Today we’d like to introduce you to Miranda Conley
Hi Miranda, it’s an honor to have you on the platform. Thanks for taking the time to share your story with us – to start maybe you can share some of your backstory with our readers?
My love for coffee started when I learned to Barista when I was working in the Specialty Department at Whole Foods. I started in Cincinnati and later moved to the Central West End location to be closer to family again. I learned about all things wine, cheese, and coffee during my time there. My mom and dad have owned The Trenton Sun (the local Newspaper) for over 30 years and their building was somewhat bigger than what they truly needed to run the newspaper and print business out of. My dad has always been a bit of a coffee addict but once I introduced him to the world of specialty coffee and taught him how to make his own pour overs at home–he really turned into a coffee snob. That was the start of conversation to start my own coffee shop in our hometown. He offered the extra space at the Trenton Sun building up (half of the entire square footage) and I started brainstorming and drawing up plans. We applied to TIF funding through the city to help offset costs of the remodel and I dove right in.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
It has not been the smoothest but it has been extremely rewarding. A major struggle was facing the pandemic exactly a year into being open. However, our community stood behind us and continued their loyalty through the struggles. Alyson Woods was kind enough to offer her services in building us a website when she was fresh out of school and wanted the experience and we jumped at the opportunity to work with her–since then we have offered online ordering and that really helped us survive the pandemic. Not only did members of the community still support us by buying our product but we had a few that included us in fundraising efforts for small businesses, and some that outright donated to the business to help keep us afloat. Working with family has its trials as well and we had to adjust accordingly and learn how to navigate having a business relationship as well as a healthy familial one. At one point we had a bit of a falling out but after taking the appropriate steps to mend our most important relationship, we came back from it stronger than before. Every struggle has been worth it in the end because I do feel we have given the town a sense of community within our shop.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I actually have a Masters Degree in Social Work and have worked in that field on and off throughout the years since I graduated. While Social Work is absolutely a necessity for communities and also extremely rewarding work, it can definitely take a toll on ones mental health and I have found that my best self and true passion comes out when I am working creatively instead of the within the bureaucracy of government systems. I very much enjoy creating new recipes, building charcuterie boards, and cooking. I feel more at peace with where I am now than where I was before. I see great value in offering specialty products to a small town that might not otherwise have access to the same quality we provide. I think our attention to detail sets us apart from the rest. We carefully curated all of our own coffee roasts that are fresh roasted weekly. I take pride in using the best quality syrups and other ingredients we can find. We listen to our customers, we remember our customers, and we cater to them. I am most proud of the little community we have built and that we have introduced a lot of newbies to great, quality, coffee. We have held “Barista 101” classes, hosted our towns Chamber of Commerce meetings, participated in many local Farmers Markets and Vendor Fairs. Educating people on different brewing methods is always rewarding. Its a way to make a small thing that a lot of people do every day more enjoyable and they have fun finding their favorite roast and brewing method. We go above and beyond to make anyone that enters our shop feel comfortable and give them exactly what they want. We take pride in offering a quality product without the snobbery you might find at other coffee shops—we will never make you feel out of place or silly for asking questions. We love talking coffee and think its fun to figure out exactly what drink is going to hit the spot for our customers so they walk out of here with a cup of comfort and a smile.
Who else deserves credit in your story?
Every employee we have had has played a vital role in what we do. Each person brings new ideas, different strengths, a variety of personalities to make our shop unique. Our friends and family who have believed in us and supported this dream were crucial to our success. We had many doubters early on but the abundance of support always outweighed any negativity. It is so important to have a great support system to lean on during trying times. Friends have been there to bounce ideas off of, give input, and some have even offered to help out and volunteer during the early stages of opening and for events when our small staff just wasn’t enough. I had mentors at Whole Foods that made me fall in love with this world (shout out to Angela and Michael), and the guys at First Crack have also taught me and multiple employees so much about the quality of beans, the roasting process, the history of coffee, and more. Our team now consists of myself, Lucy and Jillian and they are invaluable to keeping things running smoothly day to day. They both contribute to new recipe ideas, take photos and videos when they can for social media, and Jillian is our designated sign designer. She does a wonderful job making all of our signs look professional and keeps them updated with seasonal offerings so our customers can always see whats new and can try something different.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://presscoffee.shop
- Instagram: press.coffee.and.tea
- Other: presscoffeeandtea (tiktok)
