JOE Coffee Banks on Power of Hospitality in Expansion
*By Carlo Versano*
When JOE Coffee opened its first cafe in New York's West Village in 2003, the idea of a hand-crafted cup of espresso, meticulously poured by a trained barista, was still relatively new. Fifteen years later, "third-wave" coffee shops are among the most common retail in cities, where ー thanks, largely, to Starbucks ($SBUX) ー people no longer blanch at a $4 latte.
On the occasion of its 15th anniversary, Jonathan Rubinstein, founder and president of JOE, told Cheddar how he went from slinging espresso at a single downtown shop to presiding over a small coffee empire, with 18 cafes and counting and a fast-expanding presence in grocery aisles and e-commerce.
Rubinstein, who was joined on Cheddar by CEO Doug Satzman, said JOE's focus on quality and hospitality sets them apart from the growing competition. "It's just this commitment to the best handcrafted coffee you can make," he said. JOE is "fanatically devoted" to the experience customers have when they walk into the shop ー from how they are greeted to the particulars of their drinks.
Rubinstein credits the company's success to a simple ethos: exceed the expectations of first-time customers by "making them feel like regulars and building brand loyalty that way."
That focus on hospitality drew the attention of Danny Meyer, the famed New Yorker restaurateur behind Shake Shack, Union Square Cafe, and Eleven Madison Park. His own obsession with hospitality has been [well documented](https://www.amazon.com/Setting-Table-Transforming-Hospitality-Business/dp/0060742763) and he saw a kindred spirit in Rubinstein. Meyer's Union Square Hospitality Group [invested](https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170123005268/en/Union-Square-Hospitality-Group-Affiliates-Strategic-Investment) in JOE last year, and later brought in Satzman, a Starbucks veteran executive, to help expand the business.
Satzman told Cheddar he is focused on a multi-channel growth strategy, including the development of new products like instant coffee, partnerships with select grocery stores and wholesalers, and an expanded online footprint. JOE coffee can now be purchased online through Amazon ($AMZN) or its own re-launched [website](https://joecoffeecompany.com/), and Satzman said more cafés outside New York are forthcoming.
The challenge, as with any transition from a family-run business into a mini-chain, is quality control. JOE baristas are required to go through 60 hours of training before making their first beverage for a paying customer, among the most intensive training regimens in the industry. Satzman said JOE's commitment to consistency ー the same quality drink no matter what cafe or which barista, and the same level of service ー is what makes expansion and new revenue streams possible.
"It can't just be the neighborhood coffee shop."
For full interview [click here](https://cheddar.com/videos/joe-coffee-celebrates-15-years-of-brewing).
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