Today we’d like to introduce you to Landon Bonner.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Landon. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
David (39) and I (26) both have been in or around the industry for five years. I started as a barista for a multi-roaster coffee shop in Charleston, West Virginia where I attended college. The place, Mea Cuppa, brought in some of the best names for coffee – Intelligentsia, Klatch, Verve, PTs, JBC. This is how I developed a taste for coffee and began to recognize the nuances that exist in coffee. It is also where I saw the potential specialty coffee had to reach the everyday consumer. It does not have to be this thing that is only found in trendy, metro areas. Coffee is the most affordable luxury beverage. Everyone should enjoy it.
David and his wife were stationed in Belgium. They both served for our military. He met this American couple that wanted to open a specialty coffee shop. So, he helped them build it and worked there while learning the coffee trade. After living overseas for a few years, they returned home to Georgia. He dabbled in home roasting before he found his first roasting gig. Since then, he’s helped a lot of other coffee professionals get their start. He is one of the most coffee knowledgable people I know.
We met in the Summer of 2016 working for Land of a Thousand Hills corporate. I was more business consulting/ business development, and he was head of warehouse operations including roasting. We had a lot of overlapping work and quickly became close friends. Seeing a great deal of things eye-to-eye, we decided to pursue our own business about a year ago.
We are building this company under three simple values:
Deliberate – Every decision is made consciously and done with intent.
Humble – Team outweighs self-importance.
Punctual – Timely, always.
David and I truly believe following these values will enable us to create a great business that will be well respected for its culture. We want a culture that thinks about everyone involved directly or indirectly and not just the people at the top.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Since we have opened, things have been pretty smooth. Our community and customers embraced us. I contribute most of that to our amazing team. We try to be as inviting as possible with the understanding that most customers walking in expect a Starbucks experience. As silly as this seems, it is scary to walk into a new place featuring a new experience. Your senses are on fire trying to process everything. How to order, where to order, what to order. Best thing we can do is greet folks with a smile and guide them to a menu choice they will best enjoy.
Leading up to us opening, there were plenty of challenges. You can create a perfect schedule of how everything should play out. However, you have to consider that your plan must fit into the schedules of all those involved: banks, general contractors, interior designers, city zoning, equipment manufacturers (good roasters don’t grow on trees), etc. We had to show a lot of patience as a startup because we were at the mercy of everyone else involved. Luckily, we worked with amazing people that truly made our place special.
Please tell us about Peach Coffee Roasters.
Culture, Product, and Service.
David and I believe in sweat equity. If you are helping to build something successful and that success is ultimately reached, you deserve reward for that. Whether it be in the form of a raise, bonus, or part ownership, we want to provide those opportunities for the people working at Peach. In addition, we want our people to be more than just baristas or roasters. We want them to understand how a business works and functions. That way, if anyone decides to leave for a great job opportunity or to start their own thing, they can move forward with more skills than pouring outrageously beautiful latte art. Or, if they stay, we can empower them make the right decisions for the business. This is something that not only the coffee industry falls short but most small businesses in general. There is a lack of leadership in small businesses. Leaders eat last, but it never seems that way. Most small businesses function to benefit the owner at the expense of the employees.
As for our product, we take a lot of pride providing an awesome coffee experience. David and I are both license Q graders (think sommelier for coffee) and ensure that every green bean we buy and every roast we produce is of exceptional quality. The result of great coffee is the sum of it wholes. It is a combination of knowledge, equipment, and ingredient. You can have all the coffee knowledge in the world with the best equipment and still have an average product if you buy cheap beans. You need all three.
Lastly, our service has to be on point. Always. We roast everything in house, and we brew everything to order. There is no coffee sitting in a dispenser for 3-4 hours. We want to the customer to know they are getting something made just for them. Again, the customer is trying something new most likely. We can’t shout at them with what altitude our coffee grows or tell them how they should prepare the coffee they just purchased. That is a bit over the top. Best way to drink coffee is the way you like it. That is our customer philosophy. However, if you want to nerd out with us, there is room for that too. We love talking coffee, but not everyone one loves hearing it.
Do you look back particularly fondly on any memories from childhood?
My family used to make road trips from Georgia to Creede, Colorado. I didn’t care much for the driving part being from a family of six crammed in an old Dodge Caravan. But, being there was beautiful. The mountains and grass valleys are a thing to see. I always loved the one day of the trip that we would go horseback riding. The guides would take you right down a valley pass along a small creek. The air was so clean and the people were so few. You can almost feel alone. Just you and the horse. I hope to go back one day and experience it at an older age.
Pricing:
- Bags of Coffee 14.50 – 30.00
- Espresso/ Milk-based Drinks 2.00 – 5.00
- Brewed by the Cup Coffee 2.70 to 6.00
Contact Info:
- Address: 10875 Jones Bridge Rd.
Johns Creek, GA 30022 - Website: www.peachcoffeeroasters.com
- Phone: 7703609070
- Email: support@peachcoffeeroasters.com
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/peachcoffeeroasters/
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/PeachCoffeeRoasters/
- Yelp: www.yelp.com/biz/peach-coffee-roasters-johns-creek
Image Credit:
Jeffrey Emile
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