One in an occasional series of features on Charlotte area businesses, nonprofits, and events, and how they are adapting to the “new normal.” This is part of a series written and published by our friends at Well-Run Media & Marketing. You can find the original article at https://well-runmedia.com/enderly-coffee/2020/
Our Subject:Enderly Coffee is a Charlotte-based coffee roaster with a shop in the Enderly Park neighborhood. Former teachers Tony and Becky Santoro are known for strengthening their community by forging meaningful relationships – and a whole lot of giving back.
What’s been impacted: Traditionally, wholesale sales to restaurants, coffee shops, and offices have made up over 70% of Enderly’s revenue. When the stay-at-home rules took effect, these sales dropped dramatically. The coffee shop has remained open for business, but with much less traffic than before.
Innovative pivot: Enderly started their pivot with giving back – staying true their “people first, coffee always” credo.
“A friend of mine shared with me what a coffee shop in Atlanta was doing – people were sponsoring boxes of hot coffee to be delivered to nurses and hospitals,” said owner Tony Santoro.
Enderly put its own spin on coffee sponsorship: customers were able to purchase 2lb bags of coffee for healthcare workers, and add handwritten notes. More than 700 pounds of coffee were donated during the first four coffee drops. This has been both a revenue stream and a way to give back to the community. But Enderly didn’t stop there.
“I know people are home and people want coffee, so I figured, ‘Why not bring it to them?’ So, we decided to go all in on one day of deliveries,” said Santoro.
Free Friday Delivery is now an option – Santoro and his team will deliver orders anywhere in Mecklenburg County. And what’s even better than freshly roasted coffee? Coffee and pastries! That’s right – Enderly has partnered with local bakers, including Whisk & Wood and Pepperbox Donuts, to deliver treats to their customers’ front doors. Weekly orders are averaging 80 homes.
Out for a beer run? Enderly is also selling their coffee at several of its brewery partners. You can now find your favorite roasts at Protaganist, Unknown Brewing, Devil’s Logic, Wooden Robot and Blue Blaze.
Reactions: “It’s pretty cool to see people who know the company and know what we stand for come alongside us. They support it, they share it,” he said.
Santoro has also noticed clusters of orders in neighborhoods due to social media sharing. It’s another way Enderly customers are multiplying their impact.
Forecast for future: Santoro has great news for coffee and pastry lovers: “I do think we will keep the Friday orders, for sure.”
Even better, Enderly is launching a new partnership with WCCB, Classroom Central, and Wilson’s World to sponsor a bag of coffee to be shipped to your favorite teacher’s home. Place your order at: enderlycoffee.com/teacher — all you need is your teacher’s email address and the Enderly Team will do the rest!
Find out more about it – and order your Friday coffee — at enderlycoffee.com.
