Today we’d like to introduce you to Benjamin Hernandez.
Benjamin, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I grew up in Nacogdoches, Texas and spent most of my teenage summers working construction with my father. When I turned 17 and began attending university, the construction hours no longer lined up with the demands of my class schedule. I began a job at Starbucks in 2012, and spent my mornings in class and my evenings dominating the drive-thru.
At the end of my spring semester, I decided that I had no real vision or direction for my life and decided to drop out of university and focus on my job. I was promoted to Shift Supervisor in November of 2012 and discovered a real passion I had, not only for coffee but for the business and management side of things. My store manager truly believed in me and constantly encouraged me and challenged me to be the best I could be. I decided that I wanted to climb the Starbucks ladder and one day end up in the corporate side of things.
In the fall of 2013, I returned to university with the goal of getting a degree and then shooting my way towards Seattle to join the corporate side of Starbucks. However, I had adopted several destructive lifestyle habits that began to cripple and deteriorate my drive and passion. My parents announced that they were moving to Dallas and I slowly began to realize that all I truly had going for me was Starbucks. I knew that there was a deep void inside of me that wouldn’t be satisfied by work. I had a deep longing to reconnect with my family as well as my Heavenly Father. Laying down a life of pride and rebellion, I humbly asked my parents if I could move to Dallas with them. Forgetting years of rebellion and heartache, they joyfully accepted. I withdrew from university for the last time, transferred to a Starbucks in Dallas, and left the place that had been my home all of my life.
I transferred as a barista to Starbucks, but I was promoted to a Shift Supervisor on my first day in Dallas. I began attending a 12 week discipleship program within the first few months of moving to Dallas. I spent my mornings exploring who God was and my evenings working. Towards the end of the discipleship program, one of the teachers, Peter Louis, approached me. He operated Oak Lawn Coffee and asked if I had any interest in coming to work for him. He couldn’t guarantee to match my Starbucks pay rate, I would have no benefits or stock, and I would surely have less hours. As crazy as it sounds, it was an offer I couldn’t refuse. I fell in love in my first week and found a job that filled me with joy and purpose, as I had felt when I first began at Starbucks. I started on June 1, 2014 and I truly had no idea what adventure that job would hold for me.
Coming from Starbucks, I was accustomed to order and rules and I found Oak Lawn Coffee to resemble the Wild West. There were rules and responsibilities, but it was as close to an “anything goes” type of place as I had ever seen. I had a few bad habits to break but one of my coworkers, Conner McKibbin, was always more than happy to teach me and correct me. I do not believe I could have successfully transitioned from Starbucks into the third wave coffee industry were it not for his guidance and knowledge. I enjoyed the work involved in specialty coffee and the drastically different atmosphere. I was able to connect with customers, I truly loved the coffee I was serving, and there’s not a person out there who doesn’t adore latte art. However, I desired more responsibility. Whether it was counting tips or helping with any sort of administrative task, I wanted to do what I could. Peter and the general manager, Joe Newton, recognized this and decided to cultivate that within me. By the end of 2014, I was promoted to Store Manager.
Joe Newton was unlike anyone I had ever worked alongside with. He was constantly joyful, even in the most stressful of situations. His heart was always postured to cultivating employees, empowering them, and then sending them out to better opportunities. We worked together to build Oak Lawn into a more successful coffee shop. We empowered employees to take their ideas and bring life to them. We stream lined processes and tightened up routines. We found the delicate balance between specialty freedom and corporate efficiency.
Midway into 2015, Joe Newton departed from Oak Lawn and I assumed full management and control of Oak Lawn Coffee. I was invigorated by the responsibility and the authority and continued to pour into Oak Lawn and my employees. I was big on cultivating a culture of honor and turning Oak Lawn Coffee into someplace that everyone felt welcome and no one felt judged. We experienced consistent growth and I hired several people who have been integral into further developing the identity of Oak Lawn Coffee. At the start of 2016, I signed a contract with the owners and officially became the Store Operator.
Throughout 2016, I focused on raising up employees and letting their ideas take center stage while I cultivated my skills in the coffee world. Managing and operating consumed most of my time and I found that it was wise to let my employees be creative. We widened our selection of handmade syrups, we removed a few nuisance and unpopular drinks from the menu and began to offer some different options. We introduced TacoDeli breakfast tacos, which was arguably the best decision I’ve ever made. We also switched our pastry supplier, a controversial yet well received move.
