Café Culture

This is it. This is my first small café front-of-house job. Finally, I am a part of something other than a big corporate chain where they can’t even remember your name. This is the business I want to stay in as I grow in my career. I was hired yesterday, and now here I am behind the counter being told, “This is how we brew the coffee, and this is where we keep the extra cups”. I feel at peace.

When I first started my job, I worked two days a week. They trained me for a day and that was it; I was on my own. That’s how it is in these small businesses. They have small staffs that know exactly what they are doing while also learning on the job. Not many people worked here but the people that did have been here forever. The girl that trained me was going on four years working here and was leaving to go back to college that next day. The other girl who worked on weekdays was the owner’s niece who has worked here since she was 14 years old. Four people worked weekdays and sometimes a dishwasher made five.

There wasn’t much to learn. Coffee gets brewed every morning and excess is saved for iced coffee the next day. The espresso machine is never turned off at night because then it won’t be hot in the mornings. Pastries are baked off every morning by the baker and we put them out when they are finished. Not at all hard to do by myself; This is going to be a piece of cake.

The easiest part of front-of-house at a small locally owned café is the solo weekday morning shift. When the regulars come in, all that is needed to say is, “Want to add anything else to your order?” to which they always reply, “You know me, same old same old.” Sometimes, the occasional newbie walks through the door and proceeds to ask for your opinion on every food item on the menu until you’re the one ordering for them. You pour 30 cups of coffee in your first two hours and then maybe six the rest of the day. The best hack to passing the time is going through the pastries in the case to see what seems “too old to sell” and taking it out to split between you, the chef, and sometimes the manager upstairs.

Working on the weekdays, there is downtime to explore the business and make friendships with your coworkers. If you’re lucky, sometimes you can adventure into the back and see how the specials for that day are made. In the bakery, the pastry chef always needs help with something, and weekday front-of-house staff are allowed to go back and help them out. This calm and light atmosphere of weekdays is nothing like the weekends at the café.

My first weekend was about three weeks after I started. I had not met any of the weekend staff yet as I had only had my Tuesday and Thursday shifts up until then. I remember I got there at the same time as always, but everything was different. There was already coffee brewing and about 20 muffins already in the case. There were two more coffee stations set up and ready to go and 20 more muffins in the oven. “Oh no,” I thought to myself, “this is not anything like a weekday shift.” The girl working the front counter introduced herself while running around to get morning tasks done. She asked me if I knew what I was doing and sighed with relief when I told her I had been working here for three weeks. We were only open for 45 minutes but there were 10 lattes, 4 cappuccinos, 13 cups of coffee, and 4 toasted bagels with butter already in the queue. I spent the morning running around trying to make sure every order was properly fulfilled. Another big difference from the weekday shifts was there were four of us working the front, and even with the four of us there was always something that needed to be done. The rush of people didn’t stop all day.

Weekends are when the mistakes are bound to happen, or the shortcuts are taken to make the day run smoother. The three other girls working upfront with me on the weekends taught me little tricks to make sure that we were able to serve guests as quickly as possible. Coffee gets brewed in the morning and then three other filters are ground and left in the machine for faster brewing time. If regular coffee runs out mid-pour, finish the cup with a little bit of decaf. No one will notice the difference. Friday night’s muffins are saved, stored properly, and sold on Saturday. This is then repeated for Sunday.

The little tasks that can be done on weekdays could not be attempted on the weekend. It is like a whole different world on Saturdays and Sundays. The secrets taught to me by the small weekday group are still secrets from the four girls I work with on weekends. The small indulgences that are included when working the weekdays have never been attempted on a busy Saturday. The small hacks to help with efficiency for the busy weekend shifts are not in the handbook for the slow Tuesdays and Thursdays.

The one most important lesson that I took away from my first-weekend shift is the two different societies I have become a part of. Working in this small café I have two different jobs, both with the same goal. I am a part of this team, whether I work alone or with three other companions. I am a part of the small café front-of-house staff. I love it.