And I’m not surprised with the NRA coming up with all the verbiage. They are often caught up with what it takes to make a living — whether that be pushing new, profitable fads like bottled water or burrata cheese.

A few restaurants do seem to find value in the quality aspects of making a good espresso — and leaving customers with a lasting and decent final impression of their meals. But far too many treat it exclusively as a revenue line for a captive audience. I am still dumbfounded at how many upper-eschelon eateries charging $120 for a prix fixe tasting menu talk in very elite terms about their coffee — and yet obviously know, and do, very little out of the norm.

As for not having any clients in the SF Bay area; well, we are not always able to disclose the companies that we work for. However, by now you’re familiar with our work at Velo Rouge and we will be announcing others later this year. Be careful not to lump the services that we provide in with all of those other wannabes that will read you a “how to setup a coffee bar” book for $1,000. Effective retail consultants abstract upon their knowledge and experience to develop unique approaches for their clients - I suppose that’s why we command the highest rates in our industry and subsequent bring the greatest return on investment to our clients (now mostly institutional investors, growing chains and government entities).

By the way, the NRA came up with the title; they wanted to pull in as many operators as possible to see this content, recognizing the same concerns that we share regarding the state of coffee.