In May of 2016, I spent a week in Seattle learning how to service La Marzocco espresso machines. Servicing machines was an intense and often frustrating avenue that I decided to embark upon. I truly would have failed right from the get-go had it not been for Jonathan Aldrich (Aldi), the head roaster at Tweed. Aldi took me from decent at coffee to a level I had always hoped to get to. He was forthcoming with his knowledge (which was vast, detailed, and impressive) and was always down to talk shop over chicken fingers. He walked me through a lot of my tech work and helped fill in the many gaps I had when I worked on machines. Whether it was a night of working on espresso machines or talking coffee, Aldi was always happy to be there. He taught me the value of sharing knowledge and how third wave coffee is something to be joyfully shared, not jealously retained.
In June, I competed in the World Latte Art Championships at Coffee Fest Dallas. I honestly didn’t expect to get accepted into the competition, as latte art wasn’t something I was exceptional at, but I was eager and excited to get the chance. I was knocked out in the first round, which was neither disappointing nor shocking to me. Truly, I was humbled just to be there. I saw some incredible latte artists and I discovered the true depth and beauty to the craft of coffee. People flew in from all over the world for this competition, and they were masters at their art. I learned two very important lessons from Coffee Fest The first, I definitely needed to practice my latte art. The second, my heart was still in love with business. The second lesson was easily learned when I found that I enjoyed visiting booths and trying out new products more than competing.
Coming back from Coffee Fest, I decided it was time to focus on the business while I let my employees develop their craft. My shifts behind the bar became fewer and my time in the office became more numerous. That is how it remained through the rest of 2016 and into 2017. I have watched my employees grow, I have encouraged them to explore their passions and talents and have done everything in my power to promote them out of my shop. Would I love to keep them forever? Yes. Would I much rather release them into the world to start businesses, take over companies and explore new innovations? Absolutely. Oak Lawn Coffee has been full of ups but it has also been abundant in downs. In hard times and tough lessons. I would be nothing without those rough seasons. The business I have started since then and the businesses I will one day start will be blessed and fruitful because of the lessons I learned through Oak Lawn Coffee. I do not know if 2017 will be my last year here, but I know that whenever the end of this chapter comes, I will be a stronger leader, a more humble man, and I will have joyfully watched those who worked for me come in, grow, and go out to change the world. I couldn’t ask for more from a job and I will forever be grateful for this place, the neighborhood surrounding it, and the people I was blessed to lead.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Definitely not. Running a small business is always abundant in its challenges. Equipment breakages, financial issues, and generally facilities issues were always a thorn in my side. There was always a fire to put out, but it took my crisis management skills from O.K. to exceptional. I remember venting about some of our problems to Aldi while we were working on Oak Lawn’s espresso machine (a frustrating task in and of itself) and he told me “when it comes to situations, you can either react or you can respond”. It completely changed my perspective and I decided to dominate our problems, not let them dominate me.
Oak Lawn Coffee – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Oak Lawn Coffee is a specialty coffee shop. We offer exceptional espresso, delicious drip coffee and power-packed cold brew. We have a wide selection of handmade syrups and always feature popular seasonal flavors such as pumpkin spice and peppermint. We’re also well known for selling TacoDeli breakfast tacos. They have been an overwhelmingly popular addition to our lineup.
What we’re most proud of is also what sets us apart. We’re all about relationship here. It’s not hard to find a specialty coffee shop in Dallas. Whatever neighborhood you’re in, there’s usually always one within a few miles. We know that our customers could go anywhere to get coffee and honestly, we’ve never struggled to serve exceptional coffee.
However, we make it a priority to connect with our customers. To learn their names and take an interest in their lives. To turn first timers into regulars, not just for their continued business but for the richness that comes from a relationship with them. We watch them fall in love, get married, have kids, start businesses and buy homes. We get the privileged position of being one of the constant parts of their rituals and it’s never something we take lightly. We get to be their focusing point, their safe place and a place of encouragement for them. There is no limit to the talent and potential that people hold, and we want every customer to know that. We genuinely believe in them, their aspirations and their desires. Without our customers, our family, we’d just be serving tasty bean water to ourselves.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
I used to think success was about the money and the lifestyle. I think most people do at some point and there’s genuinely nothing wrong with that. Success to me is all about you walking in your dream and your calling. Most people are afraid to dream because they’re afraid of failing. The truth is, as long as you pick yourself up and keep going, you’ve never really failed. As long as you’re walking in your purpose and boldly dreaming, you will spend every single day of your life living in success.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2720 Oak Lawn Ave, Suite B
- Website: www.oaklawncoffee.com
- Phone: (214) 812-9914
- Email: Contact@oaklawncoffee.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/oaklawncoffee/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oaklawncoffee/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/oaklawncoffee?lang=en
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/oak-lawn-coffee-dallas
Image Credit:
Jonathan Alvizo
Levi Leal
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