The Creative Grounds Story *

Transcription

1 The Creative Grounds Story * *detailed version Page! 1 of! 9

2 How did Creative Grounds Coffee Lounge get its Start? Creative Grounds ( CG ) started modestly and remains, as of printing, still a small, tucked-away community coffee shop. The brand and the new store were installed in an already existing coffee shop inside the Harvest Natural Market shopping center we see today. CG simply built onto an existing coffee and juice operation and added some product and thematic tweaks. The final product is found in what we see today and of course in the sophisticated raccoon logo (more to come on this later.) In following spirit, the founder, Anthony, dropped into the old coffee shop (the same shop that would eventually become CG) one Friday afternoon. Almost out of nowhere, the chance to redevelop an existing business presented itself - clear as day - on that same Friday afternoon. There was no doubt that the redevelopment opportunity that presented itself to Anthony was a call in his life adventure and spiritual journey. Some call it a leap of faith. The spring to install a new brand and concept would begin with the grand opening on October 22, Creative Grounds would go from, literally, nothing but an idea to a full-blown grand opening in less than two short months. Notably, there was a whopping dose of God s help in this endeavor, to be sure. Thank you. The CG Team The team is so important. Interestingly, the CG leadership team itself was uniquely brought from downtown Houston, TX - where Anthony worked himself for almost a decade. Key CG store leaders/managers leading today were humble servants and customer-service oriented professionals whom Anthony knew and interfaced with as far back as two years ago. These relationships formed in Houston, through normal course business, would then be used for CG later on in its formation. One leader worked with Anthony as a cashier serving the banking needs in the tunnels of the downtown Houston business men and women - a demanding client base. She proved herself to be an over-the-top service provider and full of natural kindness. The store director was a manager of prominent coffee shop also in downtown Houston algain catering to a quick and fast paced consumer base in the tunnels of downtown Houston, TX. Here we see the first example of (i) community involvement; and, (ii) relational focus which serve as a two foundational principles in Creative Grounds today, among others. To reiterate, the key store staff were put in the path of the project well before the store manifested. That s a higher power. Thank you, again. Page! 2 of! 9

3 Unheard-of Community Involvement and Talent Utilization Creative Grounds Coffee Lounge ( CG or Creative Grounds ) was literally build on and by community - the Spring and The Woodlands, TX communities to be specific. Before launching the CG brand, coffee and juice business on October 22, 2016 the physical store would undergo a massive make-over. The formation team constantly joked along the way that the Creative Grounds store make-over should be video recorded to start a new show, Espresso Bar Makeover! Artists, craftsmen, artisans, interior and web designers, social media gurus, espresso consultants, attorneys, and many other trade specialists would be caught in the net of Creative Grounds development process. Most of the CG brand and shop contributors would simply be found in local, neighborhood moms and dads. Many of the key CG contributors would actually be well-known close neighbors and families within minutes of the CG store itself and in some instances living on the same street as the founder and his family. It should be noted that it took less than one month for the CG store to be redone and rebranded - which was an extremely challenging timeline to meet. The former is a very, very, very short lead-time for business development, branding and physical construction; therefore, the input and talent from the community was key in meeting milestones and deadlines. The community did it, to be clear. And CG is grateful. Page! 3 of! 9

4 Entertaining Fast-Facts About Creative Grounds 1. How did Creative Grounds get its name? When it became clear CG was officially going to happen names were being thrown about endlessly and time was being lost. Recall, the development pace of CG was a rapid-fire series of steps taken in a very short period of time - less than two months. Running out of time in the family car one day Anthony was listening to name ideas. his then 8-year old son would offer up from the back seat, Dad, what about the name Creative Grounds Coffee Lounge? Yep. In his soul, Anthony knew this was the name. So, credit goes to a creative, 8-year old boy for the name. Way to go! 2. Why the raccoon as the mascot? We are in The Woodlands people! There are trees and forests and forest animals abound. Therefore, why not a crafty and creative raccoon to represent the CG brand? Raccoons are found all over these forests. Have you met the CG live and life-size mascot, Woody the Raccoon? He shows up sometimes at school events and has been known to pop into the CG store itself to greet and be kind to customers. There is more to the raccoon story. A story going all the way back to an elementary school raccoon mascot as well. This raccoon was the mascot of an elementary school named Woodland Hills. See the similarity of woods theme here? 3. What is the CG art wall? The art wall in the CG store itself was a no brainer idea from the beginning - art is creative and we are creative grounds. What better way to be creative and art-focused than to designate an entire wall in the CG store to be used for displaying the artful creations from the community - art moms, dads, students, schools, churches, grandmas and professionals, too. Every one or two months artists will be rotated in and out of the CG art wall and store. Come on in and tell us about your creations and let s talk about the art wall process. We want to see your stuff! 4. Does CG contribute any sales proceeds (or %) to the community as a way give back? Yes. A fixed monthly % of sales proceeds. Page! 4 of! 9

