It's hard to believe that it's already been six years since Quills on Baxter Ave. opened its doors. Since then we've learned a lot about designing cafés and we have been scheming how we can improve the bar flow and customer service at our flagship location for some time now.
At Quills we're proponents of both automated and manual brewing for filter coffee. Our Fetco autodrippers deliver a consistent, delicious product that serves the large majority of our customers quickly and efficiently. But our finest coffees we normally reserve for manual brew methods. With manual brew methods the coffee is brewed to order in small batches. It also allows the barista to have complete control over each of the variables that affect extraction. We love how manual brew methods allow our customers to watch and participate in the ritual of coffee brewing.
While our New Albany and U of L locations have designated brew bars, Baxter Ave. has never had a proper place for pour overs. We're sure plenty of people have thought, "What exactly is that barista doing over there and why are they taking so long?" What we needed was a well designed space that allows our baristas to brew coffee efficiently while being able to interact with our customers. Enter Quills Baxter's new brew bar.
The clunky glass pastry case has been replaced by a wood and steel counter. We still have the same selection of locally made baked goods, but those have been moved to the top of the counter by the register. A built-in drain and pre-weighed doses allow the barista to shave several steps off the entire process. As always, all of the ingredients are weighed to ensure accuracy and quality.
Part of the redesign includes the launching of a new iPad based POS system. Without a clunky pastry case or cash register separating our customers from our baristas we hope to offer better hospitality and more exciting coffee experiences.
As a company we've never been more excited about our coffee offerings, and we're excited that our coffees are now taking center stage at our flagship store. More importantly, we think the store environment has never been more conducive to excellent hospitality.
We also have these new shelves, which highlight some of our favorite brewing devices. They're also just really cool. But don't take our word for it, come by Baxter Ave. and see it for yourself.
