Taking Over The Most Established Brand In Town (HE'S ONLY 22)

God has had his hand entirely on this process. It really has been awesome, and there's not a single thing that I have done that God hasn't been a part of. Everything from small purchases to big purchases, to working with people, to working with the previous owner. What we are getting at through coffee is community. From now on, we are going to start taking names at months. It was 2 months of us going back and forth with the bank, me trying to get enough information to be able to purchase. So that, that took a long time, but I guess it worked out.

What's up, guys? And welcome back to the Brand Builders Podcast. Today we are interviewing Wyatt, the new owner and operator of Monk's Coffee. We hope you enjoy.

Well, sweet dude, just go ahead and tell us who Wyatt is.

Yeah.

My name is Wyatt Crum. I am a husband and the owner of Monk's Coffee Shop. That's very new. I graduated from ACU this last May with a bachelor's in psychology, not business. So very different. There's been a lot of different cool pieces that I've got to use from psychology and getting to work with people and employees, but not at all business. I lived in a small town in New Mexico We talked about that a little bit earlier for most of my life.

Did you graduate from—

Graduated from Hobbs? Yeah.

Okay.

So then ACU was really my only option. My parents went to ACU. My aunts and uncles went to ACU. The legacy. I mean, it's like you got to go to ACU at this point. So just ended up going to ACU, met my wife there. We talked about that a little bit too. Graduated.

What year did you graduate?

I graduated in '25. Yeah. This last May.

So you just graduated.

I just graduated.

Dude, that is crazy. So you went to school, graduated, boom, walked into a business.

Yes, we— Wow. With the previous owner, we were actually talking about the purchase before I was graduating. And when I would walk away, I would I would be purchasing that.

Okay, so I have so many questions and I'm excited about all this to talk about today. But like, so psych major. Okay. I work in a lot of— or I used to work before I stay home with my daughter in that kind of area and field. What made that kind of like, what made you pursue coffee and like the business, you know?

Yeah, I— I really was just looking for a job where I could interact with people. Yeah, people are my thing overall. And I thought, oh, maybe I'll get into bartending. And that was just not where I needed to be for, for multiple reasons. And the next best thing was, was being a barista. I had a friend who worked at Monks at the time, so I just reached out to him and said, hey, are you guys hiring? Went through the hiring process and immediately I worked there for, I think, 3 months and I just absolutely fell in love with the place, fell in love with the staff, the customers that would come in. It was really awesome to get to know them by name.

I was about to say, do you see like regulars like every day?

Yeah, there are people that I see every day and get to get a small little life update from them, like even just as small as how was work yesterday or how's your day going today? What does this weekend look like for you? And it feels a little more than just like filler conversation. It's like, I actually know a little bit about you and I know your name and I get to know past what your, what your drink order is.

So you were a barista for how long?

I was a barista for a little over a year. Okay. So not at Monks or just— At Monks.

Okay.

Just at Monks.

Had you ever done that before?

I had never done that before. No, never worked in coffee before. I actually, funny enough, did not like coffee before working at Monks.

Now it's like everything—

like, the smell was great. It just— honestly, the taste— what I was used to was my grandpa's cup of Folgers.

Oh dude, every morning.

And that's like, that's hardly coffee.

See, there's two types of people. There's people that make fun of us, they like fancy drinks, and then there's people that make fun of them who like Folgers. So I mean, you just got to pick side, I guess.

That really, honestly, that was my only introduction to coffee at all. Was that—

I cannot drink that.

That red giant tub that he throws in every morning.

Black coffee.

Yes. Just glorious.

Okay. Do you have like a— the funniest story as a barista? Do you have like a memory or something? Anything? Anybody ever throw a drink at you or—

I haven't had— thankfully, I've not had that experience.

The Secret Life of a Barista, you know? Yeah, Monks is a great environment. I don't really feel like it gives the vibe to be angry at him.

No, I mean, I've had— I had one lady who, she kept— she was thinking some other customers were laughing at her, and they were laughing at something different. And then she walks up to me and it's like, those people are laughing at me, but they they don't get it. Okay, the FBI is building a secret weapon.

Yeah.

And, and they are— oh, like, they are ready to come in and they're gonna take over.

And you're just like, please, you need some coffee and some—

I was like, I'm so sorry, I, I don't think they're laughing at you. Like, I believe that you believe that. Um, I think is, is what I, what I said to that. And So glad they're not laughing at you. Like, just ignore them. It's fine. And the rest of the night was, was fine. I think she realized she put in her headphones and FBI.

Did she seem like, okay, or was there a little bit of— there's probably a little bit of shrooms going on.

Yeah, probably something like that. Just a little bit of instability, but it's okay. She was, she was great. She was fantastic. Super nice. She wished us all well as she left. So wonderful.

I like the FBI.

Oh, I do. I do have a good story, actually. So one of my best friends was— we were on shift during our Thursday open mic night. We used to do Thursday open mic night. Now it's just Friday events. But this guy comes in, he walks up and he's like, I want that blackberry lime scone, but I want you to put sausage in it.