5 5. Specifically, how did local artisans and professionals contribute to the CG development, brand and install? We are so glad you asked! This is the best part of the story. Below is a specific list of how the community lead the CG business development and design process: Legal Work - CG s State of Texas LLC documentation and concession/lease agreement were produced and advised on by a mother of three and licensed attorney in The Village of Creekside Park, The Woodlands, TX. Risk - insurances and risk policies were issued and advised on by a local, Spring-based insurance agency just minutes from CG itself. Business Banking - Checking and payroll accounts were handled by a local and Texasbased business bank with locations all throughout Spring, The Woodlands and Houston, TX locales. Interior Design - The master interior design and theme work were lead by a selfemployed designer and mother living in The Woodlands, TX. Further, this artists efforts were aided by the founder s wife, Michelle, as well. Notably, Michelle acted as the art curator itself organizing the contractors, design elements, artistic elements and furniture layout. This call to be an art curator would also be the manifestation of Michelle s dreams herself for she had always dreamed of being an art curator or director for a museum. Furniture - From the smaller, two-seated tables or the luxurious high-stool tables found in the CG store itself, again we find artisans at work. The high-stool tables were the collaboration of two artisans, working together in different cities. The tables wood planks are made of refinished, vintage and reclaimed wood. The planks were refinished by a talented wood craftsmen in Roundtop, TX. To support the vintage planks a separate married couple living nearby contributed the welded, steel table legs. With one table we have two artists working in unison - how beautiful. Page! 5 of! 9

6 The Raccoon Logo - If the raccoon logo is not the most important, impactful and BEST investment CG has made then we do not know what is! Soon after the raccoon was selected as the official CG mascot we needed a logo done. And fast. Think about it. The logo and brand would be carried through to store merchandise (eg, shirts, hats), cups, juice labels, web pictures and other company products. Therefore, the logo had to finished as one of the gating items to meeting the stores opening dates. A mother of four, living just a short walk down the street from the founder, would be contracted for the professional logo templates. In just about no time this amazingly gifted neighbor delivered the official raccoon logos being used by CG today. Were it not for the divine work of this artist CG may not have the loving and sophisticated raccoon guy we have today. This guy is literally winning awards. Just ask some of the local newspaper. He s getting plenty of attention, the raccoon. Whew. The Homemade Raccoon Cookies and Italian Pastries - In keeping with the theme of within a short walk from the founder we now move to two other local artisans.both of whom would be an even shorter walk if you can believe it! An Italian mama-mia (living on the same cul-de-sac) comes in and uses the store s kitchen and oven to prepare her authentic recipes. Another lady and professional baker (with the cookie picture shown herein) also now bakes out of the CG store making her professional logo cookies. Social Media Graphics and Design - Yes, another neighbor. Yes, on the same cul-de-sac, too. Another mother of two is retained to design and maintain all the website, social media and major online ordering systems integration. Thank you for this expertise! Short commute. Outdoor and Indoor Signage - A nearby Tomball, TX-based graphics company was used to design and procure all the outdoor and indoor signage. These pros literally helped CG make it to the finish line on October, Further, many of the staff at this graphics firm also go to the same Church as Anthony. Community. Page! 6 of! 9

