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Welcome back to The Update; a semi-regular team update newsletter keeping everyone in the loop about what we're working on, where we're headed, what's changing, and why.
So here's the scoop: every few weeks, you'll get a note from me. What's happening across locations, in the roastery, in the community. The wins, the work in progress, and the things we're still figuring out.
Here's the latest. 🤟
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As a kid, Will Guidara made the mistake of telling his dad "I can't." His dad's response was to print hundreds of tiny slips of paper that read, "Failure comes in can'ts; success comes in cans," and hide them everywhere: cereal boxes, backpacks, shoes, behind the toothpaste. Will was finding those things for years. After that, "I can't" was basically a curse word in their house.
He told a story recently about standing in an airport line and watching it happen live: a woman started to ask a gate agent a question, and before she'd even finished the sentence, he cut her off with a quick "no, I can't, sorry." Turned out she already had what she wanted, no thanks to him. Will's point: you don't need to know anything else about that agent, or that airline, to know they have a culture problem. The speed of that "I can't" says it all.
Compare that to someone who doesn't have a yes ready and says it anyway: "let me see what I can do." Same uncertainty, completely different experience for the person standing in front of you.
That's the standard here. Not every request gets a yes, there are a finite number of window seats on the plane, and some things really are out of our hands. But there's a real gap between a fast "I can't" and someone who's genuinely trying to find the "can." Guests can tell the difference every time.
And it's not just about guests. It's just as much about how we show up for each other. When a teammate is slammed and asks for a hand, when someone needs coverage, when a lead is trying to hold a rough shift together, the same reflex applies. "I can't" ends the conversation. "Let me see what I can do" keeps you on the same team.
Small version of this: next time your first instinct is "we can't do that," pause for a second and ask what it would take to make it a "can." More often than not, there's a way.
We're up for Best of Georgia, and we would love your help. It takes about ten seconds, and you can vote once a day, so make it part of your routine, right alongside your morning coffee.
Vote here: https://gbj.com/savannah/food-drink/origin-coffee-bar
Every single vote adds up. If you can spare a few seconds each day between now and when voting closes, we would be grateful.
Reply to our Slack post with a screenshot of your submitted vote. ✅
Last issue, I showed you a roastery that looked like a construction zone with a plan behind it. That plan is still moving, and it's starting to look less like a plan and more like a place.
The public-facing tasting room and quick-service bar out front is the piece we're building toward, and it's the piece that's going to give guests a totally different way to experience the coffee program. For special events, they can post up, taste what we're roasting, and learn all about coffee from producer to cup. Throughout the weekend, they can grab something quickly without funneling every single person through the café.