Oh.

And I was like, what are you talking about? What do you mean sausage? And he just—

It's like a sweeter scone too.

Yeah, it is.

That's disgusting.

It is. And I was like, sir, we don't have—

I want you to put sausage in it.

Yeah, he was being very forceful about this. And I was like, sir, I'm sorry. We don't have any. This is what we have here. And he's like, okay, okay, cool. Okay, cool. I want this one, but put some sausage in it. I mean, he was very persistent. So anyways, I finally am able to fully convince him that we don't have anything. I give him like a cheddar and chive scone, I think. And he—

More of a savory vibe.

More savory. I'm like, okay, yeah, I think that's what he wants, right? So he's watching people on the open mic stage. They're doing karaoke or something. And he walks up and he looks at my friend and I and says, give me a coffee and I will show you something you've never seen before. And so my friend and I are immediately like, don't give him a coffee. No, we were in for this. We're like, he's like, I'm going to get on that stage and show you something you've never seen before. So we, we make him up. I don't even remember what we made him. I think we gave him like a green tea latte, like super sweet. It tastes like Lucky Charms. It's delicious, by the way. He loves it. Gets up on stage. It's like, play a beat right now.

Play a beat?

Play a beat. Just anything. Yeah.

Throw a beat up.

Yeah.

Like you're beatboxing or like—

No, I've got something on my phone. I'm playing some like, you know, YouTube made beat. Yeah. I was like, what do you want? Like, what are you looking for? Just put something on. Just put like— he's being straight to the point and he gets up there and and just raps.

He goes about sausage in a scone.

Well, actually, he, he asks us, he says, he says, can I cuss? And we say no. And then his first line is, F Abilene, Texas.

Well, you never seen that.

I've never seen that before. And it was a great moment.

It was a great moment.

It was really funny overall. And, you know, he was walking away. He's like, what'd you think of that? I was like, I did say that's not something we've seen before. So it's like, you can come back just, you know, without the, without the cussing next time. That would be great.

Yeah. It's a family-friendly environment. Like, yeah, we got people studying for exams and like lawyers over here.

So you went to school for psychology, is that what you said? Yeah. So what was your original plan?

I, I really honestly thought that I was going to go into school psychology. That's what my wife's mom does.

Like counseling? Like school counseling?

Yes, doing school counseling, getting to diagnose within the schools or getting to help provide curriculum to just to students who need that help. Yeah.

Which is an amazing career.

It— I have got to see so many amazing, awesome things through my wife's mom, my mother-in-law, and the way that she gets to work with children and help them out in the school system. That's something that I really wish I had. And so I wanted to, to be that for, for kids. And I got in, was doing an early grad program where I could take undergrad and grad at the same time.

So ACU is great about that.

ACU is awesome about that, really.

I went to school for education and ACU had that that Bridge program where you could get— I was like, dang, it's okay. Hardin-Simmons is great too.

Hardin-Simmons is also really, really awesome. I actually ran the campus like a couple of weeks ago and it was— it kind of blew me away how like connected, like inner circle Hardin-Simmons is.

Yeah.

Versus like, I feel like ACU is very—

Yeah. You ran the camp like you went on a run?

Yes. Went on a run.

Okay.

Yeah. Yeah. I did not run the campus. I was— running around campus.

Dang, this guy does everything.

I'm the new pres.

Yeah.

Okay, so you originally went to school for that?

Yes.

And then this kind of just happened, or how did the monks deal go about?

I, well, I actually just had decided I took about 15 hours of grad classes and just realized it wasn't for me. I have never liked school. So of course I go to college.

That's a beast.

It is. It is. I go to college and I pick a degree that requires more schooling. That was very smart of me. So I really, I quit grad school. I decided I'm gonna look for something else. Really, either I was gonna go into ministry or teaching. Those were really the two options.

Yeah.

That I was looking for, and then just kind of stumbled upon the the Monks deal.

So you're working there and you're like, yo, like, what's the future of Monks?

Yeah. So it was actually a while. It was even before I quit grad school. I walked up to the previous owner and just jokingly, half-jokingly said, hey, if you're ever looking to sell, please reach out to me. I don't care if that's 10 years in the future. If you're done with this, let me know. I would love to come back to Abilene. My goal was always to leave and come back to Abilene. I think it does that to you anyways. Yeah. Let me know. I would love to purchase. And I didn't know at the time. She let me know after the purchase that that week that I told her that I would love to purchase was the first week that she had decided in her head and even to her husband out loud, I need to start finding somebody to sell to. That I'm ready to step out and do something different.

Yeah.

I don't know what that looks like. I just need to start looking into options. And so really, honestly, just a God thing overall of me being able to approach her at that specific time and fill, fill kind of that question in her head of what does that even look like?

Yeah, there's no denying that that was totally the Lord. Absolutely.

