Meet Dan Guy of Espresso Bay

Today we’d like to introduce you to Dan Guy

Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
Espresso Bay began in 2003 by my Mother and Father in Law, Ray and Linda Dornbusch. My story with how I came to Espresso Bay goes back about 11 years ago before my wife, Kara, and I were even engaged. We knew things were headed in that direction but my then soon to be Father-in-law asked me to lunch to talk about how my current Marketing job was going and to see if I had any interest in taking over the coffee shop. At first Kara was not thrilled with the idea because she had worked in the shop starting at age 12 and had seen a slow decline in everything. With a busy coffee shop, it takes so much constant attention to detail and over the years much of this had faded away. But with a little convincing, we decided it would be the perfect fit for me to take over! The training was pretty intense and the first year or so there were not many days off. I did it all: making drinks, trying new recipes, roasting beans, taking out the trash, even scrubbing dirty toilets. Each year we got a little better and improved sales slowly. Everything was new, everything was a challenge and it was so much more work than I ever expected. Once we made it through covid and our sales started booming I felt like we had made it to the top of the mountain that felt like we had been crawling up for so many years. It felt so good but I knew there was another mountain peak in the distance that was meant for us next which was expanding our bean sales. Being a small family-run business gave us an extraordinary opportunity to scale our business how we wanted and needed. Throughout this time, my wife also became a nurse practitioner and we also welcomed 4 babies into our family. But once we started trying to expand our beans sales (online, in-store, and wholesale) our products really spoke for themselves and everything started increasing organically. We gained a huge private label account which was so hard to fulfill at first (working in small quarters and with insufficient machinery) but we did it and eventually we were able to move all our roasting, packaging, and shipping to its own warehouse. There have been so many highs and so many lows over the years but the thing that sticks out the most is the people. I have had the opportunity to work with such amazing people in our store as well as being connected to so many others through our community of coffee in almost every state now and that really has been the most special part of the business for me.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
There have been more struggles along the way than I had ever expected before starting. Machines breaking down, losing internet with a line out the door, figuring out how to scale production at a rate that fits with your business plan, hiring, firing, dealing with personnel issues or stealing, personal health, keeping up with demands while maintaining a high level of care.

We’ve been impressed with Espresso Bay, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Espresso Bay originated in 2003 in the heart of downtown Traverse City in the historic Milliken Building. Since it’s inception Espresso Bay has been proud to roast all their own coffee beans right on site in small batches by hand. Over 20+ years they’ve really became more than just a corner coffee shop. It’s a community meeting spot, it’s a space to work or watch the world go by, there are options for everyone and every age. Our passions for people, superb coffee and all things Michigan run deep through our caffeinated veins!

What has been the most important lesson you’ve learned along your journey?
This lesson took me 10 years to learn.
Yes, it is possible to do it all yourself and I tried doing this for a long time.
But being in business is so much more fun and fulfilling when you can work with others and be connected in a community of others (customers, employees, sub contractors, and other businesses that you can work together with.)
At the end of the day doing everything yourself may save you a little money. But it won’t save you any time and the more you can work with others the more you can learn and enjoy your time. Life is so short, why not try to make it fun?

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.espressobay.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/espressobaytc/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/espressobay