Milwaukee Specialty Food and Coffee

May 15, 2013

For our society. "Where do we go from here" is a more valid question than ever. I remain convinced that the North American society we know is a brilliant venture of history. I have deep faith in the goodness of its people, though they are a people too often led astray--perhaps precisely because they are so good and trusting. The way forward is not always clear when there is so much, when everybody has so much stuff and it is all the same. The answer might be something fairly unexciting and unmarketable as data-driven common sense. A return to common sense would dictate that most people ought to have a basic car, at least for some purposes, and that a person ought to have enough supplies in the refrigerator to make a sandwich. And some money in the bank. The data-driven part is what gets us there if, like me, we do not always meet these standards.

Here's to You

In times that are tough for so many, it's sometimes hard for me to feel good. It occurred to me that maybe I should stop trying so hard to feel good and be content with feeling equipped. Equipped to care, equipped to listen, equipped to lend a helping hand. Like so many people, I feel overwhelmed by the flood of bad national and world news on top of a busy life and feel helpless to prevent painful personal stories around me. I don't feel in any way special enough to have anything to contribute by simply being me. Yet so often, that is exactly what is needed most. Good people need to come out of the woodwork and fully inhabit their roles as workers, friends and contributors to the global conversation.

An elementary school teacher once wrote in capital letters on my report card: "Mike's progress has been tremendous!" And it's hard to imagine a more precious gift. I recently had to look him up on Facebook in order to thank him. Here's to you, indeed! At age 40, I feel like efforts to progress are more necessary than ever. During hard economic times, it's easy for the national conversation in venues like Facebook to turn into snipping and indeed sniping. There is so little gratitude for the tough voices in our lives and indeed for the tough events in our lives. I feel that the toughest voices in mine have been some of the most valuable.

I was a fat kid, and gym class was always my least favorite. Gym teachers weren't looking for much from me in the way of athletic prowess, but were certainly looking at how I responded to my lack of physical achievement. Would I simply give up, or would I take the opportunity to turn a terrible time on a distance run into a not-so-terrible one? Such challenges are encountered again and again throughout our lives, though perhaps for a smaller audience. Few of us are the super-popular kid or the fastest runner. But being the most improved is often within our reach.

Our society of entitlement and consumerism conditions us to view everyone as a little Santa Claus. We expect society to be the lever that will give us much for comparatively little effort. I'm not saying that all of our problems would be solved by doing the opposite, but will say that doing basically the opposite has worked for me, and continues to. We need to be more willing to accept that a life of subtle recognition and reward means that we are doing something deeply right. We need to accept that close observers will offer pointed comments and not always what we want to hear.

At the Specialty Coffee Movies

Recently, I was saddened to learn of the death of Roger Ebert, who really needs no further introduction except perhaps for international web surfers. It occurred to me to wonder what it would be like if the US-based specialty coffee industry--particularly smaller roasters and cafes--framed its arguments as the plot of a movie. What would Ebert's review have been? What would mine be?

As you have probably noticed, I have mostly been resistant to the effects of the Kool-Aid that dictates that local coffee providers are, without reservation, better. I'm basically at the point where I don't care if I ever go to another Alterra, at least for a good long time. My spontaneous reaction to announcements of brew bar cafes and similar concepts is a yawn. It's clear that specialty coffee is a mature trend. Frozen yogurt shops have taken over the mantle of storefronts that pop up like zits on a teenager's face (or, you know, mine).

Frankly, the appeal of reclaimed wood tables and such is a little lost on me. I guess I've had a pretty decent run of non-overprivilege, to the point where I don't feel the need to compensate or atone for anything on a financial level. I'm not drawing some fat-ass pension or coasting on tenured status. I work pretty damn hard for my money. I don't mind if the furnishings in places I go are comfortable or even lavish; in fact, I prefer them that way.

Like others, I find that the level of hype and rhetoric in the specialty coffee world has lost its tie to reality. That perception is grounded in the knowledge that Milwaukee is hardly an affluent market in the way that Chicagoland or Arizona's Valley of the Sun is. There isn't the well-to-do consumer base in the Milwaukee area to underwrite anything exciting or stellar. That's a constraint, but not a fatal one. I was perfectly fine with enjoying Alterra's products on an A-/B+ level as long as the service was reasonable. I suppose I've now been pushed beyond my limit of tolerance in that respect.