And honestly, like, The more and more I love looking back at the whole situation because every step of the way God has had his hand entirely on this process. Yeah, it really has been awesome. And there's not a single thing that I have done that God hasn't been a part of. Everything from small purchases to big purchases to working with people to working with the previous owner. Every single bit has been—

well, and that's a two-way street. That's you being obedient as well. I mean, like, God, if I'm supposed to do this, like, you do you. And I mean, you got to work hard too as a business owner. But we talk about that all the time. I mean, God gave Darren the dream of doing this, and then it was like, okay, and all the steps aligned. And we were like, okay, I think we're supposed to do this, right? And like, the times where we felt like, man, are we supposed to be doing this? It was like, it just kept going.

Yeah.

And so props to that.

Yeah, absolutely. So what did that like transfer of ownership, what does that process look like? Yeah, for something like that.

So really the first steps were us just having a conversation. She had heard that I was about to sign a lease in Austin to, to go live there with, with my wife. And she said, we need to have a conversation before you leave. Cool, great. Let's do that. I thought it was going to be another conversation about what is management look like for you? Like, could you stay here and be a manager? And she, she approached me and just said, hey, I'm kind of done. Are you serious about buying? Like you mentioned that several times. Are you actually serious about that? So I prayed a lot about it.

Yeah, it's a huge undertaking.

Huge, huge, huge deal. Something that I've never even looked into before, obviously. With being a bachelor's in psychology. Got lots of outside perspectives. My uncle has his CPA. I had a, a professor who owns a personal finance company here in Abilene. Talked to several people about, hey, here's what numbers look like, here's kind of what I'm being approached with. Is this something to go with? And I just I was praying, God, if there is a way, if you do not want this to happen, please shut the door and like slam the door. Really? Yeah. Honestly, because I need to know. I need to know that this is not, not for me. And it really honest, the whole process just felt like God continued to open doors. So I finally say yes to the whole process. It really was a back and forth between, between her and I just trying to figure out, okay, How are we narrowing out what is, what is the sell point look like? What, what assets am I taking over? How can I, how can I acquire that as a college student? You know, my income before was just, just being a barista. That, that was, that was it. Going back and forth with the bank, going to SBDC several times to figure out what I needed to do. Lots of, lots and lots of communication with different people at that time. I mean, I was meeting with someone every single day for the span of a month.

Yeah.

Just trying to figure out, is this, is this good for me? Am I going to know what to do? Like, even if I can do this, am I going to be able to swim in, in this business? Yeah. So really, honestly, just lots of communication with people. That's awesome.

So that took about a month.

I would say, I would say overall the whole process took probably about 3 months in total. And it was, I would say, a month of me like really trying to figure out, hash out.

I bet that felt like a week to you.

It did. It did. I was, I was also, I was also juggling. I'm about to get married. I'm about to graduate. I've got to figure out how to get all my ducks in a row before I can do this. So there was a lot going on, really. It was 2 months of us going back and forth with the bank, me trying to get enough information to, to be able to purchase Yonks. So that, that took a long time. But I guess it worked out. Yeah.

Okay. So then y'all It was— when was it a done deal?

It was done on July 21st.

So you took ownership July 21st?

We signed, yes, July 21st. That's awesome. It was like done and signed. We, you know, got contracts from our lawyers. They had looked over it and made sure everything was okay. Both of us, you know, we're not going to be hurting in any tax we wouldn't, you know, that wouldn't come back on us in any way. So kind of hash that out. And then July 21st was the date of sale. We sat down in Moncks and, and it's funny, we got a DocuSign from, from my attorney and I was just expecting just to do that. And I got there and she's like, I printed out copies for both of us. Like, I need to I need the paper. I want to physically sign this. I'm, I'm a little more old school. And I was like, that's great, whatever, whatever works for you. Like, I'm just ready to get this done. At this point, I had been her assistant manager for, for the, that time period, about, about 3 months.

That's kind of cool, like, to phase you in and like see operations and like all that.

That's awesome. It was, it was very helpful. I got to see the steps of of what her week looked like. And so I could kind of base that off of what my week looks like. I know that I'm being— I'm on top of things because I'm kind of just following a template that she gave. It was very, very helpful. I am very thankful for that, that time period of transition of her just getting to sit down and say, hey, here's some really— here's some big things that are super unexpected overall, like different things you have to buy and pay for and people you have to talk to, it really was overall super, super helpful.

Well, and that speaks volumes on her because, you know, some people when they want to sell and get out, it's like, peace out, good luck.

Yes.

But she like wanted to mentor you and like—

Absolutely. I'm very, very thankful for her being a part of that process because she was, she was ready. She was ready to go. And for her to stick around for another several months to, to kind of coach me up for this really did help out a lot.

So July 21st, you signed. July 22nd. You're— it's official. What, what are you doing as the new owner, especially with Monks being such a well-known brand and has such a big footprint in Abilene? What, what was going through your mind and what were those next things that you—

yeah, we're doing?

