Real Talks with Tahlia Gabrielli
Being in the real estate industry for nearly 15 years and a business owner for over half of that time, Real Talks with Tahlia Gabrielli opens the door to conversations that matter.
Hear from exceptional people and business owners in the community who share a special connection to intention, people and purpose when it comes to business and success, and who are committed to learning, growing and evolving for the better.
Whether you’re navigating real estate, building a business, or striving for something bigger, this is a space for you.
Real Talks with Tahlia Gabrielli
#6 - Peter Loring
Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.
Episode Six
“Inspiring people every single day.”
Time for a Coffee Club catch up. In this episode, I’m shining the spotlight on local business owner Pete from Bricks and Mortar Coffee Co.
Welcome to Talks with Talia. Today I'm here with Pete Loring from Bricks and Mortar. Thanks for having us.
SPEAKER_00It's a pleasure.
SPEAKER_01So, Pete, can you tell me a little bit about yourself and your business?
SPEAKER_00So, my name's Peter and I run Bricks and Mortar Coffee Co. with my wife Simone and also our children. And we've been in this spot for almost seven years, but we've been wholesale roasting for cafes and restaurants in our community and into the limestone coast for I think almost 13 or 14 years now.
SPEAKER_01It's gone so quick.
unknownIt has.
SPEAKER_01Time flies.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So can you take us back to the beginning and what was your career journey been like? Yeah. And how did the business grow to what it is today?
SPEAKER_00Far out. Do you want the uh longer and cuter version or do you want the short version?
SPEAKER_01Whatever version you'd like to give us.
SPEAKER_00So the longer version is Simone and I got married really young, so we were like 21, 22.
SPEAKER_01I like this version already.
SPEAKER_00And I was an apprentice mechanic and she was working two or three days a week in childcare, and we were like totally broke. So all we could do, we couldn't go out, all we could do was coffee and cake, and we'd share a piece of cake and have a coffee each, and that was our only way we could date.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So that was our like our connection. Yes. Our connection time as a young married couple. And at that point in time, the specialty coffee scene was really starting to grow in Melbourne and in Australia. And my sister-in-law, Renee, was living in Melbourne, and she would take us to all these cool underground spots, no name on the wall, and it just started tasting better and better. And then we would come home to here, and I'm not knocking anybody, it was just the time. But the gap between what was tasting great elsewhere and what we were having here started to grow. And so we managed to get a hold of like a little coffee machine, and then down the rabbit hole I went.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00So and that turned into learning more about coffee and then discovering home roasting. So there's a huge forum, huge community of home roasters and roasting coffee at home. And so started on that journey. So started roasting coffee on a popcorn popper, and then made my own roaster out of a turbo oven and a stainless steel pot. Yeah. And then bought my first little roaster, which could do about 300 grams at a time. And we did a market for a local church, and they wanted us to run a coffee.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And everyone was excited about that. So then it was like, Well, we can't just have a plain bag, let's put a name on it. And then I was like, Well, what do we want to call it? Yeah. And then Renee, also, my sister-in-law, helped us design a logo. And we literally sat there and said, Did we just start a coffee company? Yeah. And that is that's literally inception of Ricks and Mortar. And so from there we did that, and then we started getting noticed at events where we would do our coffee cut. Um, and we started picking up wholesale clients that wanted our coffee in their restaurants and today's, and yeah, 13 years later, like we're here.
SPEAKER_01So yeah, I love that. The coffee and the cake date, and that's where it began. That is so special. Was there a specific moment when you realised, like, wow, this is actually working?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, two times. The first time was when we landed our first, like what I would call real commercial customer, which was the barn. So at that time I was like, right, we need to, I want to start selling wholesale coffee. And it was just like, get the best fish in the sea.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So I went to Kent and I was like, hey, we're a roaster, you know. Do you want to taste our coffee? Yeah. And so went in there and we got them. And I just remember driving home up the hill after he'd said yes, and just calling Simone and being like, Yes.
SPEAKER_01Yes.
SPEAKER_00So that was the first point. And then the second time was now fast forward another seven years or something when we opened this shop here. Yes. And my brother was working with me at the time, he came down from Melbourne to help us open.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00And it was the first day when it might have been within the first month of opening, and there was one point where it was the first time we had each dining table taken by somebody and people standing and waiting. And he looked up at me and he was like, You've done it. Yeah. Like it's full, the cafe's full, and there's people waiting, and we're actively making coffees for the community. Yeah. And this is it, man. Like you're doing what you've dreamed of for so long. So that's probably the second. How good are those special moments?
SPEAKER_01Yeah, so good.
SPEAKER_00Yeah.
SPEAKER_01Why do you do what you do and what keeps you motivated every morning?
SPEAKER_00Okay, um.
SPEAKER_01Besides coffee.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, besides I'm highly caffeinated, so that helps a lot. I do what I do because coffee is an affordable luxury. And so, regardless of how hard times get, people can still find normality in getting a coffee. Yeah. Yes, pubs and clubs and stuff like that, people can catch up and have coffees, but we've seen kids born, we've seen people get together, we people have found love, people have broken up, people have had amazing catch-ups with family and friends. We see the coming together of out of town as our overseas family coming together. And so being involved in that part of someone's special moments is super special. It is. And so that's something that's probably caught me a bit by surprise running the cafe. I didn't think we would be that. I knew we would be people's local place, but I didn't realise how much of a part we will play in their lives. And so that's really inspiring knowing that we play a pretty amazing role in people's lives day to day. And it sounds a little bit cheesy, but we see it people coming in and they're overjoyed with emotions good and bad, or coming in, bursting out into tears of this has happened, or coming in, congratulations, I found out I'm pregnant. Yeah, like yeah, they're they're amazing times in people's lives, and to think that we are a part of that little gypsy puzzle is is really unique.
