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FRESH IDEAS:
SERVING JOE IN A NEW WAY
By Debra Solomon Baker
If you’ve ever tried balancing a cup of steaming cappuccino while
fending off tugs from an impatient toddler, you know the perils
of mixing parenting and coffee drinking. But good news has arrived
for parents, along with other java-craving souls. One of St. Louis’
newest coffee shops is offering a novel way to accommodate its customers.
Rowan Jones, 3, and his sister, Blanche, 6, play in
the childrens’ play area at the Hartford Coffee Company
while their mother, Karin Jones, enjoys her morning
coffee. |
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“We call this a no shushing zone,” says Shannon McGinn, co-owner
of Hartford Coffee Company, which opened in February. “We encourage
families to come and not spend their time worrying about whether
they are offending anyone.”
The centerpiece of this community café, one block south of Tower
Grove Park, is its large children’s play area—complete with beanbag
chairs, a hopscotch mat, and heaps of toys.
“It was always stressful going other places and trying to keep my
kids sitting quietly in a booth,” says Aimee Snelling, a French
teacher, mother to 2-year-old twins, and a regular at Hartford.
“Here I get to sit for an hour and read while they play. My daughters
don’t ever want to leave.”
For seven years, this building at the corner of Hartford Street
and Roger Place had been a boarded-up neighborhood eyesore, cursed
with vandalism, loitering, and piles of trash. Today, the once-dumping
ground has local artwork adorning the walls, and lattes zooming
out the door faster than McGinn could’ve hoped.
Reaching this point was quite a journey. Rejected for funding by
several large banks, McGinn and his partner, James Fox, emptied
their own wallets, crafted their own tables, and then purchased
mostly everything else—including the bar, coffee bins and toys—on
eBay.
“We have to make sure that it’s outstanding,” McGinn says. “Everything
we have is in this place.”
Community members have adopted a sense of ownership over the shop;
some even pop in just to bus tables or to tidy up the children’s
area. “I feel great about spending my money here,” says Mary Carpenter,
who lives six doors down. “We have been dying for something like
this in our neighborhood. It has been the perfect answer.”
For those on the opposite side of the spectrum—too busy to even
get out of the car—drive-through coffee huts are the perfect solution.
Described as Fotomatesque, they serve as a convenient and
efficient caffeine fix for hurried business people, soccer moms,
and students late for their mid-terms. There’s no fighting for parking
spots, no unbuckling children from their safety seats, no standing
in long lines—and you never have the problem of forgetting your
wallet in the car.
“We offer the same quality and flavor as a walk-in shop, at a comparable
price,” says Bart “The Coffee Guy” Fisher, owner of the double-sided
drive-through chain, The Daily Perc.
After winning a national award for his business plan, Fisher, a
former teacher, opened his first shop on Manchester Road in Rock
Hill in 2002, followed by one in Brentwood. The Daily Perc serves
a variety of freshly brewed beverages, along with pastry items from
Great Harvest Bread Company.
Since then, Fisher has franchised one other location in Kirkwood
and anticipates four more will open by year’s end. But he won’t
have the roads (or parking lots) to himself anymore. After witnessing
the coffee drive-through craze explode in his hometown of Seattle,
John Dean decided to launch his own version at the end of last year.
Today, drivers stop at his Manchester drive-through, Common Ground,
where he serves Kaldi’s coffee—a brand he says “sells itself.”
Fifteen years ago, few would have predicted that specialty coffee
would be the sizzling commodity that it is today. What new conveniences
are on the horizon for St. Louis coffee consumers? That’s anyone’s
guess. But to paraphrase the movie Field of Dreams, the working
rule in the St. Louis region seems to be, “If you serve it, they
will drink.”
A CENTURY OF FLAVOR: RONNOCO HITS 100
By Debra Solomon Baker
Like a pleased curator showing off his collection, Frank J. Guyol
III leads a tour through the Ronnoco Coffee Co. The aroma of roasting
coffee beans fills the air, and all around him, labels and signs
make the proud announcement: “100th Anniversary: A Century of Excellence.”