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I mean, really truthfully, I started planning even before, before that sell day. And I know that I wanted to keep the base of Monks the same. I think what the previous owner ran on was, sure, we sell coffee, but really honestly what we are getting at through coffee is community. And that's really what I wanted to push and wanted to— I wanted that to thrive more than anything else. And so really the, the first thing I did was, um, I sent a text that that next day and said, from now on, we are going to start taking names at Monk's. And that's because I want you to know them for more than just their drink. When they walk in, it's like, oh, hey, Darren. Like, hey, Katie, how's it going? What can I get for you? Or I already know what, what I'm getting you. Yeah. So that, that was, that was the first big change that I made. And then after that, I had been building kind of an idea in my head of what I wanted to change Monks to. Nothing changed, nothing of the coffee changed, nothing of what, what it's like to work there.

No, the atmosphere is a little like it's lighter. Like, I don't know, you've done a lot of great work in there. Thank you. Awesome. Thank you.

That, that was, that was kind of the big thing. It's just changing the look of Yeah, of what it was. I think it had been what it was for 20 years.

Well, gosh, when we moved here— so Darren and I moved here in 2019— Monk's was the only coffee shop. Wow.

Okay, that was 2019.

What, really?

A couple, like—

yeah, it was really like— and so in college, that was the place. Like, whether it was open mic night on Thursdays when we didn't have worship practice or whatever, like, we were there. And then, like, we were there until they were like, okay, closing time. Like Almost every day.

Yeah.

And I remember like the carpet in the wall, like everything about Monks was just—

Were you there for the tiger carpet?

Yes.

Yeah.

It was a vibe, an older vibe.

Yes.

But I mean, so I was like, I'll never forget, like when you reopened or when you, you know, took it over, my friends texted me and they're like, we're going to Monks for the first time since the new opening, like kind of nervous because we all have so many memories. And then I get a text like 10 minutes later and they're like, it's so awesome. Like it's so— and so It's— you've done a great job.

Thank you.

Really, really cool.

Really, what I was just going for was to give a, a cleaner aesthetic overall. Like, people walk in and they do feel that lighter feeling and not like— yes, I want it to be cozy, but I also know that Monks has been like that for 20 years. And in some ways, we have to keep up with, with the times and how things are changing and what people want and the trends and the walls are white and black now, that may not be how it is in, you know, 15, 20 years.

Yeah.

If it's me or somebody else, they may come in or I may come in and say, this is not working for us anymore.

Okay. Is the table with the pegs still there?

It is.

Yeah. That's— people used to leave notes in there.

Yeah.

All the time. I love that.

Yeah, that's an iconic table.

It's great.

It's awesome. Okay, so what are some of the other things that you've implemented because we've talked about the aesthetics and the same thing for working there. Yeah, like the events. You mentioned events earlier. What does that look like now?

Yeah, so we actually have somebody, her name is Vika, who plans the events we do. Currently we're doing one every other, every other week. So looks like at the beginning of the month we'll do a karaoke event. This last one we had an emo night and it was, it was actually a lot of fun. I did not realize how much of our audience loved the emo scene. It was awesome to show up. I showed up, you know, my in-laws were in town, and so we showed up a little late after dinner. And I walk in, tables are full. Awesome, awesome problem to have. And just, I think every single person was in all black and like had some eyeliner.

They were all in.

And about—

Did y'all just play like emo music, or were people like—

People were signing up to come and sing their emo music. I'd say I was there were probably about 5-10 minutes, uh, and a guy that I know is signed up, he gets called up and he starts doing some screamo.

He's like, I'll show you something you've never seen. Exactly.

Yes, it was again something I'd never seen before. Um, it was awesome. Vika has been killing it with events.

So that's so cool.

It's the, the first of the month we do those karaoke, and then In the later part of the month, we do something different. We've done like a paint and sip. We've done a movie night. This month we're doing just a come and go event on the 31st of October. You can come all day, you can get candy. If you're in a costume, you get a discount on your coffee. So just like small different things just to try and bring in different crowds. Like, I think Monks is really good. We've been around for long enough where we have our regulars, we have our people that we're bringing in. We're trying to keep those people around, but also pull in people who are like, oh, what is Monks? Or I'd like to go to this. This is really cool for me. We're trying to expand that, that horizon of people for sure.

It's awesome. Okay, so you've been the owner now for a few months, and the people who listen to this podcast, majority of them are business owners. And so we like to talk about the highs, the lows. What are some of the hurdles that you've ran into so far on the business side that you didn't think were maybe going to happen or didn't know how to handle? Have you had any of those experiences yet?

Yeah, for sure. The biggest thing is I worked there for a year before I took over, and so I was good friends and coworkers with a lot of the people that I worked with. So that was really different to transition over into I'm your coworker and your friend. And now I'm your boss and your friend. Yeah. So it's been a weird little bit of, of trying to figure out when I put on those different hats, but I just told people, I'm going to be very transparent and open with all of you as best as I can, and I will let you know when it's like, I am putting on a different hat right now, and when we need to have a very serious conversation about whatever it is. Like when I bring in for— we just did one-on-ones, our evaluations. We do those every quarter. And so I was like, this is me, like I'm putting on my boss hat and telling you, here's things that need to be critiqued, here's things that you're doing really well. And so that was like, I have to step into a more serious professional mode while also still creating the— continuing the relationship that I have with those people.

