Coffee stirs up a lot of good memories in John and Pat Curry.
Family camping trips, gatherings with friends and workplaces all have caffeinated memories associated with them, so why not start a business fueled by coffee?
“Our original slogan was ‘good things happen over ‘good coffee,’” said Pat Curry, who along with her husband, John, incorporated Buona Caffe in 2010.
The couple started roasting their own coffee at their house. They’d have friends over and would share those cups with them.
“People would come over and say, ‘Your coffee is so good.’ Could we buy some?” said John Curry.
Their first venture into coffee was roasting bagfuls and selling them. Their first space was about 250 square feet. From there, they started going to the Saturday Market at Riverwalk, setting up a tent and brewing coffee.
[adrotate banner=”21″]
They were strategic about their positioning — close to the entrance, next to Manuel’s Bread Café’s tent. Market patrons could buy Manuel’s breakfast pastries at one spot then walk a few feet to grab a cup of coffee.
“We put in 14-hour days, but we loved the interaction with the customers,” said Pat Curry
As they became a fixture at the market, they built up a customer base interested in the couple opening a coffee shop.
They had their eyes set on a building on Central Avenue, but for about a year, the owner wasn’t interested. They finally opened that location in June 2013 with fresh coffee and pastries. The menu now includes lunch, snacks, iced coffees and lattes.
In 2018, they expanded the business again to the Georgia Cyber Center, holding the ribbon cutting on the second café on Nov. 29, 2018. And in 2019, they opened their roastery and training center on Reynolds Street.
Much of their product is fair trade, certified organic coffee or coffee from farms with organic practices. Their product comes from Central America, South America, Indonesia and Africa.
At the roastery location, they sell equipment and offer training classes to people starting up coffee shops or to the general public. COVID-19 curtailed some of those coffee classes, but John Curry said they hope to start them again soon.
“We have grand ideas for this place down the road,” he said of the roastery location.
Pat Curry said the coffee world offers lots of careers, not just being a barista, although that’s where many of their employees start.
One of their former baristas works on the roastery side now. Buona Caffe supplies their artisan coffee for several restaurants and to retail customers.
Other careers include the technical side of repairing espresso machines. Another employee was interested in that aspect. There’s complex training involved in repairing the machines.
[adrotate banner=”14″]
Yet another coffee career involves grading the beans quality. Q Grading, as it’s called in the industry, also requires extensive training. It’s equivalent to becoming a sommelier in the wine industry, Pat Curry said.
“There’s designing coffee shops, being a baker in a coffee shop. There are management opportunities. There are lots of things to do,” she said.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
[adrotate banner=”17″]