“Our longevity in the business is what differentiates us,” Guyol
says. “You don’t stay in business for 100 years unless you are putting
out an excellent product.”
Guyol, president and CEO, has seen his family-owned and operated
business come a long way from when his grandfather bought the company
in 1919 from brothers J.P. and J.J. O’Connor (Ronnoco is O’Connor
spelled backwards). The O’Connors were inspired by the roasted coffee
at the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, and began by delivering to
hotels via horse-drawn buggies.
Today, with 140 employees, Ronnoco is one of the largest private
roasting companies in the Midwest—but there is still a strong sense
of history here. Guyol points to portraits of Madame Chouteau and
other famous St. Louisans. These, he notes, are replicas of work
painted by his great-great-great-grandfather Francois Marie Guyol,
whose work now hangs in New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art.
For the Guyol family, coffee is an art form, too. The process begins
by selecting the right Arabica beans, imported from 20 coffee-producing
countries around the world. In a taste test called “cupping,” a
small amount of finely ground, roasted beans is placed in a china
or glass cup. After an evaluation of color and aroma, nearly-boiling
water is poured directly onto the coffee. The cupper then stirs
the brew and checks the fragrance.
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Frank J. Guyol III, president and CEO of the Ronnoco
Coffee Co. |
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After the coffee has cooled, the cupper takes a spoonful of coffee
from the surface (leaving the grounds behind) and inhales it into
his or her mouth. By sucking in the coffee, more sensitive taste
buds near the back of the tongue are brought into play.
The beans that make the cut are then purchased in bulk and stored
in a climate-controlled environment before being roasted. “We’re
known as a house that is very cautious in terms of making sure that
we have clean, sound, consistent flavor profiles,” coffee buyer
Robert Carpenter says.
Guyol agrees—taste testing is no trivial affair at Ronnoco. As he
peeks into the cupping room, he smiles and says, “We are very particular
about our coffee.”
Ronnoco clients, all of whom are within a 500-mile radius of St.
Louis, include restaurants, hotels, offices and coffee-houses. The
latter, Guyol says, are an area of high-growth for the company.
Ronnoco even provides training for potential coffee bar owners on
how to execute a successful program, from laying out a bar to making
a latte. This training occurs in Ronocco’s own coffee bar, a space
complete with coffee-themed murals, designed to showcase the company’s
many products.
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Roasted coffee beans are examined during the roasting
process. |
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Guyol recognizes that the increased availability of high quality
coffee for consumers—in places like coffee bars, convenience stores,
and, even drive-through coffee huts—is an important trend.
“Although we take it for granted today, as recently as ten years
ago these market segments accounted for a small portion of coffee
sales,” he says. “Ronnoco has always had an intense focus on quality,
so what is going on in the market place today fits in very well
with our corporate strategy.”
In addition to coffee, Ronnoco also imports and packages its own
Camellia Tea Brand, and about two years ago ventured into the world
of bottled water, with its Clearbrook Natural Spring Water line.
For this major expansion, the company received St. Louis Mayor Francis
G. Slay’s first Spirit of St. Louis Award.
When thinking ahead to the next 10, 20, or even 100 years, Guyol
believes it is important to stick with the basics. “There are certain
things that we will continue to do, such as our commitment to quality,
providing outstanding service to our customers, and helping our
[employees] be the best that they can be,” he says.
For the time being, however, Guyol plans to spend some time celebrating
Ronnoco’s milestone. In honor of the centennial anniversary, he
has launched the company’s first-ever television commercials and
will also host celebrations both for his customers and employees.
There will, no doubt, be oceans of freshly-brewed coffee flowing
right beside the birthday cake.
Debra Solomon Baker is a St. Louis-based freelance writer.
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