The Craft of Connection: How Logan House Coffee Built a Customer-First Business | Andre Janusz

The Entrepreneur’s Studio

The Craft of Connection: How Logan House Coffee Built a Customer-First Business | Andre Janusz

How Andre Janusz built Logan House Coffee by prioritizing human connection, community, and a service model that turns everyday transactions into meaningful relationships. 

Topics Covered: 
• Building a customer-first business rooted in genuine connection 
• Scaling a service-driven brand without losing authenticity 
• Using feedback and relationships to guide growth 

What happens when a search for purpose turns into a thriving business built on connection? In this episode, Andre Janusz shares how Logan House Coffee grew from a simple idea into a multi-location brand by focusing on people first, not just product. 

Andre Janusz is the founder of Logan House Coffee, a Denver-based coffee company known for its hospitality-driven approach and commitment to creating meaningful customer experiences. What began as a direct-to-consumer coffee delivery model has evolved into a growing network of cafes built around community, connection, and intentional service. 

In this conversation, Andre shares the unconventional journey that led him to coffee, including a motorcycle trip that unexpectedly turned into an apprenticeship and ultimately a new career path. He breaks down the philosophy behind Logan House’s service model, where every guest is meant to feel welcome, appreciated, heard, and cared for from the moment they walk in. 

He also discusses the realities of scaling a people-first business in a competitive industry, from hiring and developing team members to embracing turnover as a way to help people grow into their next chapter. Andre explains how staying close to customers, listening actively, and making small daily improvements have shaped the company’s growth. 

Finally, Andre reflects on the importance of presence and connection in leadership. By staying engaged with both employees and customers, he’s been able to build a business that not only scales, but continues to feel personal at every level. 

• Why creating genuine human connection is a competitive advantage in any industry 
• How small, consistent improvements compound into meaningful business growth 
• Why staying close to customers leads to better decisions and stronger businesses 

“The best thing for the business is the owner’s footsteps. Being present, listening, and connecting—that’s where the real growth happens.” 
— Andre Janusz 

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Transcript

Andre Janusz 0:21

I've been on the road for a couple months and I stopped for a cup of coffee, and that one cup of coffee turned into months of apprenticing, six months of apprenticing for uh for this guy and learning the business and the process. And I thought, okay, Argentina, you're gonna have to wait. I'm gonna go back to Denver and start coffee.

Chris Allen 0:40

What happens when a soul-searching motorcycle ride through Argentina turns it into the foundation for a thriving coffee business? Today on the show, we're gonna find out. Welcome back to the entrepreneur studio. I'm your host, Chris Allen, and in this episode, we're joined by Andre James, the founder of Logan House Coffee Roasters, a company built not just on great coffee, but on one simple idea, making every person feel seen, heard, and valued. In our conversation, we explore how staying close to your customers, building genuine relationships, and leading with intention can shape not just a business, but a brand people believe in it. If you're looking to build something meaningful, not just profitable, this episode will inspire you with new ideas on how to think about growth, connection, and what really drives long-term success.

Chris Allen 1:45

So glad to have you. Just getting in from British Columbia. Um had a powder day. Absolutely. Yeah. Well, I mean, let's let's draw that one out. You know, Andre, you've built your business with a community-first mindset. And so I'm curious to know when when somebody walks into a Logan House coffee company location for the very first time, what do you hope they feel? And and really what does that say about the type of business that you've built?

Andre Janusz 2:14

Yeah, you know, it it's almost like you're at our orientation program for our new employees. Um, but this is something we spend a lot of time with um with folks as they're joining our team. And there are actually four things that we're looking for for uh for our guests to experience when they uh uh when they first come into the cafe. And the first thing is uh that I want everybody to feel welcome. I say all the time, I don't care what color hair they have, they are welcome in our house. And it is our job to make them feel welcome in our house. And I say all the time, I don't have scripts, I don't do scripts, I'm not gonna give you a script. I want you to be authentically you, but I want you to make our guests feel welcome in our house. That's good. So um that's the first step. Um and then uh we also spend a fair amount of time talking about and working with trying to uh help our customers feel appreciated. We know there are literally hundreds of coffee shops in in Denver. Um and so often, well, frankly, thank you just gets omitted from the whole experience. Yeah. And it goes such a long way. It's so so easy, costs nothing. Um and it's remarkable how often it is just not a part of a part of the experience. And again, um don't do scripts, but I say like I want you to make them make them feel appreciated. So, you know, for me, that's thanks for coming in today. It was nice to see you, things along those lines. But you do you, whatever is whatever is comfortable for you. Um and the third thing that we we shoot for is uh we want people to feel um heard. And this has a couple of layer layers to it. Obviously, we have got to hear them to know that they want an iced tote milk vanilla latte and um you know chocolate croissant. Um and so that we prepare the right thing and all those things, but we also have to meet our guests where they are and say, This is you know, some guests come in and say, I wanna like, I know nothing about specialty coffee, I want to dive in. And there are other guests that come in and say, Mug, dark, thank you. That's it. You know, and and so finding that uh reading the room a bit, if you will, and finding that spot where they are and say, This is how I can best interface with this guest.

