04/11/2025
Note from Nate:
Friends, this is something I’ve been trying to write for days. It is one of the most difficult things I’ve written. It is time for me to close Joe Brewski Coffee.
Woof. That’s the punchline.
Read with me a little while and I’ll explain where we’re at and how we got here. I’ll tell you what this is going to look like in the next weeks, talk about last days and some special hours. Then sprinkle in a little hope and talk about how this might look in the future.
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Where are we at?
For those of you have been around , last year we made a post asking for community engagement. Truly we were in a financial spot that made it difficult to sustain business. There was a survey, some feedback, and then team got busy. We’ve been growing uphill. Many of our peers have been experiencing loss over the last years (5-30% loss). Last year we grew in shop business by 43% This year we’re already up an additional 47% over last year. We’re not fully out of the financial woods, but I feel like I can see the edge of the tree line. It is not lost on me how special that is. It feels like we’re growing uphill. Where there is growth there is life.
With your feedback and my team, I truly believe we have built something special. Something.. other.
So if Joe is growing, why close? Ah yes, the question I’ve wrestled for months. In my personality, the only thing more difficult than getting me to start something, is getting me to quit. I’ve been dreaming and working on this for 10+years now. I’ve got a verry “captain goes down with the ship” lean.
To be vague yet straightforward, most of it comes down to Nate. For the last years I’ve been in the shop less and less. I’ve been working between 35-55 hours a week at other job or jobs to support my family while Joe is in his adolescent phase.
I’ve been faced with the choice: for Joe to grow where I’d like it to, I would need to return to Joe as a fulltime, attentive owner working those owners hours. Meanwhile my kids are growing up quickly. My oldest, I can count on one hand the number of summer breaks she has left.
In this season, the greatest thing I can do is build memories and some sense of calm normalcy with my family.
If I have to choose building one and risking loss of the other.. if I look back in three years and I’ve built with my kids and lost Joe, I imagine far less regret than the other way around. That’s big enough to loosen my grip on the wheel here.
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What Happens now?
Alright. Decision is made, how does this look? Joe will be closing the end of this month. Saturday the 26th will be our last day open. I guess that is much more simple to say. Between now and then we’ll be running a “best of” playlist of our cold brews and products. (If you have a favorite Cold Brew, take a second and tell us your favorite. We want to make as many of them as possible!!)
This Saturday with be our last Desserts After Dark at Bea Sweet Treats.
Saturday the 19th I will be open in the shop 7a-2p
Thursday 24th - Saturday the 26th I will be in shop with the crew.
Sure we’ll be selling coffee, but I want to see your faces. There are a lot of you that have supported Joe, supported me through the years. I would like the opportunity to serve you and thank you for your support and investment into this dream.
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Is Joe Gone Gone?
I have a tough time letting go. I can imagine hopeful outcomes into most situations. I had to reach a point of full acceptance. Joe is closing.
As we prepared for this announcement, we have been telling our wholesale and business relations. The amount of goodwill we have received to help continue the brand and business of Joe has been unexpected.
First, that is an honor to receive. To know that we have served well and will be missed.
Second, some creative ideas have come out.
Some of our products are going to have a shot at a 2nd life. They may look different, but they will remain at the core the same. We’ll talk more about that soon.
We’ve had some ideas around what it could look like to come back in a while. Again it would look different, but not impossible.
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Friends, Joe is so much bigger than just me. there are a lot of blood, sweat and tears in here. Not all of it mine. I’ve loved hearing stories and hearing from some of my old team members. (which in itself is something special). Even in laying this one down, my heart is full. Thank you.
- Nate Templeton, Joe Brewski Coffee, Founder
PS
Yes we should have advertised more. Yes, I’m sure you never knew we were here. 🤣
I say that tongue in cheek, but I know there is some truth to that.
It is almost a daily occurrence to have someone tell us they live around the block and have never heard of us. Yeah.. we should have made some more noise and got some more attention. Heard.
We also hear daily someone who is in from out of town, or in from another country. They tell us we were highest on their Google reviews, then in chatting they will tell us about their favorite coffee in the big city and how Joe’s coffee could stand toe-to-toe with the big boys .
Obscure. Warm people, delicious coffee. If that’s our reputation as we close.. cool.