That's important.

So that honestly, that, that's been the the most difficult thing. We kind of had a reworking of positions at Monks when I first took over. We had an assistant manager who was before me. She, she left to pursue something else. And so I had to then fill that spot. I now actually have two managers. I have a manager and an assistant manager who are very, very, very helpful to, to me and to Monks overall. They care about the space a lot. So that's been super, super helpful. They too are also great friends and coworkers with, with the staff. And so that was another piece to navigate. But I think overall, I think we've got it down pretty well where it's like I still want to walk in and I want to be known as like, oh, that's, that's Wyatt, that's my friend, that's the guy that I work on shift with. Not like, oh, that's, that's Wyatt, he's the owner and I got to make sure I'm doing everything right. You guys should be doing everything right, whether I'm here or not, like regardless of if I'm standing in front of you. And so that definitely was the hardest piece, I think, for me.

Yeah. So you came into a business that was already established, I'm sure already getting your monthly people. The financial side of things, has there been anything go on there that's been like, oh, maybe I need to rethink, maybe we need to buy different cups, or maybe we need to cut costs here? Yeah. How has that been?

I mean, one of the things that we changed because I think we were getting so much feedback was the food that we have. Something that other coffee shops have that we didn't at the time was you'd come in, you'd get your coffee, but then you could also get a snack of some sort or, you know, You know, I know Front Porch has sandwiches and stuff like that. That's really awesome that they do that. We wanted to kind of step up our game in that area. And so now we have hand pies with the chorizo potato, the sausage, egg and cheese, apple and cinnamon as well as we have gluten-free options now, which was really great for a lot of our people. Questions all the time, gluten-free, gluten-free. When are you getting gluten-free? It's like, that is coming. Don't worry. Don't worry. So Katie Pie's—

I was about to say, did you know?

Fantastic. She's awesome. She is. Fantastic to work with. So easy.

She's so sweet. Every event I see her at, which now she has a restaurant, we go up there weekly pretty much.

Yes.

Like, we love to go eat there.

And so it is, it is fantastic, delicious food. Like, I would tell anybody, if you've not been to Katie Pie's, please, please go and have lunch there, have a sandwich there. The turkey ciabatta, my favorite for sure. Um, Katie Pie's is awesome. We, we kind of stepped up our game there.

Well, that eliminates you needing a kitchen.

Yes.

That's awesome.

Yes. We had talked a little bit about what does it look like for us to make our own stuff? We don't have anybody on staff, at least that I'm aware of, that, that can—

Masterchef.

Yes. And make those and to the capacity at which we need them at. Katie makes us specifically, we have those kolaches now and she only makes those for us.

So you do have a pastry with the sausage now.

Yes, we now do have a pastry with the sausage.

So if you're watching this, man that asked for that, come back, come back.

We have another go.

We have it for you. Yeah, no, I actually didn't think about that. That's really funny. But that's— we stepped up our game there. Monks overall, like, the finances were there. And I think what I'll say is, is God has continued to provide. Yeah, Monks is doing really well and it's been fantastic to see even after the changes. I think there were a little bit of like there's one person that came in and just about grabbed my heart and crushed it. They said, wow, I haven't been in Monks in several months. The changes are really jarring. And I was like, no, that's not at all what I want to hear. Like, that's— I understand.

Jarring. I've never heard that word in a while.

So dramatic. But I get it. Like, lowkey, like, I have this, like, just being fully transparent, I was like, Monks, like, I don't want it to change because of those, like, core memories. But I'm for real. When I walked in there, I was like, it's still the same.

Like, well, people are creatures of habit.

Yes.

Yes.

They don't like change. And it's going to be okay.

Yeah.

Like, I love the new merch. Bomb. I love it all. The mug with, like, the two monks jamming. I almost got it the other day.

Yeah. 12 months down the road, nobody's going to think about it anymore. They're going to be like, okay, that's— this is Monks.

So, okay, that's a good, like, kind of topic to go into, I guess. So when they like posted, like I guess y'all posted that, you know, the transition was going to happen, like all that feedback, were you starting to like get in your head at all?

I honestly, I really didn't get into my head until, until like after, after we kind of reopened up. And I, a lot of people, I actually was able to talk to a guy who has brought in his daughters for a long time into Monks. Like, I remember I was here with them and they were on the Tiger carpet. And it's just like, it's so hard to see change. I was like, I get that. Like, I'm sorry. Like, ultimately, I'm trying to provide a space that is as welcoming and as clean as possible. And so I just had to get rid of some things. Like, there was a couch that people loved.

It had been there for a minute.

I never sat on that couch.