Chris Allen 4:24

Yeah.

Andre Janusz 4:25

And there are lots of guests that come in, particularly to our Stanley location, that are new to specialty coffee. And so they need a bit of help navigating our menu and learning how to, you know, for us to get that iced oat milk vanilla latte or you know, something that it is um, well, that is, you know, what they're after. And the last part of the experience, I refer to it as is paid, but we want to help people know what to expect after they've um finished the finished the transaction, after they've after they've paid. Where do they go? What do they do? So we'll sort of direct traffic for them and help them know what to do. So and we can kind of set a reasonable expectation for them so that you know, if this is their first time at a Logan House, it feels like a place that they've been, you know, 15 times before. They know where to stand, we know they're gonna call their name out when it comes out, it's gonna look like this and all that kind of thing. Even if it's their first time, I want it to feel like they've done this 15 times before. That's awesome. So welcome, appreciated, heard, and basically find their way. Right, right. Exactly right. I love it. Yeah, and it's um, you know, a part of the whole service experience for us is we we say we want to be courteous, not pretentious. Um, gracious is what we strive for, not pretentious. So often when you get to this level of uh of coffee, and I think probably anything, but at this level of coffee, you know, our knowledge, our experience with it can come off as elitist or pretentious. And and I feel like that really detracts from the customer customer experience. And so I want it to feel comfortable. Like I said, I want it to be, I want everybody to feel welcome and you know, make this as a really approachable place for you to say, I don't know what that is. Can you explain that to me in words that I understand? I like that. And that that that concept of graciousness is something that um that we work on pretty hard. It's it's a hard target to hit, but I you know, that's something that we really enjoy. And I think that has allowed us to sort of develop those relationships with our with our guests that gets beyond the this is Ashley and she likes you know uh a vanilla latte with soy milk, and she gets that, you know, gets that every day. Yeah. Um, we you know develop relationships that are just much more deep than that. You know, we know their, you know, we know her kids' names, we know like we know their dogs' names, you know, we know that they were you know vacationing, you know, uh in in bail over the weekend and you know, stuff like that. So yeah, that connection is is is super important. And I think that's something that we've found has been really rewarding for our our staff as well as for our guests, because you know, for our staff, they make hundreds of cups of coffee a day. But the thing that changes about that is the people that come in, is the guests. Yeah. Um and our guests are amazing. They're doing cool and amazing things. And if we take 10 seconds or 30 seconds and each time that they visit to get to know them and what they're up to, that part is really interesting. And it keeps it fresh for our for our team. And it also makes the experience just richer for uh for our guests.

Chris Allen 7:31

Yeah, yeah, it's good. Well, you know, let's back off the the number of locations that you built for just a second and just help everybody quickly understand uh something that may not be easy to quickly understand, but the roasting industry just give us a you know, a behind-the-scenes look uh quickly to help us understand what that what that's really about, what it takes.