SPEAKER_01It's like your own special little community, isn't it?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, it is, it is, and it's really cool. And so knowing that we're doing that for our community is is really amazing. I think at the start it was probably more the drive was bringing delicious coffee and high level of hospitality service to the region. Yeah. And I'm not saying that we've made it, I'll never say that, or that we're better than anybody else. That would never come out of my mouth. We wanted to add to what was here, yeah, what was growing, and yeah, I've been really proud to be a part of that.
SPEAKER_01It's amazing. What is one thing you know now that you wish you knew when you started?
SPEAKER_00Cash flow is more important than anybody ever tells you. Yeah. Regardless of how good you think you are. Knowing how to manage cash flow is the most important thing possible.
SPEAKER_01Yeah.
SPEAKER_00Hire staff on personality rather than skill because you can train lots of people different skills, but you can't train personality.
SPEAKER_01No, you can't.
SPEAKER_00That hospitality, the drive to be hospitable is very unique. And so finding people like that is absolutely key to a successful hospitality business. Yeah.
SPEAKER_01100%. Completely agree with that. Similarly, what is one piece of advice you'd give your younger self?
SPEAKER_00Oh, start sooner.
SPEAKER_01Start sooner, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Start sooner, don't be scared to jump. You know, I look back at my mum and dad, they've had a pretty varied life in employment and where they've lived. We've moved as a family, we've moved country a number of times, and so and I've seen them with absolutely nothing and then build back up to what you would call a normal lifestyle. Yes, so then lose it all again and then build it back up again. So I think the fear of value is is is quite crippling with a lot of dreams, and so I think really just launching out and doing it. When the time is right, be smart about it, but don't wait and just one day, just yeah, do it. Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_01So good. Of all the wins and losses, what's the biggest lesson you've learned about running a business?
SPEAKER_00Always speak softly because one day you have to eat your own words. Yeah, yeah, always operate. You never know what day somebody's had, what business pressures they're under, what financial position they're in, what's happening in their personal lives, and so operating with like humility, operating with empathy for other people. I'm probably more leaning this comment towards how you deal with other suppliers, customers, and things like that. Yeah, but even customers, as in customers in our cafe, you never know what day they've had. So they could be absolutely horrible, what you would think are really bad decisions or dishonourable decisions. And if you always just operate out of integrity and empathy for them, then regardless of what happens, at least you've done the right thing in all circumstances. Yeah, and dealing with customers, as in you know, retail customers, yeah. You you just never know what kind of days someone's had, and they can be absolute pigs, just horrible to your staff and things, and you you almost have to not swallow it, but uh you just have to understand that people are going through stuff that you yeah, yeah, there's other stuff going on. Keep going on, yeah. Yep, and then look forward to the really fun customers that come in and are happy to see you every day.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, yeah.
SPEAKER_00Always makes it better.
SPEAKER_01So true. You've sort of touched on this one a little bit, but we love being part of this amazing community, as I can see that you do as well. What is your favourite thing about our local community here in Mount Gambia?
SPEAKER_00Oh wow, um, our local community is I find them to still be very generous. They they get in and they get stuck into things that need to be done. Um we started in we opened in September 2019 and then March 2020 was when COVID stuff hit, and the support we felt from the community was incredible. Their understanding of what we were going through as a business, a hospitality business was amazing. And so then that gave us the opportunity when I did other things like swinging with the stars and with other community events, always like you know, giving back because the community does give so much to local businesses, we wouldn't be here without them. Yeah, um, and so yeah, the community is very generous and I love being part of that. Yeah, it's not um and specifically within the coffee community, some of my closest friends are cafe owners, yeah. Yeah, which you know it's so funny when I go into their places to have coffee or they come into our place and customers that go to both, yeah, they're like, uh sorry I'm here, you know. And we laugh because it's pretty funny. We love going out for coffee just as much as we do. Yeah, and um and we're great friends, we talk business a lot, and there's no I've never felt one ounce of competitiveness or you know, oh you're my competition, I can't help you, I can't, you know, we can't be seen together, anything like that. Never felt any of that. Which I think is pretty rare. I think we're pretty lucky in that sense because I know people in cities that um that are definitely up against uh the cafe around the corner, and there's not a lot of love between them, but um, but it's unique here, we're uh we're all pretty good friends.
SPEAKER_01Yeah, we say that a lot. There's a very much a difference between country and city and how people are to one another, particularly in the same industry. Yeah, absolutely. Last question. So, what's next for bricks and mortar and what are you most excited about for the future of your business?
SPEAKER_00Yeah, okay, so coming up next is our online store has just kind of really been not launched but it kicks ironed out. Yes. So we're testing that with both retail and with our wholesale customers, and so I think moving more into that space now, just changing our social media a little bit to point more towards that, it's probably the next big step for us. And then the future is probably seeing how we can expand without working more than like a hundred hours a week. Yeah, yeah. I need to learn how to delegate, grow the team to see what they want to do and what they want to achieve within this business and themselves personally as well. So yeah.
SPEAKER_01Well, that's exciting for you. It is exciting. Yeah, well, thank you so much, it's been and it's been lovely hearing your story. Thank you.