I actually— funny, funny story. I had somebody tell me, he said, man, why did you have to get rid of that couch? I loved that couch. You could have it. I would have never sat on that couch. Don't get me wrong. Why did you have to get rid of it? And I was like, what did you want me to do with it? Yeah.

Like, have you ever walked to the restroom? It is jam-packed, man. Like, there's no room for a couch.

It's like you would never sit on that couch, but you wanted me to keep it. Great. So just little small things. And I really— I remember coming home and telling my wife, I was like, I hope I didn't mess things up.

No.

Like we were missing art on the walls. We're now working with, with HSU students to, to get some art on the wall with different local artists. We're working with David Wayne. He's going to have a really awesome piece up in early December on our wall. It's going to be like a 14-foot piece. I'm so stoked about it.

On the— with the bench?

Yeah, where the bench is.

That's going to be awesome. I love the bench, by the way.

Thank you. I built that bench. It is not comfortable at all. And I'm okay to admit that.

I'm short, so my legs were just like kind of just chilling for a second. But that's me in any chair.

And, you know, the thing was, it was me and my friend who is also 6'2" who built that.

And so we sat down on it and we were like, man, this is perfect.

This is awesome. Like, this is, this is the most comfortable bench I've ever sat on before. And I actually have a picture on my phone of people doing anything not to sit on the bench. So there's like somebody sitting in a chair in front of the bench, somebody sitting with the chair like next to the bench.

And I was like, we just need some cushions on it or something.

I think I need to cut it down and put some cushions on it. Um, I have not gotten to that yet.

Hey, at least you're attempting woodwork. Darren, his experience in woodwork, let's just say he's got many giftings, and I don't think woodworking is not one of them. And so one day he calls me and he's like, I'm at Lowe's and I'm getting materials. I'm going to build a dog shed. And I was like, nice, a dog shed. And I'm not even kidding, y'all. I come home and it's like sideways. It's got like nails sticking out.

It didn't last very long.

It had shingles from our roof that fell off during a hailstorm on the dog shed.

Yeah, reuse, repurpose.

Yeah, you're very—

recycle, whatever.

So props to building your bench.

I haven't tried anything else since. Um, so I've been seeing a lot more of y'all on social media. Yeah, before, so good, there really wasn't any social media. So was that on you or who made that call of like, oh hey, we're gonna start actually being active?

I really wanted to be active on social media. I had approached the previous owner before even selling, was like, hey, can I help do this?

Yeah.

I really think it's such a game changer. It does. It really is. And I tried telling her that, and I think she's a little more old school than, than I am.

Yeah.

And so her thought was that Instagram, Facebook, none of that matters. And that's just— it's not the case anymore because people are always, always on social media.

Well, you think of all the people moving here now, like, yeah, Monk's is a legacy and it's been here forever, and like word of mouth, like if you're downtown, it's just like we're going to go chill and go grab a drink. But like all the people coming in are traveling. Yeah, they don't know about Monks and there's like 15 other coffee shops that pull up now.

Right.

And so, yeah, presence matters and you all have done a great job on that.

It absolutely does. Honestly, all credit goes to my wife. She graduated with her degree in advertising and public relations. And so she is like, that is her thing.

You're like, content.

It works out so well. So she is— she's got a whole content calendar for us. Us and when she's gonna post stuff. I'm like, great, just do what you need to do. I do not—

like, I don't want to do that.

I do not have that, that brain of posting content like that. And I think she's done a great job. We have gained lots of followers since, since updating, and I think it does get enough interaction.

Um, so how is that like— so Darren and I, we— I'm not like involved in Howdy like every day, but just like when you own a business, like your spouse is right there with you. And so how is— y'all said y'all just got married, um, so how has this whole transition been for you guys? Yeah, because it was rough at the beginning for us. We were like, work-life balance, like we're trying to be together and home and like build this marriage, but we're also trying to start a business and time goes into that. And so it sounds like y'all collaborate a lot together, but yeah, how's that been?

It honestly has, has been great. She motivates me in so many different ways, and I tell you, like there's— she does a lot for me and there are a lot of things that I could not do without her. That being how she helps me mentally, spiritually, physically, on social media, things like that. She's super, super encouraging, has been super patient with the whole process because, I mean, starting out it was like I was there a lot and it was the only thing that I can think about. And even now Conversations sometimes drift to—

we talk about that all the time.

Monks, like, business. Yeah, it's business. And so I get it. It's right now, it's my livelihood. So that's what things go to. So she was very, very patient with that process.

Yeah.

Now I've been able to separate myself. It's like, okay, when I go home, I am now at home. I don't always do a perfect job at that, but nobody does.

Anybody who owns a business struggles with that.

