Today we’d like to introduce you to Jeremy Standifer.
Jeremy, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
My wife and I began exploring scratch food and organics about 15 years ago which led to my learning to roast coffee. I built my first coffee roaster out of an old BBQ myself and learned the art of roasting by trail and error. We started by selling in farmers markets in 2008 and in 2011, we opened our first coffee shop and bakery on the north side of Rockwall called The Life House. The shop gained popularity we grew quickly and four years later, we had outgrown the space and wanted to expand to a bigger space that was on the historic square. Book Club Cafe started in 2016 and came from our love of coffee, fresh bread, good beer, and my Grandmother’s biscuits and gravy. Our goal is to create a space that showcases our passion for coffee, food, and bread while fostering the idea that all of this central in the creation and betterment of relationships. We have been very successful in Rockwall and we have recently opened our second location in Rowlett. We want to continue our goal of building a community that finds the value of great coffee, food, and bread and see how these things build a strong and vibrant community.
Has it been a smooth road?
The road has had its challenges, being an independent start-up money is always tough. Staffing and training is something that is challenging because of our high standards, finding the right people and then trying to keep them and train them effectively can be tough. Growth is always good but brings it’s own challenges, trying to maintain and make sure that you have everything you need can be tough and is always a part of the conversation. Marketing for a small business can be tough with the cost of ads being so high, you have to be creative about where you spend the little that you have at the end of the day.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Book Club Cafe – tell our readers more, for example, what you’re most proud of and what sets you apart from others.
We roast all of our coffee from scratch in house and make all of the syrups we use from scratch as well. We have a full service bakery on site that bakes all of our pastries and breads we use for the restaurant. We make 80% of the products we use in our kitchen from scratch as well. We are meticulous in creating coffee drinks and that is one of the things that we are known for. I am proud of the fact that we use as many resources as we can to make sure we produce the best product we can. The culture we create is also something we are proud of we work to be part of changing the communities we are in to be a positive influence. All of the things listed above are what sets apart, the fact we make everything from scratch, that we are meticulous in how we do things and trying to use as much local and affect the community in a positive way is what sets us apart.
Let’s touch on your thoughts about our city – what do you like the most and least?
Dallas is home, I was raised in Oak Cliff and my wife has spent the majority of her life here as well. Seeing the revitalization of older neighborhoods and new communities popping up with more diverse people and businesses is exciting. Opportunity and resources are easier to find here and the market is ready for this kind of growth. As with any city, this size crime and overpopulation is tough to deal with but I feel that given the size most of these issues are dealt with well.
Contact Info:
- Address: 107 E Kaufman St
Rockwall, TX 75087 - Website: www.bookclubtx.com
- Phone: 469-314-1737
- Email: phoenix@bookclubtx.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bookclubtx/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Bookclubtx/
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