Andre Janusz 7:52

So I mean, roasting coffee is really fascinating. Um it's the second most actively traded commodity in the world, 23 uh coffee growing uh countries around the world, and and hundreds of you know, little pockets of um regions inside of those 23 countries. And so I think that's what makes roasting coffee so interesting is there is it's so wide and it is so deep, and it's one of those rabbit holes that can just go forever. Um and I love things like that where you can dive in and you can you know really focus on something. And um, you know, the deeper you, you know, deeper you dig, the bigger you realize the onion is. Yeah, yeah. Um and so our roasteries on Colfax in central Denver and our roaster, uh, we bring green beans in from all over the country. Um, and our roaster and I work together to uh to sample the coffee when it comes in. And uh we we choose coffees that we feel like that are a great fit for our profile and for our guests. Um we shoot for coffee to be widely appealing, yet still interesting. I don't know if you've ever had one of those uh those coffees. Uh I'll take, for example, a coffee from Kenya can be really polarizing. Um some people just love Kenyan coffee, and other people are on the opposite end of the spectrum. It can have this really bright, like tomato character, which is super interesting for some. Um and others are like, that's not what I'm looking for in a cup of coffee. That's yeah, I taste the tomato, but tomato coffee, these things are not. Yeah, they don't line up for me. Um, and so for us, uh, we we look for and we want to we want to offer both, right? We want to have coffees that are really interesting for our guests, but we also want to have things that are you know what they're expecting, um, what they're expecting in a cup of coffee. So that is uh that's part of the challenge and part of the um thing that makes things really interesting and challenging for um for our roaster uh camper and I to work on is to balance this is you know gonna be what our guests are expecting. Yeah. And these are the adventurous things um than the things that change over uh monthly for us to new and fresh different different coffees. Yeah. Um and so it's um it's really a fun process. Sometimes I wish it were easier. There are times, particularly at the start um from part of the year this year, was challenging bringing in coffee from some of these uh 23 coffee growing regions um around the world was hard. Tariffs made things difficult, um, and transit made things difficult and all those things. But we weathered that storm and things are uh things are going um really well now and things are sort of stabilizing in the coffee world now, green coffee world now. But I say that um knowing, you know, that's uh things change every day. Exactly. It's tenuous for sure. Yeah.

Chris Allen 10:40

But one of the things that I think is uh really interesting, and there's a juxtaposition in your business, which is you know, kind of starting with the small batch roasting and freshador to uh d you know delivery to this community and connection model, right? So talk to us about how that connection uh really got made for you to you know bring Logan House to life.

Andre Janusz 11:02

Yeah. So the original plan for Logan House was just to be direct to a consumer. Um we called it the Milkman model, and where we would drop off coffee on your doorstep, two weeks later, we come back and we do it all again. Um and that business was going really well. And one of our good friends now, um but it was a you know coffee customer in the very beginning, um said, Hey Andre, um I know you don't want to do a cafe, but I've got a friend that's working on a uh um working on something um in the Central Park neighborhood. And I think this lines up um with you know your ethos. You should you should talk to Mark. I said, Okay, um I'll I'll talk to Mark. And so Mark and I uh sat down for a cup of coffee and the meeting that we we had, I walked in saying, no cafes, never doing a cafe, no cafes, no cafes, no cafes. And after Mark told me sort of what he had in mind for Stanley about putting 50, you know, Colorado businesses all together under one big roof, 150,000 square feet or something like that. And they said, you know, we're gonna have Denver Biscuit over here, we're gonna have Rosenbergs over here, we're gonna have a net over there, we're gonna, you know, um this and I said, Oh, I thought this is a really neat project, not just because of the people that are made up of that that are gonna be a part of it, but also they had this really interesting ethos for the marketplace. Uh, they call it the Stanafesta, which is included in our lease. Um, that is um uh I don't want to go through the whole thing, but the one of the things that I think paraphrases the the thing probably best is there's no point in making a profit if you're not also making a difference. And so the these 50 businesses that are you know all working um out at Stanley are like they all have that sort of mindset. Um and so that helped to really transition for us, you know. So coming out of that conversation I had with Mark, I said, damn it, we're doing a coffee shop. Wow. Um and so um and so and that in the end, one conversation one conversation. I was like, well, I guess that's how that's gonna, that's how it's gonna play out. And it was really great to, you know, take these you know short interactions that we would have with our with our guests as we're dropping our uh our customers as we're dropping off uh coffee all over the time to something that was much longer. And we could, you know, experience and have a cup of coffee with someone that we had been roasting coffee for four years. We could now sit down at the bar and have a coffee with them and chat and get to know them a lot more than you know, just knowing, you know, this is their address and this is you know, this is their dog's name and that sort of stuff. And we tried to carry that through. Relationships are a big part of what we we do in the in the coffee business. Um, because like I mentioned before, that like there are hundreds of places to get a coffee. Um, and so this is you know coffee is an important uh important part, but I sort of think of it as this is the height that is required to ride this ride. Yeah. Um, and so what we do from there is what makes it makes it different, makes it uh makes the you know the experience makes it different for us.

