Marina Chepik is our client and co-founder of the Kyiv coffee shop chain “Two beans”. Now there are three shops: Podil, the southern railway station and Osokorki. In addition, the company offers coffee from vending machines throughout the city and the beans for homemade coffee. Marina told us how the mini-coffee shop managed not to lose staff during the lockdown.
When my husband and I moved to Kiev, I could not find a job by profession, so I got a job in a coffee shop near the house where I worked for five years. My husband worked on coffee vending machines when in 2015 he was offered to rent a good premises for a coffee shop in the district of Podil. And we decided to take a chance. Of course, I was scared to leave a stable job, on the other hand, I got a lot of experience there - both in communicating with clients and in making coffee, and with this knowledge I could work for myself.
FIRST TIME I HAD TO WORK AT THE SHOPS MYSELF - BOTH AS N ADMINISTRATOR AND AS A BARISTA
At first, when coffee shops were not yet profitable enough, it was difficult to find people. It often happened that during the probationary period, the trainee came to work for the day, and late in the evening he called and said that from tomorrow it would not work - I had to work myself.
We now have six baristas and one administrator. I am very attentive to the selection of personnel, because it depends on the barista whether the guest will like the coffee shop and whether he will return. I teach and advise all the guys in their work, I communicate with them at the same level, we have close and trusting relationships. When I come to a coffee shop, they are always happy to see me, we charge each other with positive emotions. Of course, we motivate employees financially. In March, during the lockdown, the coffee shops were closed, but our vending machines continued to work - there are about twenty of them in supermarkets and business centers in Kiev, and my husband himself was engaged in their service. Thanks to this, we paid salaries to our employees, and we managed to keep the team in full force.
WE DON'T HAVE A GOAL TO CAPTURE KIEV
In 2020, our main goal was not to close down. We do not promote on social media: coffee shops are powered by local clients, since we operate locally.
We have fifteen different varieties - arabica and robusta blends. We roast coffee beans at a Kiev company that roasts for wholesale. The owners are our good friends, so my husband comes to the production regularly and can control the whole process. This is important, because we are supporters of dark roasting: we are convinced that it is with such processing that the grain can reveal its taste most vividly.
The accent of the coffee shop is a neon logo that attracts attention, as well as interesting decor in the same style and beautifully designed merchandise on the counter. In addition to coffee, we also sell related products: tea, bars, healthy sweets. We order baked goods from suppliers.
We are not scattered in different directions, we are not trying to seize Kiev and open up in every district - this is not in our power, we are a family business. We are comfortable, high quality and tasty. It is important for us that the guest comes back to us, therefore, if the coffee does not turn out the way he wanted, we redo it for free. In the same way, if a client bought grain coffee from us, but for some reason he grinds poorly in his coffee grinder, we change the beans at our own expense.
We have registered the trademark so that we can not only make coffee under our brand, but also sell beans, the roasting of which we personally control.
