Meet Chase Rodriguez of Sabal Coffee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Chase Rodriguez.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
I was raised in a “retail family” and moved around quite a bit as a kid so the retail bug was planted early. I went to school for business administration and have always wanted to start something that I could call my own. After school, I had various retail jobs in menswear and thought that that was the career I wanted for myself.

I moved to Miami in April 2014 to work with a specialty menswear store/barbershop and got into the “coffee scene” via a very good friend that was a roaster/barista. I took a part-time barista job at a local coffee shop to learn the ropes and quickly fell in love with the specialty coffee scene. Shortly after finding my groove behind the bar I was approached by another coffee shop/retail store to come aboard and manage the day-to-day coffee shop operations.

It was there that I learned the ins and outs of running a coffee shop and the experience that needs to be conveyed to the customer. Fast-forward a year and I was approached to open the coffee bar in the new St. Roch Market in Miami and the rest is history. I’m living my dream as the owner of a specialty coffee bar that opens on Jan. 17th 2018.

We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It has been fairly smooth, the biggest struggle was finding a way to finance the coffee bar. I was blessed to be able to find an investor that believed in me and wanted to give me a shot. Once the money was out of the way everything started falling into place.

So, as you know, we’re impressed with Sabal Coffee – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
My company is Sabal Coffee and we are a specialty coffee bar in the St. Roch Market in the Miami Design District. St. Roch Market is a new food hall with 12 different food/beverage concepts including a cocktail bar, an oyster bar, and a coffee bar.

We specialize in espresso-based drinks and offer an array of teas as well. We are fortunate to be working with veteran North Carolina coffee roasters Counter Culture Coffee and local tea experts Jojo Tea.

I’m most proud to be able to offer customers an excellent tasting and consistent cup of coffee. We will strive to be set apart by educating the customers on exactly what they are drinking from the coffee farmer’s name to the geographic location that the coffee was grown in.

We want to show people how complex coffee really is and will strive to showcase its natural flavor notes.

So, what’s next? Any big plans?
Our plan for the future is to grow! We would love to open more Sabal Coffee shops around the city, the state, the country and even the world.

Contact Info:

• Address: 140 NE 39th St, #241 Miami, FL 33137
• Website: www.sabalcoffee.com
• Phone: 407-470-0373
• Email: info@sabalcoffee.com
• Instagram: @sabalcoffee
• Facebook: facebook.com/sabalcoffee

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