Serving People Serving Coffee Since 2005
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burgeoning interest in barista competitions, and he cut his compe- tition teeth at a Great Lakes regional. Both Charles and Kyle credit regional competitions for giving them a low-stakes and affordable opportunity to compete. Charles and Kyle met by chance when Kyle spent some time in Chicago, and they immediately felt a kinship, though they had no idea they would end up business partners. In time, Charles found his way out west to Intelligentia's Southern California operations, where he and Kyle became closer friends. Kyle remembers walking around the roastery with Charles talking about their plans and dreams for the future. "I knew that it was more than a coffee shop I wanted," Kyle says. "I wanted to start a company." And one day, Charles said he was in. "I'm just going to go ahead and put in my notice," he recalls saying. Shortly after that, Charles and Kyle traveled to Spain to attend former Intelli coworker Stephen Morrissey's wedding. While there, Kyle says, "We went to all of these cool stand-up sandwich shops," and they experienced an "a-ha!" moment. This was the service model Charles and Kyle were looking for, which they would imple- ment in their own business. "It was a communal setting, a politician next to a construction worker," Charles recalls. "It felt like an inclusive and engaged atmosphere." "It was a perfectly timed trip," Kyle adds. "It helped me get up the courage to put in my notice, and gave us a lot of time to think about the company." He says having a child also really forced his hand on whether to launch an entrepre- neurial journey. He had a tremendous amount of experience opening multiple cafés in the region for Intelligentsia, in his role as director of retail opera- tions. In part, he came to the decision to make the independent leap because he was increasingly splitting a lot of his time between L.A. and Chicago, and ultimately, he says, "I found myself feel- ing less satisfied. I didn't want my kids to characterize me as beaten-down… Having a kid on the way actually gave it some urgency." Though neither hails originally from Los Angeles, both Charles and Kyle relish being a part of the community now, and have every intention of growing their roots in Southern California. In Kyle's mind, the natural zeitgeist of Los Angeles—which tends to be open, curious, and a beacon for inquisitive migrants from other parts of the country and world—fits perfectly for his and Charles's business vision. "L.A. is a really great place to have a coffee shop," Charles says. "People are willing to try new things. If it's good and there's value to it, it'll be supported." He adds, "In L.A. you don't know if the person you're talking to is a college dropout living in his mother's basement or a famous film director—or both. You don't want to jump to conclusions." "We're lucky to have the Angelino customer because they are so game to try something new," Kyle says. While customer service is what Charles and Kyle stress is at the heart of their business, that love of experimentation both on their parts and on their customers' is clearly a close second. For their efforts, they're seeing real results. Sales at G&B; are up 40 percent since the remodel. 81 www.baristamagazine.com