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the near future.
Each location will have a full kitchen and
wish they had that at this location…” The
menu, as I mentioned before, will only grow; the
excellent items that you have grown accustomed
to as a customer will remain, but with added
enrichments.
To continue this merger of concepts, new
products are being developed to provide this
superior product in a convenient package to
make your coffee experience easier and more
settling for inferiority. The team wants to make
what they have to offer accessible to everyone.
Another way they are accomplishing this
daunting task is to roll it out, literally. When
Michael and Randy acquired MYLO, they also
gained to mobile coffee cart that MYLO once
used. For those that are familiar with this café
on wheels, you understand what a big deal this
is. For those of you that have not heard of the
cart, let me assure you, it is so much more than
that. You may be thinking of a hot dog cart
with some carafes and pumps; this is not the
case. The cart is a fully functional café that can
generate all of the excellent beverages that the
brick and mortar can. In fact, there will even be
a few of the food menu items on board. Once
and it will also be available for caterings.
Mugs Café wants to be your local craft coffee
shop with convenience. They know that this is
a challenging task to say the least, but they are
more than prepared to rise to that challenge.
Over the last two years, the Standard Roasting
Co. team has been assembled. This all-star
group wants to make sure that not one aspect
of their model – quality plus convenience –
falters. Michael and Randy realize that only
the right people and the best people will make
this mission work. In fact, they seem
to be doing things in reverse in this
regard; they have put their efforts into
getting the right people in place before
they get the right place and then the
people. When most companies grow,
they grow geographically, and then
hire the needed staff. The team is so
ensure the new locations and ventures
would be successful. Background
and experience are vital to a team’s
triumph. A few team members want
to share a little about themselves to
illustrate this point:
Hayden Harrington, Operations
Manager – Standard Roasting Co.
At an early age Hayden’s passion
for food was sparked by his own family. Born
into a heritage of good cooks, and being
to different cultures and variations of dishes
and inevitably learned and gained inspiration
from those around me. He began his career in
the restaurant industry in 2011 when he was
hired as a bus boy at a local pizza restaurant.
From busser to line cook, he worked in several
different restaurants throughout Central
Arkansas and Nashville TN, learning the ins and
outs of a functioning restaurant. Shortly after,
Hayden began the never-ending and continuous
journey of specialty coffee and happily took a
position at Mugs Cafe. Years of hard work and
dedication led him to his position as General
Manager at the Cafe. Shortly after, he was given
the opportunity to serve as the Operations
Manager of Standard Coffee and Roasting Co.
Hayden strives every day to consistently exceed
customers’ expectations in product, service, and
overall experience. And ultimately contribute to
the growth and enrichment of the community
around him. The restaurant industry is an
environment like no other from early mornings,
long nights and late hours, to literal blood,
sweat, and tears, or the family-like relationship
that is built with your fellow employees. This is
what kept Hayden around and kept the passion
alive. It’s not just a job it’s a way of life.
Josh Brown, Coffee Roaster – Standard
Roasting Co.
Josh started out in the industry back in 2000
roasting for Texas Coffee Traders on Sivetz Fluid
Bed air roasters in Austin. In 2005 he moved to
Chicago, where he transitioned to roasting on
vintage Gothots and spent four years as part
of the team at Intelligentsia. Before arriving in
Little Rock in 2018, Josh worked as a tech for
Caffe Vita and Caffe Ladro, two small roasters
in Seattle. He most recently served as a coffee
roaster at Westrock Coffee.
Paige Russell, Chef – MYLO Coffee Co.
Paige is originally from Conway,
Arkansas. She went to culinary school
in Chicago at the Illinois Institute of
Art where she graduated in 2010. She
worked in Chicago at perennial Virant
for two years learning about pastries, and
pickling and preserving local fruits and
vegetables. Paige moved to Los Angeles
in 2013, where she worked in many
Suzanne Goin restaurants, learning about
seasonal Southern California produce and
cuisine. She started working for Brian
Dunsmoor in 2014 and opened Hatchet
Hall as a pastry chef in 2015, where she
was nominated for the Zagat 30 Under 30.
She remained there until 2018, when she
moved to Little Rock.