Meet Jaron Weidner, co-owner of Avenue Coffee Shop in Memphis, TN.
First, let’s get the nerd part out of the way. Are you related to Widner as in Widner Library from Harvard or Widener University? I know there is a spelling issue, but often enough that was for a reason.
That would be cool, but not to my knowledge!
Your tag line for Avenue is “quality, creativity and conversation.” Quality of what, creativity in what and conversation about what?
Quality in the product we serve. When we first thought of opening the coffee shop we began to research coffee itself and realized how it has become an art form in the past two decades. There is a lot of science behind it, and there are constantly new methods and things to learn. Some people have called it the third wave of coffee, and culture seems to push the envelope in this area. We aim to have the best coffee in Memphis.
The creativity aspect is a result of my previously being involved in the local music scene. We wanted to create a space for people to express themselves through music and art. We have a large chalk board wall where people can draw or write poetry. We even have a weekly Super Smash Brothers video game tournament.
The conversation aspect has roots in our Christian background. We have a strong belief that friendship and community speak much louder than preaching on a street corner. We want a welcoming atmosphere and encourage diversity and dialogue. We live in a world where the media tells us who the enemy is, but if you actually talk to the people around us we find out we are a lot more alike than we’re not.
I read that you did coffee tastings to find the right flavor and, maybe as importantly, the right fit, for your business. Reverb Coffee earned that spot. Was any part of the decision to do business with them from an economic position of trading with small farmers?
That definitely was a part of the decision. Part of the third wave coffee culture is understanding the countries and regions where the coffee beans come from. Many of these places deal with extreme poverty and the farm hands often have few options for employment and find themselves working for very low wages. Fair Trade coffees are from a coalition of farms that have agreed to pay decent wages to their farm hands. Of course this makes the coffee beans more expensive for us, but in addition to the peace of mind that everyone is getting paid, we also feel that some of these regions produce the highest quality coffees. It benefits the workers abroad, and gives us a good product.
I’ve been in the service industry nearly my whole working life. Yelp and Trip Advisor posted reviews which put your customer service at 5 stars. That’s impressive and that’s no small feat. What do you think is the reason for the success? Hiring the right people, training and follow through or something else?
After having a good product, it absolutely depends on the having the right employees. We have been blessed to find some really great people to work for us. Caring for the customers as key.
The Memphis Daily News ran a piece in January, 2014 about your new business and wrote you might offer “simple sandwiches.” I chuckled to myself that there is no such thing. Do you offer sandwiches at Avenue? What food items do you sell and do you make them from scratch?
We are primarily a coffee shop/bakery, and our kitchen is somewhat limited. But we do serve some food items. We have slowly added food to our menu over the past 3 years such as a chicken salad sandwich, turkey sandwich, and hummus with pita. We make a lot of the things in house, but certain things like the hummus or the ice cream we buy from other local establishments.
In that same piece from the News, they wrote you want to be “championing social causes.” You commented on Jim Tamosik as candidate for District 95 in Memphis. Are politics part of those social causes or was this more of a personal matter not part of the business?
Personally I have gotten quite involved in local politics, but that is separate from the business. My co-owner has different views on certain things, which I appreciate as it adds to our diversity as a business.
The social causes refer to us partnering with local charities. We have donated to World Relief Memphis in their work with refugees, to the Dorothy Day house helping women out of abusive situations, to Memphis Crisis Center suicide hot line, and many many others. The desire to improve the community around us is the core of who we are as a business.
Avenue was funded, as I read it, though voluntary donations from community organizations. I read that to say, by omission, that no municipal or state funds were sought or used. Did I read that right?
Absolutely. All of our capital came from individual donations and churches.
I am going to assume that Memphis isn’t too far removed from nearly every other place and that means you have more government regulation than you need. Does complying with those regulations make running your business harder than it should be? What surprised you about what you are required to do?
I had no idea the amount of government regulations and tax filings that were going to be involved until we started. One example of something that was confusing was that I need to file quarterly wage reports to both the IRS and the state. The only reason the state needs these records is so that they can calculate how much I owe in state unemployment tax, which is then deducted from what I owe on federal unemployment tax.
I read a piece in which Becca, your partner, talked about a college project becoming Avenue. She identified living Godly lives as important to you. Do you think that you are to be seen as an example of what private business can do to help a community (as opposed to government) or do you think you prefer to just be under the radar?
On one hand I want people to view us as having a positive impact on the community. But on the other hand I am more concerned about actually making the positive impact regardless of what people think about us.
In one of the articles I read there was a comment about how some of the space at Avenue was for study. Do you confine that study to Bible study or do you open it up anyone willing to teach?
That is mostly there because we are right next to the University of Memphis campus and a large number customers are students. It’s a little bit of a college hang out and late night study place. Some people do have Bible studies at the shop, but we are not involved with those in any way.
How can people learn more about Avenue Coffee? Can they buy Reverb coffee on line?
You can follow us on Instagram or on Facebook. You can also check out www.avenuecoffeememphis.com. You can find Reverb Coffee at www.myreverbcoffee.com
As I got deeper into Avenue’s and your story, I was really impressed with your vision and mission. I think there is a thread amongst libertarian types that religion and libertarianism are incompatible, but I don’t think that is so. Tom Woods has certainly shown that isn’t so and I think you too are showing that.
I certainly believe that people of faith as well as those who don’t have any religious beliefs can both find a home in libertarianism. I actually think it was through my faith that guided me towards libertarianism. I think that they fit together quite well.