Chris Allen 14:01

Well, uh when our first conversation, this thing I remembered, which is uh this midlife crisis motorcycle ride through Argentina. I was like, you gotta tell me about that. So unpack that for us.

Andre Janusz 14:14

Yeah, absolutely. So um so taking a few steps back. So this before uh um coming out of business school, I had a bunch of uh stop selling in corporate America, um, worked for investment companies and um construction companies, consulting companies, and I don't really fit uh trucker hat, you know, jeans, um, plaid shirt. Like I should have been able to figure out that like I'm not a good fit for corporate America, but I was yeah, slow learner on that one. Um and eventually I just said, okay, my last stop was at was at Janice in in Cherry Creek. And I said, okay, I I've got to do something else. Um I don't know what I'm gonna do when I leave here, but I can't, I can't keep doing this. And so on my bucket list was um riding a motorcycle, it was riding my motorcycle um down to Argentina. Um and people often ask me, like, what's in Argentina? I'm like, I don't know.

Chris Allen 15:05

I don't know.

Andre Janusz 15:06

And I don't know, and it's I'm actually haven't been there yet in uh part one and part two is I'm almost more interested in what's between here and there um than I am specifically in what's uh what's in Argentina. And so anyway, uh I hit the road. I was I've been on the road for uh uh for a couple months. Um and actually as I was hitting the road, my grandfather got real sick, and so I went north out of Denver when I when I started off the trip. And so you can tell me about the navigation skills were were questionable. Um and so anyway, uh went north first and then started heading south. And so it was November, and I stopped for a cup of coffee at a coffee roaster, primarily because I was freezing and on a motorcycle and it's cold outside. You get cold pretty quick, and I was like, well, coffee roaster will have coffee. I can stop, have a coffee, get up back on the road, and keep heading south. And that one cup of coffee turned into months of apprenticing, six months of apprenticing for uh for this guy, learning the business and the process. And I thought, okay, Argentina, you're gonna have to wait. I'm gonna go back to Denver and start a coffee company. And um, it was really a fascinating process, but it was one of those where the universe was saying, you left, so you gotta now it's time to go in a in a different direction. This is the way. This is the way. And so they were the universe sort of laid it out for me. I just sort of followed along and said, okay. And like I said, I sort of think of the universe as also being involved in that conversation with Mark of like, I'm never doing a coffee shop. I mean, okay. I'm doing a coffee shop. I've eaten a lot of crow on the I've never doing that, I'm never opening a coffee shop, by the way. So um, since there's four of them now.

Chris Allen 16:39

Well, you know, you have this uh impeccable sort of service model that we heard and how you, you know, uh train and orient the culture uh that you're building. How do you stay service first in such a crowded space? Uh, you know, that is that is coffee, and how do you maintain the artistry that you sort of originated with a a lot of these ideas to bring Logan House to life?

Andre Janusz 17:02

It really is on um the people that we bring in on our team and that join our team, I think are the ones that that deliver that. Um and when we interview folks, and particularly when we're um onboarding uh each one of our new team members, I will frequently say during those onboarding conversations, you are too smart to do this forever. You wouldn't be sitting here if you you know didn't have other directions to go. And I used to, frankly, let me uh as a side note, used to drive me crazy that you know in the service and food service in particular, turnover is uh just a uh is is a very challenging thing to manage. Yeah. Um and uh cost constantly recruiting, constantly recruiting. And um and when one day uh my wife uh said to me, you know, what if you stop trying to fight the turn the tide of turnover and started embracing it and thinking of this as an opportunity for you to help people grow and um so that it will not feel so difficult when they leave, um, but it also you may end up getting being able to hold on to your great people because they're still growing while they're working with us. And so that's something that as a part of every one of our onboarding conversations, we're having these, I have these conversations with them of uh what is next or which direction are you growing? Um and we have a um one of the team uh one of the folks on our team at Stanley is writing a screenplay right now, um, which I find super fascinating. I know nothing about writing screenplays, but I find it super interesting. And she has told me on several occasions that she uses some the people that she meets working at the cafe as you know characters in the things that she's writing. Wow. Um and similarly, uh one of the a gal that's worked with us. Oh my gosh, it's gotta be approaching six years now. She has studied biochemical engineering and just finished that program. And I think she's on her third internship that she secured out of people that she has met working at the cafe. Oh, that's amazing. And she's studying biochemical engineering. She's not gonna be a barista for the rest of her life. Um, and so I think having that focus and having um our people focused on, you know, this is you're not you're not just here to to serve coffee. You're not just here for the I I tell them often that if you're here just for the $25 an hour that you're gonna make what, you know, working as a as a barista, like you're missing at least half of the value of being here because so many of the people that are coming in um are really great. And if you get to know them and connect with them, there are so many ways that you can use this position to do whatever it is that's next for you. Um and I'm constantly amazed at the different things that our people are doing um in the next steps that they're taking.

