Today we’d like to introduce you to Daniel Baum.
Hi Daniel, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstories.
I started Lemma in 2017. The company started as a one-man show in Denton. I would haul all of the necessary gear to farmers’ markets on weekends and during the week attempt to build a wholesale roasting business. In 2018 we launched a coffee truck that primarily hustled events. At a local holiday event, we completely lucked out and served someone on the dining services team at a local university. The following week they reached out asking if we could build and staff a mobile coffee bar for their campus. This opportunity allowed Lemma to build a staff and serve customers directly. Summer of 2019, we opened our first retail location in downtown Carrollton. For 2.5 years this served as our roasting space as well. We had a 200 sqft room behind our bar. In December 2020 we opened our second store in Frisco. And in 2022 we moved our roasting operation to a 3,000 sqft space in Coppell and opened our third store in downtown Plano at the end of October.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall, and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
When the pandemic introduced itself in 2020, we immediately lost our coffee bar on the university campus which was at the time 60% of our weekly gross sales. Our downtown Carrollton location was incredibly new, and a couple of weeks after we originally opened there in 2019, the street was closed down for the construction of apartments down the street. This was quite an obstacle to navigate through.
We’ve been impressed with Lemma Coffee Co, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Lemma is quite personal for me. I started it with basically no money and some credit cards. With my photography background, I knew I could handle branding and making the company look legit.
Today Lemma is a specialty coffee company built off our dedication to quality and hospitality. We operate three shops and roast coffee for exceptional cafes and businesses both big and small. We’re able to offer incredible craft coffee, kegged cold brew, equipment sales, equipment maintenance, and much more.
I believe what sets Lemma apart from our competitors is the byproduct of building something from scratch. Everything we do has a ton of intent and integrity behind it. When we partner with other small businesses, there’s a level of accessibility with Lemma that you simply can’t get with competitors. Being small is an advantage for us currently because of the direct access to ownership, and my brother-in-law Zeb, who has roasted the last 4,000+ batches for Lemma.
Can you talk to us a bit about happiness and what makes you happy?
What makes me happy at work is the relationships I’ve built with our customers and partners. Coffee brings us together, and we’re able to build lasting relationships because of that common interest.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.lemmacoffeeco.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lemmacoffeeco/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lemmacoffeeco
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