[ad_1]
On any given morning, Small World Coffee on Witherspoon Street is filled with students studying between classes, professionals grabbing a quick drink on the way home, and old friends chatting over hot beverages. Most of the time, the line stretches out the door.
The scent of coffee beans and Morning Blend wafts through the shop. Bags line shelves across the checkout aisle, each with a unique title such as “Crispy Hippie,” “Morning Glory,” or “Love Blend.”
The barista, or “worldling,” working behind the bar clicks the portafilter into the espresso machine, occasionally shouting out the name of the drink (“Joe, here we go! Mocha with whipped cream! Iced Americano?”) . A clever sign that says “How are you?”? ” It hangs above the tip jar.
Small World celebrated its 30th anniversary in December 2023. Before owners and creators Jessica Dury, also known as J.D., and Brant Kosabboom brought his business idea to town, Princeton was lacking in coffee shops. Currently, Small World He operates two stores. One on Witherspoon Street and the other on Nassau Street, which he opened in 2006.
The Daily Princetonian spoke with Daly and employees of Small World Coffee to learn about the origins and significance behind the creation of this community, which has been 30 years in the making.
The beginning: “It was clear to me that this was a city.”
Dally, who spent his childhood as an expatriate, felt like a “fish out of water” as a student at the University of Michigan. After a year and a half, she dropped out and began her “spiritual exploration” and she moved to California.
She started working in restaurants to “pay a living” but quickly “fell in love with the industry and hospitality, food and wine.”
She then completed two and a half years of work experience and earned a bachelor’s degree from the Cornell University School of Hotel Management. But during a trip to Vienna to visit her brother, Dury noticed that the coffee shop was getting a lot of attention.
“I started visiting all the old world cafes there,” Ms. Dalley said. “That’s when I decided that instead of opening a restaurant, I wanted to open a coffee shop.”
After college, Dalley went straight to Michigan, turning down other job offers and instead working at a coffee shop in Ann Arbor. “She wanted to learn business from the ground up,” she says. “And I met Brandt at the coffee shop where we both worked.”
This coffee shop was originally Dury’s idea, but after working in California, Kosabboom and Dury both decided to open their own coffee shop.
“It was very strategic,” Daly emphasized. “It wasn’t just a picture-perfect idea, it was strategy and research…combining our work experience with our degrees from Cornell University.”
After nine months of “back and forth” looking for the perfect location for their coffee shop, Daly and Kosabboom arrived in Princeton in 1993. [it] Because they thought the town was too small.
However, their thoughts quickly changed.
“I noticed it right away when I drove downtown,” Dury said. “We had the foot traffic, the walkability, the retail mix, everything was there. It was clear to me that this was the city.”
Dury and Kosabboom soon moved into town and “started pounding the pavement trying to get 25-year-olds and 27-year-olds to rent their homes.”
The name “Small World Coffee” was conceived during a road trip in 1993 and immediately struck a chord with the pair due to their shared experiences as expatriates.
“When you grow up that way, you see the similarities between all people, despite cultural differences,” Dally explained.
For Dury, her experience of constantly having to find a sense of belonging influenced the ethos of Small World Coffee. Now she looks back: [has] It’s been kind of the backbone of the work I’ve always done. ”
Cultivating a community “from the inside out”
Dury believes that this sense of belonging and community is created “from the inside out,” and said that creating a sense of belonging for employees is essential to creating the same feeling for customers.
She added, “I think when we all feel a sense of belonging, we bring out the best in people and humanity, and we can do all kinds of great things from that.”
Dury also noted the relationships Small World Coffee has cultivated within the community.
“The depth of the relationships that developed behind that counter is insane,” Durie said. “This web of relationships is a beautiful thing.”
Vincent Jule, Small World Coffee’s general manager, oversees both the Nassau and Witherspoon locations. Jules, who has been with Small World for 23 years, described his experience working with other Small World employees.
