Life is good.

We at Ghostlight Coffee are thrilled to be here in Dayton, OH!  We are even a little bit overwhelmed by the amazing support shown to us from the great people here in this city.  We anticipated the first couple of months to be slow, and the coffeehouse to be populated mostly by friends and neighbors….but so many times I look out into the coffeehouse and realize that I either don’t have a clue who these people are, or they are mostly new friends we’ve made since we’ve opened our doors. Business has been pretty darn good, which goes to show that people in Dayton were in need of that “third place” – the place to go to hang out, read, study, converse and drink some great coffees.

Over the past couple of months, I hope you have gotten to know our terrific staff of baristas and servers.  My goal, as I hired/will hire, was to grab awesome people whom our customers will love.  I started with a small staff….people I already knew….a really smart crew who would learn tehnique quickly, but already have the people skills necessary for the job.  Since the initial staff, we have added another barista and two seasonal staff members to help through the busy holiday season:

• JJ Parkey, barista (from day one)
• Cooper Taggard, barista (from day one)
• Ray Zupp, barista (from day one)
• Corinne Derusha, barista (first month while she lived in Dayton before returning to Chicago)
• Monica Slaguero, seasonal staff … returns to campus tomorrow
• Brittany Satinover, barista (started two weeks ago, great experience from Coffee Hound in Illinois)
• Mandy Boellke, seasonal staff (a great addition to our staff, professional culinary training)

We will take the same approach to hiring in the future…great coffee skills, combined with great people skills.

As we move into the new year… there are some other people/organizations that I’d like to recognize as major players in helping us begin this caffeinated journey.

• DEEPER ROOTS DEVELOPMENT (http://www.deeperroots.org/deeperroots/Home.html).  Les, Courtney & Ryan have been a wealth of information for us in the development of our plan for the coffeehouse.  They trained our staff, supply the majority of our coffee and equipment.  We talk to one of them nearly daily with questions, needs, etc.  DRD is both a non-profit organization working directly with coffee farmers, as well as a coffee supplier and a soon-to-be coffee roaster.
• OUR COFFEE ROASTERS…We love the fact that we serve some of the best coffees in America.  MADCAP COFFEE CO. (http://www.madcapblog.com/), SUNERGOS COFFEE ROASTERS  (https://sunergoscoffee.com/), VIENNA COFFEE CO. (http://www.viennacoffeeco.com/) &  the most recent addition to our pour-over line up HANDSOME COFFEE ROASTERS (http://www.handsomecoffee.com/).  Additionally, we proudly serve RISHI TEAS (http://www.rishi-tea.com/) and the amazing artisanal flavors of  JO SNOW SYRUPS (http://josnowsyrups.com/).  Watch for additional micro-roasters to be added to the pour-over bar & whole bean sales throughout 2012!
• THISTLE CONFECTIONS (http://thistleconfections.com/) Thistle is our primary source of all things baked!  Hilary (and husband Paul) visit us daily with baked morsels of deliciousness.  All are handmade from scratch, from recipes developed by Hilary herself.  Some of her goods are based on very popular items (Oreos’ anyone?)…but BETTER.  We love the fact that Ghostlight is the place to experience some of Thistle’s newest recipes, before anyone else!
• DAYTONMOSTMETRO.COM (http://mostmetro.com/).  DMM is your place to go for all kinds of great things to do in Dayton.  It is the home of the most comprehensive online calendar of events for the entire region, along with Dayton Dining, On Stage Dayton, and a wide array of contributors and columnists writing about life in the Miami Valley region.  DMM is your portal for free wifi at Ghostlight Coffee, as well as the sponsor of the DMM Community Board just inside the side entrance to the coffeehouse.
• THE MANOVICH FAMILY.  Ghostlight Coffee wouldn’t be here if it weren’t for a dedicated neighbor willing to invest in a dilapidated building on Wayne Ave.   The owners of the building were ready to put a lot of money into an eyesore and make it into a great place to live (3 apartments, plus 2 more on the way) and work (the coffeehouse).  A side note here…additional thanks to Theresa Gasper & FULL CIRCLE DEVELOPMENT (http://www.fullcircledayton.com/index.php) who originally save this building (and the neighboring buildings) with the goal of bringing change to this stretch of Wayne Ave.  TG & Full Circle work  diligently to bring change to the South Park neighborhood through the renovation of dying homes.
• KENT DEVELOPMENT GROUP (http://www.kentdevelopment.com/).  Mike Kent had a major influence on the look & feel of Ghostlight Coffee.  His concept of reclaimed lumber, taken from homes being demolished in Dayton, used as the majority of the coffee bar materials was brilliant.  What would have been a fairly simple and boring bar became this awesome showpiece, setting the tone for the whole space.  It is a beautiful bar constructed of flooring, beams and window trims from some former homes in our city.
• PERFORMERS … we’ve have several “AfterHours” performers already and are looking to add more in the months to come.  We would like to have some form of music or other ‘entertainment’ booked on a weekly basis…So far our line-up has included AMY & STEVE LEIGH, MIC & SARAH RILEY, MATT SESKEVICS & ALEC DELPHENIC, CHRIS SHEA and his Magical Singing Bowls, BEN RIVET (BJSR), KEVIN MILNER, STORY SLAMM led by the amazing GLADGIRL SHELLY of CATEYE MEDIA, MOIRA LEVANT, REV. COOL on WYSO,
• THE ANDERSON FAMILY…My mother, father, brother & soon-to-be sister-in-law, contributed so much to the build out of the coffeehouse, and my personal sanity… as well as a huge array of FRIENDS who either helped or were supportive in many ways … Jim & Dave & Families,  Encore Theater Co, Bonnie & Robert, Aaron (& baby Mia), Juan Carlos, Mark (& Sidney Electric), Levi, Shawn & Cher, Ann & the staff at St. Luke Parish Federal Credit Union, the other pioneers of business along Wayne Ave. (Pizza Factory, South Park Tavern, Carl’s Body Shop, Remember When Antiques, Custom Frame Shop & Family Dollar to name a few) and finally the upstairs tenants of the Ghostlight building who were surely awakened way too early on many a Saturday morning.
• OUR REGULARS … we have already seen a group of people who have adopted us.  We appreciate your loyalty, and apparent desire for us to succeed.  We are working on a loyalty card program that should debut in January.  We thank you all for your continued support & we love seeing you at our coffeebar, giving us feedback and spreading the word about us.  THANK YOU!

Shane holding gift from TJ Hepburn, old drum corps buddy

We know that there are things we need to work on.  We appreciate the feedback we get from our customers, both positive and negative. You will see some small changes, minor tweaks, little things done to improve our business over the course of the next year (and forever).   Thank you to everyone who pays attention to what we are doing, and spreading the word about our little coffeehouse.  We want this to be an awesome experience for you every time you come in.

Life is Good.  Keep drinking coffee and don’t worry about what the Mayans thought…instead, we will experiment with a recipe for the amazing coffee beverage I drank way to much of on Ambergis Caye, Belize a few years back on their Grand Mayan Feast.  It was pretty incredible.  Watch for it on our menu in December 2012!

Shane.