7 CG Branded Merchandise - See previous bullet comment for it is the same outfit. Further, this same graphics company delivered huge with the shirt and hat logo merchandise. Customers love the design but also the softness of the shirts and the quality of the trucker hats. Creative Direction and Coordination - Anthony also knows to give credit where credit is due. To be clear, Michelle was a super woman of sorts before the grand opening. She literally led the entire team of designers and contractors. Somehow, someway Michelle made it happen. It was an honor getting to see God reveal such an awesome display of design in Michelle. Page! 7 of! 9

8 About the Founder Anthony Riley is a Woodlands, TX resident himself (Creekside) and lives less than ten minutes from the shop. His roundtrip commute went from two hours (downtown) to twenty minutes. Not bad. He is married and has two young boys attending a Tomball ISD elementary school just minutes from Creative Grounds. Anthony was raised in nearby Kingwood, TX and thus the forest, trees, wilderness and wild animals have been ever-present in his life and community surroundings. Creative Grounds is another creative extension of this woods theme touched on earlier. A Passion for Espresso and Atmosphere Because of his strong Italian heritage or something else there is no doubt Anthony has been a life-long espresso and coffee lover himself. He has always been a tester and sampler of new espresso drinks. He was always sampling with various methods for crafting the steamed milk itself. Anthony would discover espresso to be both a science and an art like most things in life. For many years now as Anthony would travel all across the U.S. mainly for business but also for pleasure he would unknowingly be engaging in invaluable research and diligence. He would achieve this by physically visiting and sampling some of the top urban espresso bars in some of the countries largest and most consumer-demanding cities, including Houston, TX itself. Curiously, Anthony would then package up all his findings from these shops from as far away as Vancouver B.C. to Baltimore, MD and then work to instill the energetic feel, aura and artful theme of these top espresso bars in the CG store and brand itself. Of course, the former fact was only realized retrospectively or in hindsight. Anecdotally, early customer feedback to CG has been that CG feels like Oregon or feels like an urban espresso bar on Washington Ave. in Houston or this store reminds me of Seattle! We could go on and on but hopefully we see the point in sharing these stories. The Hospitality House Concept CG is founded and installed to be a hospitality house of sorts where the community can not only enjoy first-class, relational customer service, top-flight coffee, espresso and juice but also enjoy an urban, artful and industrial feel. A feel interestingly found within the heart of a family and community focused part of the Spring and Woodlands, TX locales. What a deal - CG brings the crafty attributes of a top, urban espresso bar to the heart of the piney woods in fast-growing parts of exurban Houston, TX which is is poised to become the United States third largest metropolitan area about to jump Chicago, IL. Page! 8 of! 9

9 Spiritual Underpinning that Started in Athens, Greece Perhaps the key catalyst behind the CG concept has been Anthony s powerful journey with God. The founder Anthony has been on a powerful, personal and spiritual journey for several years. In this journey the concept of building and developing a hospitality house has been an ever-present theme. During a two-week mission trip to Athens, Greece during the summer of 2016 to serve the Middle Eastern refugees Anthony would be struck with his first palpable call to be a part of a hospitality house. While physically cleaning equipment in a hot hospitality house basement in Athens, Greece Anthony would first feel the palpable, spiritual call to develop a coffee shop. Again a shop to serve the community in the same way the Athens house was serving the refugee community. God would impress upon Anthony this call in overwhelming fashion. A call that would be met when CG doors opened. So what started in Greece manifested in The Woodlands, TX. A History of Service through Serving Coffee Interestingly, Anthony has volunteered in the coffee service at the community Church directly next door to Creative Grounds for well over a year. What is interesting is that God seems to have said to Anthony, Ok, you served coffee for Me over here at the church now Go and serve coffee to the community across the street. The rest is history. In summary, CG s seed was planted well before it opened its doors. CG now serves as a meeting place for men and women s fellowship, camaraderie, business, art, community and premium joe. The vision and experience in Greece ultimately was the catalyst and seed that led to the formation of Creative Grounds. How is that for a spiritual and thematic baseline behind a start-up business? We are eternally grateful for God affirming the CG path endlessly as the store was undergoing design and implementation from the very beginning. We hope you enjoyed the story and Creative Grounds. Come visit us and hear even more about the story. We d love to hear yours. Creative Grounds Coffee Lounge Gosling Rd Anthony: anthony.m.riley@gmail.com Page! 9 of! 9