574: Founder Friday! w/ Mackenzie Cohen of Kittitas Cafe in Kittitas, WA!

574: Founder Friday! w/ Mackenzie Cohen of Kittitas Cafe in Kittitas, WA!

Author: Chris Deferio November 28, 2025 Duration: 51:07

If you want to run a great coffee shop, loving people is one of the most important things to have at the foundation of all you do. It is also sometimes the hardest and requires intentional pursuits of a visions and a tenacity that always seeks out ways to improve communication, service, hospitality, and quality to make sure both staff and customers consistently feel the love. 

I am happy that we get to chat with someone whose cafe and pursuit of what coffee service and community can look like has been making an big impact in a small eastern Washington town.

Today we will be talking with the founder of Kittitas Cafe, Mackenzie Cohen! 

After working in the food and beverage industry in the U.S. and in Australia for over a decade, Mackenzie found her love for coffee, food, and people was so overwhelming she needed to make it her career!

The Kittitas Cafe's unofficial motto is, "love on people so much, they can't help but love us back." So far, it's worked pretty well for them!

Kittitas Cafe has formed an incredibly loving community, introduced people to coffee and food they otherwise may never have tried, and has provided careers for people that offer growth and fulfillment. 


Some things we will cover:

  • Inspiration Behind Opening the Cafe
  • Influences of Coffee Culture
  • What is "The Athleticism of Service"
  • What it Looks Like to Love People Well
  • The importance of Creating a Supportive Team Environment
  • Viewing Management as a continuous learning process
  • Challenges, proud moments, and Building Relationships with Customers
  • How Balance Staff and Customer Needs
  • Menu Evolution From Staff Conversation and Feedback
  • Gratitude as a Lifeline to Staff

 

Links:

  

Click below to register for our new webinar! 

"The Keys to the Shop: Principles for Cafe Success"

 

 

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 

chris@keystothshop.com

or book a free call now: 

https://calendly.com/chrisdeferio/30min 


SPONSORS

Want a beautiful coffee shop? All your hard surface, stone, Tile and brick needs! 

www.arto.com

Visit @artobrick


The world loves plant based beverages and baristas love the Barista Series! 

www.pacificfoodservice.com

 

 


Running a coffee shop is about so much more than pulling great shots. It's a complex dance of craft, culture, and commerce that demands a unique kind of leadership. That's the space where Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders lives. Hosted by Chris Deferio, this podcast digs into the real, often unspoken challenges faced by owners, managers, and aspiring leaders in the specialty coffee world. Each conversation moves beyond abstract theory to deliver concrete, usable strategies you can apply directly to your operation. You'll hear from a diverse range of voices, including seasoned coffee professionals and insightful experts from other fields, all focused on the practicalities of building a thriving business. Episodes tackle the full spectrum of running a shop, from daily systems and financial health to fostering a positive team environment and developing your own skills as a leader. The aim is to provide a genuine resource for growth, whether you're looking to refine your barista program, improve your shop's profitability, or scale your vision thoughtfully. Tune in for honest discussions that equip you with more than just inspiration-they offer the tangible keys to building a better, more sustainable coffee business. This podcast understands that your passion is for coffee, but your success depends on mastering the craft of leadership.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Keys To The Shop : Equipping Coffee Shop Leaders
Podcast Episodes
SHIFT BREAK! New Managers: Learning Before Changing [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 10:45
When a new manager is placed in a cafe, they often will try to change a lot of things in a bid to justify their role and/or create what they believe is the positive change they have long wanted to see as a barista. While…
553: Career Success, Hospitality, and Cafe Culture w/ Akaash Saini [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:57
How we grow in the coffee industry will determine how we lead and how we influence those around us. Our guest today has developed a career that has allowed him to not only grow himself into one with a broad and practical…
SHIFT BREAK! Should You Remodel or Renew Your Cafe? [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 8:52
If we change anything in the cafe, it will more likely be something related to the optics, branding, or remodeling the physical cafe in order to get that feeling like we have become different and this will usher in more…
551: Encore: Designing the Guest Experience w/ Doctor Lisa Waxman! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:38
Designing the experience is pretty much all we focus on. From the colors, textures, sounds, layouts - to the drinks themselves, people's experience is something that is born from design. If we want it to be a good one, w…
SHIFT BREAK! Better Than Bad is Not Good [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 9:53
Your decisions in the business related to hiring, quality, operations etc need to be based on what is actually good for the business and the people you work with and for now. Trouble is that we often are stuck at a low l…
550: Replace These Distractions and Watch Your Cafe Grow! [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 43:27
I don't think there has been a time in the history of coffee shops where we have been so distracted by things that promise to bring value but turn out to be simply distractions. Noise vs signal, image vs substance, and s…

«1...678910