LocalBites Rewind: How to Roast Great Coffee

We are welcoming Mike Ayars, owner of Turnstile Coffee in NJ, to this episode of #localbites! Mike has over a decade of experience in the specialty coffee business, and is talking to us today about some unique experiences he has had and how he runs a wholesale roastery business at the same time. Website: https://www.turnstilecoffee.com/ Instagram: @turnstilecoffee  Coffee Pick Up Window: https://943thepoint.com/turnstile-coffee-in-belmar-opens-takeout-window/ [00:00] Show intro  [00:35] Welcome to Mike  [00:50] Biggest lessons learned after a decade of specialty coffee [01:34] Why start with specialty coffee? [02:56] How do you survive in a world without coffee [03:17] From a first taste of coffee to opening Turnstile [04:45] Where Mike looked for roasting classes [05:30] What’s the draw for roasting? [06:54] The unique aspects of roasting and owning a cafe [08:44] Finding good sources [11:05] Who is over the roasting business? [11:45] How to keep up with the trends? [12:54] Customer education  [16:16] What does Mike do to make Turnstile unique? [18:55] Why do other cafes come to Turnstile for their coffee? [20:11] Ratio of wholesale to cafe business [21:28] What the pandemic was like: take out window edition  [25:23] How special events can promote coffee [28:04] The biggest challenges in 11 years of Turnstile [30:09] #1 piece of staffing advice [31:30] Advice for aspiring coffee shop/roastery owners [33:47] Wrap up