(While Kim's network is located primarly in Koreatown, his shop Nook Coffee Bar is located in Torrance and Costa Mesa, which are about an hour away.) "I've helped open up a lot of shops, but I do it in a way that's ghost consulting," Kim said.
This inspired him to make his own contribution to the industry. Through Yon, Kim also met dozens of business owners and baristas. Through Yon, Kim began taking on projects to help manage and improve other coffee shops around town, which strengthened his connections to other businesses and kick-started his career.
He gave me a platform, got me going, and pushed me to take classes, get certified, handle barista training, and open up locations," Kim said. He began mentoring the young protégé in coffee and cafe management, using shops in Koreatown as training grounds.Īfter two years of working together under the LA Barista Academy, Yon asked Kim to become an assistant instructor at the academy as well as the manager of LaB Coffee & Roasters. Yon was a dean and instructor at the time. Yon met Kim in 2013 when he was a student at the LA Barista Academy. It's also the only shop in Los Angeles to serve coffee that's won the Cup of Excellence. The cafe officially opened in 2014 and has been run by Specialty Coffee Association-certified baristas and roasters ever since. "It became a real cafe thanks to strong support from neighbors," Yon told Insider. Yon's involvement in the coffee world grew when he was asked by the California Department of Education to set up a cafe for students to gain hands-on barista experience - this in turn became LaB Coffee & Roasters. In 2015, Johns invited Yon to Honduras to be a judge for the Cup of Excellence, a global coffee competition of roasteries, baristas, bean farms, and producers. Johns advised and introduced Yon to coffee-related events, lectures, and other coffee professionals, such as Heather Perry, then the vice president of the Specialty Coffee Association and Julie Housh, then the chairperson of the Barista Guild of America. In 2014, he met Sherri Johns, the first person to win the San Francisco Fair barista competition in 1980, during an Alliance for Coffee Excellence cupping camp.
"My career path was differentiated by visiting coffee-producing countries thanks to Sherri's advice."
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"Frankly, I didn't expect to be a coffee professional at the beginning," Yon said. Now a professor and dean of the Los Angeles Barista Academy, the cofounder of the LA Coffee College, and the owner of LaB Coffee & Roasters, he ignited his passion after reading books about brewing and extraction. Yon's journey into coffee education and cafe management began almost 10 years ago. Here's how the group got its start, beginning with a camaraderie between two baristas. "I definitely learned a lot from these meetings, which is why Sunday Morning is still open for business today," said the owner Joanne Jo, who recently changed the cafe's name to Cafe Joanne. It also serves as a crucial lifeline for its unofficial members through the pandemic. "As small-business owners, we want the whole community and industry to do well and have fun during that process." Through the circle, Kim is well acquainted with more than 12 coffee businesses, some outside Koreatown.įor some cafes like Sunday Morning, the circle has been about more than just making connections. "The goal is to create friendships and a support system in the industry - to make sure not one shop suffers alone," Kim said. Others regularly host events, such as friendly latte-art competitions, and informal gatherings. Several of the business owners take on the role of mentor and trainer, helping newcomers to the area build connections in Koreatown. Edward Kim, the owner of Nook Coffee Bar, calls it his "extended family." The group, which formed about six years ago, meets every other month to report on business strategies and swap resources and techniques. In LA's Koreatown, there exists a small community of cafe owners supporting one another in the craft of bean roasting and specialty drinks. The members offer mentorship and advice, and they help one another through pandemic slowdowns.Yon and Edward Kim six years ago, meets every other month. Coffee businesses in Los Angeles' Koreatown have established a community to support one another.