Brian Averbuch, Owner, Manager, & Operations Director at Kobrick Coffee Co.

“Entrepreneurs work 80 hours a week, to avoid working 40” –Anonymous

"From a young age, my big draw in life was freedom. I always believed very much in myself and it was clear to me that I was destined to create my own path as an entrepreneur. I wanted to find a business that would allow me to share with others my enthusiasm for the things I loved. My love for the adventures of travel, food and hospitality is what compelled me to do what I do. In fact, I believe it was the time I spent studying culinary arts in Italy that truly inspired me to pursue my passion as a career.

Upon returning home, I was eager to get my “foot in the door” of the restaurant industry. However, with such little experience I was forced to start from the bottom. After months of working strenuous hours bussing tables making very little money I was ready to quit on the industry. Then, an opportunity presented itself that would drastically change the course of my career. It was an opportunity to partner with Kobrick Coffee Co., a well-established New York City Coffee Roaster in opening their first retail store.

Kobricks commitment to outstanding quality and top-of-the-line customer service is what drew me to the company from day one. Despite their success as a wholesaler, they felt the need to evolve in an industry that had become very much consumer facing. Along with other members of the Kobrick team, I envisioned opening their first retail store in New York City. Nonetheless, the idea of opening a typical “American Style” café seemed monotonous. I was determined to bring an exciting and innovative new concept to the industry.

The idea was to deliver a unique experience for guests by offering hand crafted coffee and cocktails as well as fresh delicious food in an intimate and hospitable atmosphere. Essentially, I dreamed of creating a place for guests to gather for breakfast, lunch breaks, meetings, first dates and late night rendezvous in which they would always feel warm and welcomed.

In today’s world, innovating means taking great risk to create something that has never been done before. I was advised that the concept would be extremely difficult, if not impossible to execute. It is true that the restaurant business is one of the hardest businesses in the world. Enormous overhead, a lack of experience and a lack of funding made the barrier of entry extremely difficult. Not to mention, that it is a business that is very much in the public eye and invites passionate opinions from experts and amateurs alike. Despite all of this, there’s nothing I would rather do.

After two years of tireless work finding real estate, negotiating a lease, raising funds and hiring and training staff the Kobrick Coffee “brick and mortar” finally opened its doors. The Grand Opening was nothing like I imagined it to be. Business was slow and we struggled with operations. Tension within our team was high and there were times when I doubted whether the concept would ever be what I envisioned. Nevertheless, I learned to manage my expectations and realized that success would not come overnight. In general, operating your own business is a constant struggle that requires tremendous effort and sacrifice. In order to be successful, particularly in this industry you need to have exceptional skills in many different areas including hiring, training, motivating, budgeting, designing, marketing and much more.

At the end of the day, to see people coming together and enjoying themselves in my establishment makes all of the hard work worth it. To know that I have played even a small role in bringing joy to peoples lives is a dream of mine. In order to be successful in business and in life you need to be passionate about what you are doing. We should all strive to conquer something in life and understand that it requires a lot of work and a lot of risk. In order to grow and improve you need to constantly push the envelope and be there at the edge of uncertainty"

Written by: Brian Averbuch

Please visit: www.Kobrickcoffee.com

24 9th Avenue, NY, NY 10014