Yeah, we know people that have been in business 40 years and they're like, dude, I can never have it figured out. Like, I don't know. Yeah, doesn't mean you can't strive for it. But that whole like, I want to speak on that because we talk a lot on the podcast about highs and lows and all of that. And maybe you're single, maybe you're in this like alone and you're building your business. But like, if you are a spouse to somebody that started a business, like, I think You hit the hammer on the nail, like whether it's like praying for your spouse and like, or just being there to encourage them. Like, I may not have all the answers to how you're going to operate and run your business, or I may not have the answers on any of this production stuff, but I can support you and encourage you by just like how I speak to you or, you know, like that. And so you matter a lot more than you think you do.

Yeah, absolutely. Absolutely.

Yeah. And The balance of finding, like, what we were talking about, like, when you go home, you go home. Um, that has taken me— it took me probably, because, because I started this like from nothing, so like zero. Like, on my first year we made negative $6,000. And so like, I was just on this whole journey and pursuit. I would work for like 12 hours straight just trying to think of how to to learn, make it run.

Yeah.

And so like, this is what I'm thinking about all day from when I wake up until I go to sleep. And it was, it was honestly, I mean, it wasn't good for anybody.

We both really— so our first year of marriage was like really rocky and we're like really transparent about it because I feel like people, you know, are like, you're married, congrats, like hallelujah. And it's amazing and marriage is great. But I started my career. We got engaged in August. I started teaching in August.

Wow.

And then Darren was starting to build his business, so he was full-time in that. I was worn out teaching. And then, like, we would try to come together in the evening and we would both be so drained. It was like, I have nothing else to pour into your cup today. And so we just went, like, for a year like that. And then, but in that time, like, you were diving and studying and learning, and I didn't understand it because I didn't, I didn't care about any of this at the time. I had no idea how much of it, you know, that you loved and were passionate about. Um, and so it was like, why are you working all the time? And now you get to see the fruit of that. But it does take hard work, and seasons, it comes and goes, you know. Yeah, you'll see yourself there more and home more.

And yeah, so it's great. So as like a young business owner, yeah, um, what are you, 21, 22? So that's so— I know for me, because I'm 24, have you ran into any moments of where people don't take you seriously because of your age? Because I think that's like a real thing, especially because I have a lot of young business owner friends, and there's been a lot of times where that stuff has come up. So have you experienced that at all yet?

You know, I think there's been small things of— I can tell people are a little hesitant about me, about my style. Like, you see me anywhere, I'm usually wearing shorts or jorts currently, the cold weather. And, you know, I have a full— I have a full leg sleeve. And so it's like, awesome. That's, I think, a little intimidating as it is. I am not intimidating at all, but I think it just goes to like my style. And so people are a little hesitant about that in the beginning. I haven't had an experience specifically quite yet. I'm sure, I'm sure we'll run into it at some point.

But as Darren can probably relate to you in the sense of— talk about your real estate and what you would wear for real estate.

Um, so I did real estate for a while while I was in college. Um, are you talking about whenever I would—

everybody was like dressing up in like heels and like selling these houses and like all that, and Darren was like in his Converse and like, yeah, yeah, and like his shirt had a rip in it, and I was like, are are you sure? I was even being like, are you sure you want to? And he's like, this is just my vibe. Like, when people work with Darren, this is who I am. Like, I'm not this like foo-foo.

Like, I also could not afford anything else.

I was in college, or like Goodwill living.

I was like, this is what I have in my closet, this is what I'm wearing. So I wore beat-up Converse. Um, but that was something cool. And I don't know, real estate just wasn't my thing. I found this and I really enjoyed it, so I went all in on this instead. Yeah, but I still like to do that. So I drive a 2011 Prius.

That's awesome. And it's zip-tied together.

The bumper zip-tied.

Like, we're missing the spoiler, but we have one. Yeah, we haven't put it on, but we're just— it's hanging off.

So like, I'll pull up to a shoot, pull out a camera that costs more than my car. Yeah. And people are just like confused, but in shocked and amazed all at the same time.

They're like, wait, Why are we working? Or like, who is this guy? What quality work are we about to get? And then they're always like, dude.

Anyways, I kind of like doing that on purpose. Yeah, but I don't know, there have been times where I have talked to potential clients and then they get on a call or they meet me in person and they're like, oh, you're like a baby to them because they're in their 40s, 50s. They're like, this guy doesn't know what he's doing or talking about.

Anyways, we're always learning. But yeah, I feel like sometimes there is that, like, I don't know if you want to call it stigma or whatever.

So, so looking forward with Monks, what are, what are like the next— where do you see it in 5 years?

Yeah, really honestly, big, big dream goals would be second location for Monks. I don't know what that looks like yet because I think Monks being here in downtown, so central to Abilene, it's so special. It's such a special place overall. I would love to have something like that. If not, that's great. Really, ultimately, I'll say that my, my goal is for the Monks community to be thriving, to be expanded even further than what it is now, and people know Monks as that place that I can walk into and walk out feeling just a little bit better. That's, that's the goal. Yeah, sure. Hopefully we can give you a good cup of coffee. We can give you the same tasting coffee that you had 15, 20 years ago.

