Business Profile: Two Dogs Coffee & Tea Emporium
This May we have been speaking to Two Dogs Coffee Roasting Co. We wanted to learn all about their new venture in the market town of Brecon…
When was the business started? We opened the Emporium in Brecon at the end of November 2021, but we have been trading as a Two Dogs Coffee Roasting Company since May 2017.We started with a tiny 500gm roaster in a shed on our patio and now have a 15 kilo roaster in a shop on the High Street.
What made you set up the business? We were looking for a business we enjoyed to take us into ‘retirement’. We both enjoy the emerging coffee culture so investigated further, John went on a roasting course and we decided this was what we wanted to do.
Why Brecon? We started selling online and at markets and food festivals but as the business grew we realised we needed an outlet on the High Street.We did originally look in Treorchy which is where we are based but couldn’t find an appropriate premises.We have always loved the vibe in Brecon and encouraged by Charlotte from Brecon Chocolates we decided to have a look at properties available in the town. 104 The Struet just felt right when we walked in.
Do you have ambitions to move or grow bigger? To be perfectly honest, it depends which one of us you speak to, John talks of expanding and taking over the world, whereas I’ll be happy just to take the Emporium to the best it can be.
What makes you unique? We roast coffee in the shop where the customer can see it, and we sell all 30 of our coffees loose for customers to fill their own storage jars, or to try a small sample of a number of different beans. We have 4 ever-changing beans on our grinders for customers to sample in the shop, and we sell takeaway drinks including our coffees, Brecon Chocolates hot chocolate and a number of teas.
What is your greatest achievement in your business? Expanding through the Pandemic.
Two lessons having your own business has taught you? I need to be more organised and not to leave everything to the last minute (not quite got the hang of that one!).
List five goals on your business to-do list: To be the best in our field; for John to be able to give up his full-time job and concentrate on the shop; to start tasting sessions for customers; to qualify to train others in roasting and barista skills; to be able to employ staff to run the shop so we can finally retire.
Have any hidden talents come to light since starting up? John’s ability to roast coffee and his customer service skills.
What’s the funniest thing that’s happened to you since opening? Our dogs Jack and Gelert are usually around in the shop, but we have to keep them on a tight rein or they’d be off up the road. But one morning Gelert wasn’t tied up and he disappeared out of the door. By the time John got to the door Gelert was trotting down the road with a bone from the butcher’s two doors up!
Is there anything else you’d like our readers to know? We source our beans from an ethical importer and concentrate on microlots from small farms, social enterprises and cooperatives, especially those that support and encourage women. We try to be as sustainable as possible, always using recycled and recyclable packaging and takeaway cups, encouraging customers to use their own cups and to bring their own containers in to fill with loose coffee and tea. Although we sell hot (and cold) drinks and cakes, these are to take away as we are not a cafe but a coffee and tea supplier.
What have you done today to make you feel proud? Survived!
What do you know now that you wish you knew before starting your business? How much of a time and financial commitment starting up a business involves.
Sum your business up in five words: Quality, flexible, sustainable, local, happy.