Craig Alexander: Happy Monday Coffee Roasters

“I was median by opening a business when all of this hit.

“My [current] indiscriminate coffee business is called Happy Monday Coffee. We picked adult adequate business that we motionless to open adult a tiny café to paint Happy Monday. That’s all kind of adult in a atmosphere right now.

“I got into coffee initial as an investment, though we fast fell in adore with it. we favourite saying a feel-good of a exchange. In a lot of sales, we have a leader and a crook sometimes. And with coffee for me, there was dual winners: a coffee and a grin for a grin and dual dollars.

“That was what we fell in adore with. That total with fueling people’s day; kind of being that initial thing they come to before they go flog donkey wherever they’re during for a rest of a day. we like being partial of that.

“The [coronavirus pandemic] has kind of decimated a liberality business. The people reduce on a totem stick are totally out of a job, those are a people that we feel for.

“I still supply Hero [Coffee Bar], they’re one of my categorical customers, though each singular one of my business is possibly an bureau or a grill that is possibly tighten down or hardly using right now.

“We’re a tiny company. Business has slowed down, we’re spiteful badly from it. I’m operative tough during innovating and anticipating ways to still get a product to a customers.

“We haven’t had to let anyone go, though we’re severely reduced on hours. If it goes another month or dual months, everybody has a violation indicate financially. It’s all [a matter of] how prolonged we can last.

“They call each day: ‘Is there anything we can do?’ we can’t wait to get everybody behind on full force. Everyone’s being understanding, though again, there’s a violation indicate on all of this.

“I feel like a universe has solidified for a past 3 weeks to a month, so kind of what we need is if [property] taxation payments could solidify along [with that]. Any form of prolongation to make adult for a postponement in income everyone’s experiencing.

“I don’t possess any land in Illinois. And there’s a reason for that. I’m not an consultant on skill taxes though we know with how high [they are], I’m only not interested. we lease [my] spaces and we lease a place that we live, and we devise to not retire here.

“My tiny business has always been about freedom, a leisure to live my life and do a things that we wish to do; yield a good product of value to neighborhoods that need them.

“We fry a possess coffee and a prices are approachable, and we consider that’s because we’ve found success and a neighborhoods support us. Because we’re there for them.

“I’m selecting to pull through. We’re going to pull brazen and hopefully open [the new café], though this really changes things. We’re anticipating that we can get behind into business shortly and safely.

“I’m hopeful. I’m not panicking. we don’t know if it’s a American in me, though we only trust we’re going to figure out a approach to not let all of a businesses tighten down.”

Craig Alexander
Owner, Happy Monday Coffee Roasters
Founder, Hero Coffee Bar