Chris Allen 19:59

Yeah. So, you know, the the reality that I'm understanding is, you know, the service really comes from the culture that you're building. And you're building a culture based on people helping, helping them see the opportunity and helping uh helping them along their way. I I think that's an a that's an amazing thing um that is uh a reputation that you guys have, right? Like so the the culture, you know, is the thing that builds the service, but it's also building reputation and also people go, maybe I'm gonna work there.

Andre Janusz 20:29

Yeah. You know, a gal that just joined our team recently um is a librarian and um she's so kind, she has a great deal of uh of of coffee experience. Um and she and she said, you know, as a librarian, I don't get to connect with people all that much. It's pretty quiet in a library, right? Um but in a cafe, talking all the time, and um and and she is fantastic. And so um I don't know if that focus was something um I don't know if she knew about that focus for uh of ours prior to joining our team, but I I'm I'm pretty confident that it that it feels a good fit for her. Um as she's you know, these are things that you know helping her grow. Um and so in addition, it has helped me reframe the like the the turnover challenge that we experience in this industry um as something like we're helping our people transition into the next great thing for them. Whatever that looks like, great. Let's let's help them get there.

Chris Allen 21:35

Yeah, let's do it together. Right. Well, you know, you go from uh having to eat crow from uh doing one location and now you have multiple ones. Um so how do you how do you sort of decide on a new location? Uh where and you know, what's different about each of them?

Andre Janusz 21:53

Yeah. So Stanley, I well, I like I said, started, you know, out of this this conversation I had with Mark, uh Mark Shaker. And then um our second location is about four blocks from here, actually, um, just on the other side of the railroad tracks in Rhino. Um it's the main floor of an office building. Um opened five months before the COVID shutdown. So suboptimal, I would say, there. Um and we're still, frankly, waiting for the uh office to refill. Refill in. And so we made a made a decision. We thought that you know Rhino is a really exciting place to be, is growing so so rapidly. And then of course COVID hit a big big pause button and the commercial commercial world changed as everybody started working from home. And so those things have been uh been pretty big factors. Um and so our uh second location in Rhino, and then uh um our third location um is uh is in the Lowry neighborhood, which is about uh 10 minutes from Stanley. And so we have a lot of sort of crossover, um, which was really great. Um so frankly, a a number of our guests out at Stanley said, Hey, you know, there's a spot in Lowry that might be a good fit for a Loganhouse, and it would certainly be a lot closer for us um if you're over here. So that that helped us sort of push uh push in that direction. That's pretty cool. Um and then our last location is um uh on uh on 15th Street downtown, and um also an office building. And it's an an interesting, interesting challenge as we balance this. It's it uh it's funny in that world to have that cafe is uh busy Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, because so many people are doing like a hybrid work schedule. And so having to manage that a bit of oh, we need to plan for Wednesday to be our busiest day, which is a really rare scenario in uh in food service. Um, but um, it has worked out pretty well, and so there's lots of room to grow in both of those locations. And I don't know how all of the like you know commercial office uh world will evolve, but you know, one of the things that uh I think has worked well and been important for us is being able to be flexible and um make changes to sort of respond to what the need is of that market.

Chris Allen 24:01

So something that's uh really interesting is a lot of the direction that I that I'm I'm sort of perceiving as you as you're talking through this is you're getting these bits of information from guests uh and from, you know, I mean, just even this, the Stanley location, a guest pointed you to Mark. And, you know, so I I think a challenge that a lot of business leaders struggle with is staying connected and not being out of touch. How do you stay so connected? And how do you get those insights to surface? Uh, you know, because think about it like this there's a lot of CEOs that uh they're the furthest removed from the field, right? And so they they get information that's old. You seem to be getting information faster. What's your secret there?

