

Sammy Piccolo has spend nearly 3 decades in the coffee world. A 4x Canadian Barista Champion, The firs World Latte Art Champion, and 3x top 3 finisher at World Barista Championships including coming in 2nd in

After Sammy's brothers Vince and Mike founded Caffe Artigiano in 1999, Sammy immediately jumped on board. Artigiano championed progressive espresso culture, popularized latte art in Canada, and innovated service styles in their massively busy shops. Many future owners and champions came from that cafe.

Sammy took over Prado Cafe in 2012 and has grown it to a fleet of almost 10 shops with a decidedly more simple and minimal approach with a heavy emphasis on hospitality and in house baking.

Today we get to look back to the early days and talk with Sammy about his journey, the lessons he learned, his opinions and insights into the industry and competitions, and the things he believes are at the root of success for cafe operations.
Links:
https://www.instagram.com/pradocafe/
https://pradocoffee.com/
 
KEYS TO THE SHOP ALSO OFFERS 1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING!
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email 
[email protected]
of book a free call now: 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 
 
Related episodes: 
544: Love Coffee, Control Caffeine w/ 2013 WBC Champ Pete Licata of Caffeine Control Coffee
391 : Founder Friday! w/ Megan Wilson of Spuds Coffee in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida
327: Founder Friday! w/ Phuong Tran of Lava Java

The hustle of business creates a fear culture where operators worry about their productivity at a near constant rate. We scratch our heads over how to prevent burn-out and talk about work life balance, but what about having a balanced perspective on work? Today on Shift Break we will be talking about how you can shift your view of productivity through clear definitions, willingness to recognize success, and the balance needed to not be constantly worried about how productive you are, but rather, if you produced something of value that you have the ability to stop and enjoy.
 
KEYS TO THE SHOP®  1:1 CONSULTING AND COACHING
If you are a cafe owner and want to work one on one with me to bring your shop to its next level and help bring you joy and freedom in the process then email [email protected]
OR... book a free call now 
https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 
 
Related Episodes: 



Sacrificing Productivity
3 Keys for Work-life Balance
SHIFT BREAK: Rest and Meaningful Work
 
Thank you to out sponsors!
 
Everything you need for back of the house operations https://rattleware.qualitybystainless.com/
 
The best and most revered espresso machines on the planet: www.lamarzoccousa.com