Since opening Three Story Coffee on Dunklin Street four years ago, Tony and Sarah Anderson have seen their business grow and expand.
Last year, the couple opened a second location on West Main Street, where they continue their focus on selling fair-trade coffee and tea bought directly from international farmers and roasted at the Old Munichburg store on Dunklin Street.
(For this Q&A, Tony provided the responses, with Sarah's supervision.)
Q. How would you describe your job?
A. "Coffee roaster, chief storyteller, farmer advocate, educator and dreamer."
Q. What was the career path that brought you to this position?
A. "Prior to this, I worked in the horticulture, landscaping and agriculture industry, most recently with local foods and farmers markets under the Missouri Department of Agriculture. However, it was our involvement in global missions and learning about the challenges facing coffee communities and the injustices in the coffee industry itself that led us to start Three Story Coffee."
Q. Who influenced you to enter this profession? (Or who was your biggest influence?)
A. "Bryan Doyle, the missions pastor while we were at First Baptist Church in McKinney, Texas, first challenged us to start to research and learn about the coffee industry."
Q. What's the biggest professional achievement you've realized?
A. "We recently participated in a six-month process to develop a StratOp Plan. StratOp is a strategic planning process developed by the Paterson Center. The intensive process develops over the course of six days, split into three sessions spanning a three- to four-month period. Amazingly, it was a connection we made on a coffee and missions trip to Kenya last year that connected us with StratOp. On that trip, I got to spend a lot of time with Tim, a successful businessman from Wyoming. After a lot of conversations about Three Story Coffee, Tim asked if we would be interested in him arranging for us to go through the process. He said it sounded like we had a lot of amazing 'pieces,' but we needed a great plan and road map to tie them all together.
"Going through that process was an amazing experience, but more importantly it gave us a lot of clarity. We developed a vision and direction so that we could manage Three Story Coffee as it continues to grow."
Q. What's the most common mistake people make when entering your profession, and how can it be avoided?
A. "I've met a lot of people who dream of owning a coffee shop. I tell them to learn all you can. Become a student of coffee, and then make that coffee as good as you possibly can."
Q. What's the biggest lesson you have learned?
A. "Even with the amazing popularity of coffee, it's still a mystery. And in spite of all of the challenges in the coffee industry, it has amazing potential."
Q. What's the biggest challenge facing you in the next year?
A. "It's a great challenge to have, but I would say managing our growth. We continue to grow, so are constantly debating between decisions such as purchasing a bigger roaster or investing in more coffee and farmer relationships. So far, we have chosen to invest in people and relationships, and pray over our roaster that it continues to do the job."
Q. Why did you decide to locate in Jefferson City?
A. "Jefferson City was a great option since it didn't have a direct-trade coffee roaster that could do both wholesale and retail. Also, as a coffee advocate and educator, it allowed us to engage people visiting the Capital City from all over the state and beyond. It has also been home to us for the past seven years, so it seemed like a perfect fit for a variety of reasons."
Q. What should Jefferson City do to improve itself?
A. "We need to continue to invest in the things that make Jefferson City the kind of community we want to live in. Learn from others. Love your neighbors."
Q. Where do you see your profession in five years? Where do you see yourself in five years?
A. "The specialty coffee industry continues to grow with local, small-batch, artisan roasters leading the way. We have developed relationships with coffee farmers in six countries that we want to continue to grow. We also have some exciting plans to grow our company and expand our reach, getting more of our farmers' coffee into more people's hands in the coming months and years."
Q. What are the best/worst parts of your job?
A. "The best thing is the support of our customers. We consider everyone a partner in supporting our coffee farmers. We obviously can't do what we do without that support. We also love to travel. Earlier this year, I visited our farmers in El Salvador and Guatemala, and am currently planning an October trip to visit our farmers in Kenya and Burundi.
"The worst part is that Sarah hasn't been able to travel with me yet because she holds down the fort and helps things to run smoothly back home while I'm gone."
Q. What is something about yourself that nobody knows?
A. "A few months ago, we started a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, Grounds of Hope Project, which will focus on development projects to help our farmers improve the quality and value of their coffee crops, supporting education for farmers and consumers, and organizing trips for others to go and serve in our coffee communities."
Read more from the July edition of #jcmo Inside Business here.