Andre Janusz 24:51

So uh I had a friend in in college, and uh his his family was is in the wine business and they've been in the wine business for forever in California. Very um notable, recognizable name. And they um he told me that one of the things that he learned from his grandfather was the best thing for um the winery, best thing for their wine business um was the winemaker's footsteps, the best things for the grapes were the winemaker's footsteps. And I've sort of kept that in the back of my mind. It also helps that I'm in the I'm in the coffee business where the opportunity to sit down with a guest for coffee is pretty easy. You know. Um and I can, you know, my our guests come in, I can um I see them, I talk to them, and um and can kind of just have those have those conversations. So it's in in our business, it's easy for me to sit down um and do that. It's also easy for me to get buried in the the weeds of of everything else. But I yeah, because that is a conscious choice. Truth. Truth. But I think it's it's not just because I think our guests enjoy that that connection. And I well, I certainly enjoy the connection because again, I think that's the thing that makes the you know the service part of our business so interesting is the relationships that I've developed with with our guests um over the over the years we've had the cafes because it's something that you know we really value, something that um you know has proven to be useful as we've grown and done different things, but it is also something that you know I find really rewarding, and that's where I get a lot of the like positive feelings from you know from our guests, like these are this employee is doing really well, or you know, hey Andre, this needs a little bit of work, you should you know direct the attention here. Um and it's great to be able to have those um those those conversations. And just as a as a side note, sometimes if the radio is not right, um, and you know, I'll get a message from you know some guests that that I know pretty well, and they're like, hey Andre, the radio at Stanley really needs some work. I'm like, I'm on it, yeah, and we'll uh you know send a note to the team to choose a different radio station and that kind of stuff. So you're right, it is a it is a conscious choice. And it like I said, it helps that I'm you know, when I'm in the cafes, I can sit down with my guests and just say, How are things? You know, what can I what can I get you, you know, how are things going? But it's not just you know focused on our business, but it's you know, how are you doing? Yeah, what's happening, you know, how was your wife's surgery, you know, all those sorts of things. Bring me up to date. What's happening? You know, how is school going for your kids? Those sorts of things.

Chris Allen 27:28

Well, you're um instead of just getting bigger and scaling, there's uh there's still growth to happen, right? And there's still things that you can do to to improve. And one of the things that I I I liked uh that you said was just how you think about improvement, yeah, right? Daily improvement. So talk about like how you think about getting a little bit better every day.

Andre Janusz 27:49

I strongly remember which book I read this in, but the the 1% better every day program that uh I think it was a the British cycling team used. And this approach seemed really manageable to me of like, let's look at each one of our um each one of our businesses, the four cafes in the roastery, and how can we get better today than we were yesterday? You know, so there are lots of parts of our business that you know we can make the online ordering experience for our customer better at this location in the following ways. We can make the online ordering experience at the roastery for um bean delivery better these ways. Let's make that experience a little bit better every day. And sometimes a major overhaul is needed and you have to throw, you know, have to throw everything out and start fresh. But we've taken sort of the approach of, well, let's just make it incrementally better every time because that's something that we can bite off every day. And those the idea is, and my wife would tell you that I'm uh I'm famous for trying to eat the whole elephant. I will like, and um, I remember a mentor when I was really young said, Andre, if you're gonna eat uh eat an elephant, you have to eat it one bite at a time. And you know, and Caitlin will tell me often, Andre, don't eat the whole elephant. It's like just little bites, little bites. And so this 1% better sort of resin, you know, connects there. Um, and and that's something that our my team and I work on is how do we make this one little bite better, you know, today, um, so that the experience is that much better. And maybe it won't show up for a month, a quarter, half a year, but those little improvements, they will show up eventually. Yeah. And I think that the so often major overhauls can be so unsettling, both to like the team that's working on and working with it every day and to our to our guests. And again, the like the focus for us is so much on these relationships and the and the connection that we have with our with our guests that we want to retain the things that we're doing really well. And so if we're making just you know incremental improvements on it, it's it's likely that many of these improvements won't even be recognizable to to our guests. But the idea is that over, you know, you know, from you know, from when we started until um you know a year from now, um, those improvement improvements are well, it's quite a big improvement, quite a lot of growth.

