Written By: Tony Santoro
How many emotions can you feel on one phone call?
Surprised, Shocked, Humbled, Undeserving, Grateful, Proud to name a few
I got a phone call Friday afternoon from Charlotte Five. “Would someone be available to give a statement on the news from Yelp?” a lady asked. They wanted a statement on our recognition from Yelp, a newly released list that named us amongst the top cafes in the country. I was unaware of this published list.
This was a phone call that I took as a prank. No joke. There are so many great shops in our city & country, many who have more money & style, better equipment, better Instagram pages, bigger parking lot, etc.
As I stammered through my words, I was also googling “100 best coffee shops yelp 2022” and there we were, published on thehill.com at spot #23.
Enderly was recognized by the Yelp algorithms as #23 coffee shop in United States, out of literally thousands of deserving cafes in cities from coast to coast. I will start by saying this is such a team effort. Credit for our customer’s cafe experience goes to the employees who put in the effort and care to make every customer’s day! Currently Kemoy, Mariah, Kenya, Michelle & Alyssa are crushing it! If you have not met them maybe this is a great week to swing through, just sayin’.
We really do love what we get to do each day.
We are joy dealers, facilitating an experience with a goal to make your day better. What we do here at Enderly (in our Wholesale, at our Cafe, at our Farmer's Market, and beyond) is rooted in this truth and we are simply humans doing our best to live this out and to lift others up. This is why we exist.
Are we perfect? Not even close.
Have there been bumps in the road? Almost daily.
Are there days I ponder if this is all even worth it? Not gonna lie, yup.
Entrepreneurship is hard. In 2014 when I quit teaching I just wanted to roast beans and share them with people I love. I never intended to manage people & relationships. I never fathomed the need to hire lawyers and CPAs. I never considered the burden of carrying the responsibility to grow, motivate, balance, train, coach, and lead adults. I was a middle school teacher, give me a 7th grader and Ill coach them any day. I still have almost no clue what I am doing in many of these areas.
But each day we wake up with a gratitude that we get to live in this truth, that we are joy dealers. We get to lift others up on the daily!
So with that, we take all of the emotions and we receive this recognition with gratitude and humility. Thank YOU for allowing us to live out our purpose.
We know how much everyone in our industry puts into their craft. Go out and visit local shops in your neighborhood and city. We are all in this together!
And as always, thank YOU for supporting your local economy. It really does make our world a better place!
With Love,
Tony & Becky