Open Letter to Alterra

Dear Alterra,

Today, I'd like to talk about some things you can do to enhance and improve your business. I believe that there are three readily achievable goals that are well within your reach to accomplish:

• Improving your supply chain
• Hiring and training workers who display a sense of accountability and ownership
• Keeping me as a customer

It's been such a joy to watch Alterra's original Bayshore location grow and prosper over the last twenty years. When I was a teenager, it would have been difficult to imagine the mall being conducive to people-watching. Of course, much of the original mall has since been leveled, having been replaced by a new, pedestrian-friendly shopping center with outdoor dining and other quality-of-life amenities.

Regrettably, I feel that in several years of being a more or less weekly customer at your new Bayshore location, operational issues have developed that prevent me from being a satisfied one. For years, during almost every visit, I have overheard employees shouting "86" to indicate that some item or another had run out. Every couple of months, I find myself having an occasion to sample one of the hot food items. Almost without exception, my first choice is not available. If the entree is available, for example, my preferred side item is not.

Most people understand the volatile nature of the food service industry and that from time to time, a store will run out of things. When the problem becomes consistent, however, it is time to think about re-engineering your menu and, indeed, your back-of-house operations. The present menu is relatively simple and most food items are simply reheated in a rapid-cook oven, as is the case at comparable businesses.  At your neighbor The Cheesecake Factory, diners can choose from a vast menu, and in my experience the restaurant has never run out of anything. The value for money is far greater than at your cafes--an observation that is awkward for me as a friend of progressive and liberal-minded causes. We're admonished to buy and eat local, and there is peer pressure in social networks to do so.

However, I believe that Alterra could easily master this situation by assigning an employee to overhaul supply chain issues. I don't know of any candidates to put forward, but in today's labor market, a qualified person could probably be found at a bargain rate. It could be as simple as posting a notice in the cafes. The appointment or new hire could then be announced in social media networks to pro-actively reassure customers that Alterra is taking steps to improve service.

More to the point, Alterra highlights its committment to buying local ingredients. Regular stockouts are hard to understand as anything other than purchase orders that were not placed or were not large enough. Making adequate purchases to ensure item availability would add weight and credibility to Alterra's claim and enhance its positioning.

Specifically, today I had ordered a smoked salmon sandwich, and took the extra step of asking first to ensure that it was still available. After I had paid and taken my seat, I heard one employee tell another that they were out of salmon. I was then given the option of changing my order without being offered a refund of the difference or given anything extra. Incidentally, I had also ordered a medium cappuccino and was given a small one, which likewise has happened on several occasions. There was no apology or effort to compensate me for my inconvenience.

The portion of food and drink was not satisfactory for an eleven-dollar ticket total. My ability to pay is of no relevance. After all, the Bayshore location is not in some emerging neighborhood, but in a suburb that offers a multitude of food and drink choices in every economic environment. Many have come and gone over the 40 years I've been around, including many solid companies that just weren't a good fit for the neighborhood.

The local businesses that demonstrably are a good fit for the neighborhood, such as Sendik's Food Market, have longtime employees whose minds and feet are on the shop floor. One Sendik's employee in particular seems to have been there every time I've visited--noon or night--for almost fifteen years. To ensure its long-term growth at Bayshore, Alterra should take the initiative to rise to the occasion and do something special at that location. It would seem a shame to simply continue along at the current level of performance.

This is candid advice offered freely, but I believe it is of high value. I have had outstanding experiences at Alterra in the past, for which I am most grateful. My continuing as a customer will depend on Alterra's addressing these issues.

Best regards,

Mike Miller

 

What's On My Mind

In the coming days, months and years, you will see a subtle shift in the focus of this blog. Now that I have turned 40, life feels different. In a good way, I assure you--but not necessarily a way that is compatible with a focus on coffee blogging. I have decidedly mixed feelings about some of the memes that have come up in middle-class society lately: Starbucks and cheap beer are evil, coffee needs to be brewed in some impossibly slow fashion in order to be enjoyed properly, and so on. No doubt, all of those memes are voiced on this blog, sometimes repeatedly, sometimes vociferously.

I believe that all of these arguments pale in comparison to the challenges that are facing this country and the Western world today. Though it's exciting to live in a time when the Western world is redefining itself, in my opinion, the discussion isn't being framed correctly. I believe that the weaknesses of the technocratic solutions we have lived by for the last half-century are evident in such seemingly random places as the (mostly beneficial, to be sure) freeway system. In this country, technocratic solutions have usually been means to the end of economic growth at seemingly any cost. Too often, perhaps, that cost has been to the human mind, soul and spirit.