Chris Allen 30:17

You know, something that is really powerful that I I've I've heard is a theme in what we've been talking about is your receptivity to feedback is is uh uh important because you know, if it's connected to your why about helping people, making a difference, and someone's giving you feedback, it seems like you're framing that as furthering the cause rather than taking something personal, like it, like it almost like it's a part of someone giving you feedback is criticism to who you are. Pretty awesome.

Andre Janusz 30:50

Well, I think there's there's layers to that, right? Sometimes feedback is personal and sometimes it it hurts and it hits close to home. Um, but it doesn't make it inaccurate. Um, and it is uh often on reflection, it's you know, if it hurts, it probably is really accurate. Um but one of the things that again, actually, same mentor um told me, Andre, if you're talking, you're not learning. Um, because you can't learn by talking, you learn by listening. So by listening to our guests, by listening to our team, we're learning. And so um we can take that learning and some things I can say, yeah, that's not a fit, or no, that's a direction I don't want to go. But at least we could, we at least we can have that input from um from these folks and and then make a decision on like this is an opportunity for us to improve, or and it's created lots of opportunities for us to do things that, well, I I I probably never would have considered a good example of this. This is a uh perhaps a silly example, but a former teammate of ours um came in and said, Andre, I want to do something called an espresso sunrise. I said, What? What what what is what is that? And she said, it's she's like promise to try it before I tell you what it is. I said, Okay, fair enough. I'll try it before before you tell me what it is. And she said, okay, and she she makes me this drink, and it's kind of this funny like burnt orange color. Um I try it, and I'm like, oh that's that's actually pretty interesting. It's a little bubbly, it's pretty sweet. I said, Well, that's quite quite refreshing, quite a like interesting, like great summer, summer drink. And I said, So what is this? And she's like, Well, this is an espresso sunrise. I said, Okay, what is an espresso sunrise? Uh espresso sunrise is orange juice, espresso, and uh bubbly water and vanilla. And I thought, that sounds revolting. Like that combination. That's why she told you to drink it first. Exactly. That's why she told me she's like, you have to try it before you um before you say, because orange juice and espresso really come that that sounds revolting. Um, but I was wrong. It's on our menu today. Um that's amazing.

Chris Allen 33:02

So um well, you the thing that was awesome is you walked in this morning. You you brought obviously you brought some coffee, absolutely some beans, um, but you brought something else too that's kind of akin, you know, to to this. So talk to us about the cross-connection of how you're connecting with other businesses in the community uh to sort of infuse the things that you're that you guys are up to.

Andre Janusz 33:23

Yeah. So um, like I mentioned uh earlier, the so our friends at River North Brewery are a block from here, and they are uh, in my opinion, the best in the business. Um and we have for about a decade now, I think this is our 10th year, um, we've partnered on um their uh their coffee beer, um, Nightmare Fuel. And this beer has been one of their you know most winningest beers. Um 2025 was yeah, 2025, I think was the winningest year of that beer, and I think that is the winningest beer of theirs. Um it won, I wrote this down because I can't I can never remember the whole list. It won the World Beer Cup, Euro Beer Star, Brussels Bureau Challenge, won in Japan. Um, I mean, it has it wins like awards like like crazy. It's amazing. It is and it is an incredible beer, and it's something that um Matt the Matt's and I have been working on uh for years, um, and it is such a fun collaboration because they are so good at what they do. Um, clearly, uh I think there was a um brewery of the year uh in 2025. Um they they have um they're really great folks. Um the beer is fantastic and really just great people to work with. Um and there's a lot of um, as it turns out, there's a lot of crossover um uh of their guests and ours. Uh was in the tap room um here on uh on Blake a couple of weeks ago, um, having a beer with Matt, and we were uh we were chatting about what we're direction we're going in next year, and one of our regular coffee customers came in and like, what are you doing? Like it like this is the wrong context. What are you doing in this place? I I saw you this morning. How what are you doing? So it was uh really a great um uh really great connection there. And um uh anyway, the guys at River North are just outstanding, and um, it's such a fun partnership to work with them and just be surrounded, I think, is maybe uh are working with people that are so talented that it really forces you to bring your A game. Um, when you know so much of their work is going into um making the results really great and really, you know, award worthy, um, that you want to make sure that everything that you are doing is at that level um because you certainly wouldn't want to let them down because of all the effort that they've put in. Um and so it's been really rewarding to do that. That project is so fun and the beer is delicious, which also helps. Wow.

