Switched to a local supplier for my cafe and saved $400 a month

Honestly, I was buying all my coffee beans from a big national distributor for like two years. Then a buddy told me about Detroit Bean Co. down on Gratiot. I figured I'd give them a shot for one order last month. The quality was way better, fresher stuff, but the shocker was the price. They charged me $3.50 a pound less than what I was paying before. That adds up fast when you go through 120 pounds a month. My customers even started noticing the coffee tasted smoother. Anyone else found a local vendor that beat their old supplier on both cost and quality?

3 comments

3 Comments

maxmurphy11h ago

Wait, you mean to tell me that paying $3.50 more per pound to some faceless corporation wasn't actually making your coffee taste better? Who would've thought. I did the same thing with my sandwich shop but with bread from a local bakery. Turned out the "artisan" bread from the big distributor was just frozen dough they baked in a warehouse three states away. My local guy actually bakes it the night before and drops it off at 5am, and it costs me less. Crazy how paying less for better stuff is even an option, right?

rodriguez.jordan9h ago

So wait, how exactly did you even find out about the frozen dough thing?

river_scott9h ago

Maybe it's just me but fresh doesn't always mean better.