The Wau-Waus

Today, I spent much of the day prospecting new locations for me to live in my 40-year-old state. I've long imagined that there would be a day when all of my actions would have to be examined to see whether they are aligned with my major life goals, chief among them getting married and having children. I sense that day has arrived. I've decided that to maximize my chances of accomplishing that particular goal, I need to move somewhere between Wauwatosa and Waukesha.

Saying "hello" to such new opportunities in life might mean saying "goodbye" to cherished habits, thoughts, even ideologies. My preference for urbanity may have to be balanced against the search for a place likely to have people with a similar mindset. I may well have to accept a lifestyle that includes more driving, for instance.

Herbert Grönemeyer in Chicago

Saturday night, I had the pleasure of attending the Herbert Grönemeyer concert at the historic Chicago Theater. Unfortunately, the concert was only relatively sparsely attended. The 3,600-capacity theater had probably less than a thousand concertgoers. I had really expected the show to sell out or nearly so. After all, this was Grönemeyer's first North American concert. On a Saturday night, fans from all over North America and indeed the world could conveniently reach the major transportation hub of Chicago. The other North American date, in New York, has been moved from the similarly sized Beacon Theater to the 1,025-capacity Irving Plaza.

A poorly-attended Grönemeyer concert isn't a portent of cultural doom, but I find it rather sad nonetheless. The two old-line economic hubs are still major players in international trade and the home of countless multinational corportations. It's too bad that prosperity and affluence apparently do not tend to make people curious or aware of life in other countries.

Ain't Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll

Now that I only have a week to go until I turn 40, the world sometimes looks a little different. Decisions--if only minor ones--that would have seemed less clear earlier in life now seen clear-cut. For instance, I happened randomly to see that Styx is playing in Green Bay in mid-May. The only problem is that they are in a package tour with Ted Nugent. Several years ago, I might not have let Nugent's presence on the bill stop me, but given the events of the last six months or so, I can't possibly bring myself to even be in the same place as Nugent.

Another aspect of life that I don't think will survive into my forties is any attraction to the idea of Internet celebrity. I would gladly trade my 450+ Twitter followers for a smaller group of real friends--but to say that glibly would be to deny the course of action available to me, which is to try to turn those online followers into true friends.

Buy Coffee from the Little Guys - And the Big Guys Too

As a political liberal, I dearly want to jump on the "shop local" bandwagon. Yet I find that the arguments just aren't there or, at best, fall short. Here is my collection of random thoughts on the subject:

1) Milwaukee consumers have been relieved by large chains entering the grocery market. After Kohl's closing, Roundy's was left at the major player, and it is arguably not the most consumer-friendly option.

2) Chains come up with devious tax dodges, but this may be compensated for by their greater longevity as taxpayers. The chains--large and small, local and less local--have been around for most of my life in the area where I've spent most of my life: the North Shore, East Side and Downtown. Countless boutique businesses have come and gone there in my 39 (almost 40) years. That being said, most chain stores do seem to end up outliving their deserved life span by 15 or 20 years...but that may only strengthen my point.

3) For whatever reason, huge growth areas like Franklin seem to be considered "flyover country" by independent coffee shops. Or maybe there is simply a no-fault incompatibility. But I'm surprised that, say, Alterra hasn't taken some of that loose change clanging around in its pockets and built in Franklin yet.

I was driving around Franklin on Sunday and was amazed--though not necessarily surprised--by the growth. When a storefront on the North Shore or East Side becomes vacant, it stays that way FOREVAR. The dynamic growth in Frankin means construction jobs, for example. Police and firefighters hired...

4) Chain businesses pay--directly or through landlords--what must be the lion's share of property taxes. To put it bluntly, if chain businesses are funding the emergency services that would scrape my sorry ass off the pavement if I had an accident, I'm not too cool to praise them on the Internet. So I will, where appropriate and deserved. And, maybe, sometimes just for shits and giggles.

City of Blessing

I spent some of Sunday driving around Milwaukee and the area, including some areas on the far South Side and Franklin that I had not visited for a long time. Saturday, I'd been in Cedarburg and had a fun time driving back on some less-traveled roads. This weekend, this city and the surrounding area have nourished, inspired and indeed blessed me. That includes locales that are not trumpeted in promotion on Facebook, Twitter or other blogs. A standing-room-only Catholic Church Saturday afternoon...a packed Wauwatosa Starbucks on Sunday afternoon. A reasonably well-attended 6 p.m. Mass at Gesu on Sunday.

I deem a successful place to be one that makes you feel good about being a human being. Milwaukee was that for me this weekend--and I don't feel like I need to think about anything else right now.