Chris Allen 36:00

You know, we've talked about a lot of things. And uh I think one of the things that would be kind of like my last question is what's one lesson you would want, you know, other entrepreneurs to learn from just hearing your specific story?

Andre Janusz 36:13

I think I might probably spin off of the story that I mentioned um about the the winemaker and the the best thing for the grapes are the winemaker's footsteps. Um I think being and having that connection, um, like being there, seeing it, feeling it, having the connection and and relationships to the the team and um to the you know to our guests is so I feel like is so important and is so fulfilling. And I think that is something that I guess I would I would encourage people, uh other entrepreneurs to find ways to do that, find ways to to connect with your guests, um, you know, and for a coffee or whatever or coffee beer. Um and the opportunities there um are just I think there are there's lots of you know things that you uncover from those those conversations, those just five minute how are things you know bring me up to speed sort of uh conversations. But I think I find them more empowering than um even the little anecdotes that are or little opportunities for improvement that I that I learn from these conversations. I really connects me to the the why I'm doing this is having those connections with our with our guests brings me to the why. And so I think those are and I I find that that is the stuff that you know helps to make this really an enjoyable experience for me as well as for our guests, um, and something that I you know that I want to sustain rather than you know like you know just something I'm trying to you know work through the motions of. This was also uh there's a there's a sticky note um on our on our fridge that um my wife put up a few few weeks ago that said, remember this is their childhood. And this is a a part of a um a broader statement, but it was you know something like this may be a you know a Tuesday commute to you that you're just trying to get through, but remember this is the this is their childhood, and this is something that um I'm focusing, yeah, I trying to focus on with intention for um with my girls is like and making sure that this is something that, well, yeah, this is um, you know, we got to get through this commute and we have to do those things, but it's making this an experience that's really enjoyable, both day, you know, it day to day is really enjoyable and something that's um enjoyable for them at home and this is something that's like enjoyable and something that I am really enjoying doing with uh you know while I'm at work, while I'm um working with our with our team and working with our guests, because life's what happens when you're busy making other plans, right? Um and so I'm trying trying to think of uh think of that as well, like this is this is your life. Um and so trying to um trying to keep that in and in the forefront because uh well we don't get a second second shot at it. So finding ways to really enjoy it and and personally really enjoy it, not just you know, bottom line, enjoy it, but like, no, this is something that I find really fulfilling and engaging and something that is really speaking to my soul kind of thing. Yeah.

Chris Allen 39:25

So well, just hearing um your expression of uh entrepreneurship, business, people, uh, I think it's a it should be a confirmation to you that you are making a difference. I mean, just uh uh I think if more entrepreneurs operated their business with the type of heart and soul that you have, the likelihood of the the massive difference in the world that people will be making would be would be big. So it was it was actually amazing to hear you sort of share all of that. It was really powerful.

Andre Janusz 39:56

Well thank you. It's um it's fun to like sit and have uh think about it, things like this. Uh I mentioned the other day when we spoke that you know, I find the um, you know, listening to the podcast um and the other folks that you've interviewed over the years really enjoying and really enjoyable. And I I was reflecting on our conversation a little bit, and it's it's catharsis for sure, but I think it's more than that. Um and what I got out of the the conversation, or excuse me, I out of the previous conversations that you've had is is is it's really really engaging and energizing. Um, and that is their why and them talking about the things that get them excited about their business and their and what they're doing, um, helps me reconnect to the things that I really enjoy about my business. And I love that. And um, so I I think uh a thank you to you for doing the podcast for just that reason for myself um only is um it's really engaging, energizing, um, and um yeah, cathartic too. But you know, I think more so than that, it helps me to really connect to the um to the why.

Chris Allen 41:06

That's a catalytic energy. I'm glad that that that's what people are receiving because small business is uh you know the heartbeat of our our our country and and much of the world. So Andre, it was amazing to sit down and chat with you. I appreciate you uh you know coming down and having the conversation. Absolutely. It was really my really my pleasure. Well, I wish Logan House all the best. Well, thanks so much, Chris. Appreciate it.

Narrator 41:29

Thank you for listening to the Entrepreneur Studio Podcast. Check the show notes for resources and links from today's episode, and follow us on Instagram at the entrepreneurs. See you next time.