We traveled to Charleston Coffee Roasters on Tuesday to interview the founder and owner of the business, Lowell Grosse. It was not in the most affluent-looking neighbor, especially compared to downtown Charleston's inescapable designer and expensive brand-name shops, but whose to judge where the "best coffee in South Carolina" comes from if it really is the best coffee. We were both very surprised to find that it wasn't a coffee shop, but rather a company who imports coffee from several regions all over the world, then roasts and sells their coffee to grocery stores, hotels, restaurants, and other similar venues. Right off the bat, before we even opened the door, we knew that this interview was going to be a perfect addition to our project, simply from a bumper sticker on the steel doors. It read, "Lowcountry Local First". This is an organization whose mission is as follows, "Lowcountry Local First advocates the benefits of a local living economy by strengthening community support for independent locally owned businesses and farmers;" pretty self-explanatory why we knew this business would be excellent to incorporate in our project.
After we introduced ourselves to Lowell and were acquainted with his very soft, playful Golden Retriever, Boomer, we held a very productive and interesting interview. Right off the bat, he mentioned that he did not advertise. The money is not in the budget and regardless, it is not worth wasting money when you can advertise for free by word of mouth. He explained that his company does a lot of face-to-face interaction; they knock on doors, set up stands, and do anything to get their name out there. This seems like a very common theme that we have been seeing in these successful businesses- they don't waste time and money advertising when they can provide fantastic customer service which leads to advertisement by word of mouth, the best kind there is. Think about it, are you more willing to pay attention and trust what a TV commercial is blabbering about, especially when you are angry that the commercial is on in the first place because you would rather be watching your show, or are you going to listen to your neighbor or friend who recommends this great product? Our guess is the latter. He did get lucky with the placement of his building though- right off the highway where drivers can see his logo (but again, this is free advertisement). It is funny because the other interview that we went to that day, which we will write about in a later post, happened to be going out of business- this was the one business that reported how often they advertise in local magazines, newspapers, etc.
The biggest advantage that Lowell thinks about owning his own, local business is simply that it is your own and there is pride and dignity that comes along with that idea, undoubtedly wanting to make it the best business possible. Aside from the fact that you can't be fired from your own company, the concept that everything he does and represents reflects back not only on his company as a whole, but on himself, is really evident. This motivates him, makes he works harder to make his product better, does anything to please his customers, and anything else that contributes to a better name for himself. As opposed to the local shops, the employees at a big corporation wouldn't necessarily be commended for their loyal work or clever contribution, therefore, they aren't as motivated.
Charleston Coffee Roasters donates a lot of coffee and time to schools and the turtle rescue project, specifically in South Carolina. Lowell wants people to support local and he believes firmly in supporting local, therefore he wants to be an advocate for anything local and give back to the community. It is a full circle when it comes to supporting local whereas all that big corporations try to do it bring in as much revenue as possible. Several big companies, we assume, do support some sort of charity organization, but whereas Lowell works hands-on with these organizations, a more personal and meaningful way to give back, these companies seem to solely donate money. Perhaps this is an incorrect assumption, but it seemed as if Lowell was very passionate about helping the turtles and we do not feel that same passion conveyed from a Starbucks or Wal-Mart (in fact, we can't even think of an organization on the top of our heads that they work with).
After the interview, he gave us a tour of his very neat work place and where the coffee is roasted and packaged. He explained the process and gave us each a free bag of coffee and a very nice mug. Jana is not a coffee connoisseur herself, and in fact, she detests hot coffee (coffee ice cream and the smell of coffee are ironically very appealing though), but Sara is an avid coffee drinker. She will have to report later on how the coffee tasted in comparison to a Starbucks or Caribou cup of coffee.
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