Yeah, I'm not even kidding, it has been, if not better, like since we moved here. Like, I'll get the same drink pretty much every time. It used to be the honey lavender latte, and then every single time I was like, it was gonna be good. And yeah, it's just always good.

So we, we tried that to be consistent. I appreciate that. Not not a whole lot's going to change on the coffee end. I mean, we're going to get our beans from the same place, we're going to get our syrups, and we're going to do the amounts the same way that we've been doing.

Where do you get the beans?

We actually get them from Avoca.

Okay.

They're a Fort Worth-based company. They've been great to us. That's awesome. So our beans, I think, are fantastic. I've had a lot of— I've tried a lot of other beans in espresso, and for whatever reason, I just gravitate to to our bean more.

You mean you don't want to use boulders?

Come on, man. I actually haven't tried that, so maybe, maybe I put that, put that in the machine and just see how it goes.

Oh my gosh, please don't.

So it's, it's a big thing for coffee companies to make their own beans, right?

Yeah.

Have you ever thought about even attempting roasting your own beans, or—

Yes, uh, yes. Yes and yes. It would be a dream to roast our own beans. The logistics that go into roasting your own beans is crazy. Very, very, very crazy. We would have to have an entire separate location. From what I understand and what I've been told, bean roasting has to be its practically its own entity in order for it to profit well for a business. You can't— you have to then you still have to— monks would have to buy beans from monks in order for the roasting to work well. And you have to have a special building and special permits. There are places that do it really well. Where I'm hesitant is there are also places who roast their own beans that are not that great. And, you know, that's just maybe the equipment that they have or the person who's roasting, like whoever's roasting those beans has to really, really know what they're doing. They have to be very well-rounded in coffee and know what good coffee tastes like and know how to do it well. And so I'm in some ways hesitant, but I know overall having Monks beans would be fantastic.

It'd be cool. But I totally understand all of that. Like, that's crazy.

That's like a whole other level.

Yeah.

Of like, commitment.

It is. It is a whole nother level.

And whenever you already get beans that are so good, it's like It also, it is, it is that it's hard to change.

I mean, we've had, we've had the same beans for 20 years. And so if we were to all of a sudden introduce this new bean and maybe it's not as good or it doesn't taste the same and people don't like it as much, it's like, well, we've just, you know, ruined a brand that has, has been built up for, for a long time. So that's, that's really hard too.

I don't even know if this falls under the category of delegation. We talk about that a lot about like people that work worked so hard to get good at what they do, and just learning to let that go and just like, it's working well, like, do it. Like, if that person's really great at creating this, let them do it. Like, if this brand has devoted their whole life to making a daggum good coffee bean, like, let them do it.

Yeah, yeah.

But then there's the other part of me that's like, I want to learn how to do it.

Yeah, it'd be fun as like a hobby.

Yeah, definitely not expensive hobby.

Yeah, yeah. So Whenever you order beans, like, how do you— how does that go? Do you order sacks?

Yeah. So they come in 2-pound bags.

Okay.

And they— we—

how many pounds?

Not the cool burlap sacks?

Not anymore. They used to, and now they don't. We actually, while cleaning out Monk's, I found a giant tub filled with the burlap sacks. Just, just to keep them.

Are they like archived?

I kept one of them. I didn't feel like we needed 40 of them. It's like, I don't even really know what we would use this for.

Sack races, ball fest.

No, I'm just kidding. So how many pounds do you have to order every month?

I would say, oh, a month.

Put you on the spot.

I would say, a guess, we order over 400 pounds of beans. Yeah.

Yeah.

We order about 50 bags every week, and that's, that's 100. So for, yeah, we about 400 pounds of coffee every week, and that's just our, that's just our espresso. That doesn't include our drip coffee, our cold brew. With all of that, it's probably about 600 pounds of coffee a month.

So, so do y'all order different beans for the drip and everything, or?

We have a couple that are from Avoca that we, we do on drip, but also Costa Brazil and Little City, they're basically the same company. They're in Austin, so they are sister companies, and that's, that's mainly where we get our drip from. Yeah, Costa Brazil, Costa Brazil Dark, Violet Crown. We have a new one, Congress Avenue. It's, it's great. All those are Costa Brazil or Little City.

Thank you, bro. Any other questions you have? For the Monks owner. If you haven't tried Monks—

I just got a good idea, but I'm not— it's too good to share on the podcast.

Yeah, save that coffee. If you haven't tried Monks and you're in Abilene, go try it out.

Where can they find you?

Uh, we are at 233 Cypress Street in downtown Abilene. Uh, you can find us also at Monks Coffee Shop on Instagram, on Facebook. Those are the only two platforms we are on right now. You can also go to our website at monkscoffeeshop.com. Com. We just rebranded that, got a new look on the website. We can do catering through there. You can meet our baristas, uh, you can see a little bit about the business and what we do through, through our website. So go, go check us out there.

Absolutely.

Well, I appreciate your time. Hope you gained something valuable today by watching, and we'll see you in the next one.