“One of the things I continue to protect is [the Worldlings] There are people around you that you work with and people that you meet,” Jules said. He added that Daly and Kosabboom have helped instill a “solid work ethic and sense of pride.” [and] Integrity in what we do. ”
When Jules was a new employee, she was impressed by the availability and involvement of Small World’s ownership, even seeing the owner washing dishes from time to time. “It always feels like a very collective experience.”
Small World Roasters was founded in 1997. “Controlling the quality of our coffee beans is an integral part of our brand,” Dury said. The roastery offers blends that can be purchased in-store, from “Columbia” to “Grumpy Monkey.”
The roastery has also allowed Small World to expand its customer base to spaces like Witherspoon’s Cafe in the Frist Campus Center and even further afield through mail order. The roastery has more than 60 wholesale customers, including The Bent Spoon, several food clubs, many Whole Foods stores, and the Institute for Advanced Study.
Small World is also home to local artistry, with new artwork displayed on the store’s walls each month. Witherspoon’s stores host free public concerts on Saturday nights, featuring local bands performing original songs. Jules said she’s trying to shine a light on local musicians who don’t usually have the same opportunities as cover bands.
Behind the cash register: “Worlder”
Grace Phillips has been working as a worlder at Small World Coffee for two years. Phillips grew up in Windsor, and in his youth he visited Small World and Princeton.
After working in advertising copywriting for 10 years, Phillips quit her job during the pandemic and applied to work at Small World Coffee. She wanted to do “something that made me feel like…” [she] At the end of the day, you accomplished something very specific. ” Small World gave her that opportunity.
A typical day as a Worldling starts 30 minutes before the store opens. Rush time includes the morning before work, between classes, or during a coffee break. During his shift, Worldman spends his hour at each station: cash register, espresso machine, bus stop, cleaning, etc. Because the pace of work is so fast, a rotation system prevents global workers from burning out.
Juul estimates that Small World Coffee serves about 1,000 customers per day.
As a global citizen, Phillips has the opportunity to see firsthand the impact that small worlds have on customers, residents, tourists, students, and more. She talked about her interactions with tourists who visit the coffee shop, and she said she often directs them to other Princeton establishments in the area.
Phillips reflected on the “camaraderie” between the Princeton stores, noting that employees from those stores also come to Small World.
“Princeton is very busy. It’s small, but there’s a lot of traffic,” Phillips said. “We all support each other by necessity, even if we don’t know each other’s names.”[s]”
Phillips also reflected on how popular pay-with-points programs have become since their inception. She pointed out that depending on the day and time of the day, it can be just about “every other trade going on.” [Pay with Points] One. “
Mr. Phillips pointed out that small-world people are not unionized. “We are treated very well,” she explained. “There are very few service jobs that pay this well, and there are very few service jobs that offer benefits, retirement benefits, vacations, etc.”
Ms. Phillips also noted that she has found it easy to interact with Small World owners and file complaints if necessary.
Dury also commented on the treatment of Small World’s employees, citing fair compensation as a reason for the coffee shop’s “excellent employee retention rate.”
Princeton classics: It’s “just Princeton”
Small World Coffee is a favorite among many Princeton students and residents. Siyeon Lee ’27 studies at Small World almost every day, taking advantage of the Pay with Points partnership between her coffee shop and the university. What is her go-to drink? “A light iced matcha to-go,” she said without hesitation.
Lee is an opinion editorial assistant at “Prince.”
For Lee, Small World is “very much Princeton.” For her, the coffee shop is a place to meet “familiar faces” and a unique community space for off-campus students. She visited Small World for the first time on her moving day.
“When I walked in, it felt like a movie,” Lee said. “It’s got a ‘Gilmore Girls’ vibe.”
She also notes that Small World is always full of people, and the small space “creates a sense of community.”
For Juul, this sense of community is Small World’s mission, and coffee is “a way to bring people together.”
Mira Easwaran is a staff features writer for Prince.
Please send correction requests to[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
[ad_2]
Source link
