As part of our ongoing effort to empower independent coffee shops with resources, tips and best practices to adapt during the COVID19 crisis, we are interviewing a series of business owners that are finding ways to safely serve customers and protect baristas.
How Blue Star Moved to 100% Curbside
When the Washington stay at home order was issued in March, hundreds of shops across the state scrambled to determine what their next steps would be and how they would adapt.
As contactless pickup and curbside service are now rapidly becoming the "new normal" for the foreseeable future, we wanted to get a sense of how shops in our network are safely serving customers and keeping their business afloat.
We sat down with mother-daughter duo Meg Donohue and Maddie Naumann of Blue Star Coffee Roasters in Twisp, WA to learn how they responded to the crisis, how they are adapting, and what it has been like to shift to 100% mobile ordering for curbside service.
Key takeaways from the interview:
- Revenue is currently 50%-75% what it was pre COVID and growing
- Customers and staff adapted quickly to curbside only service
- Social media and curbside signage was key in getting the word out