In 2009, my husband, Todd, and I opened The French Press with no money and no staff. We borrowed equipment from our friends in Santa Cruz and $5,000 from my grandma and worked 16 hours a day for the first two years to keep what seemed like a Hail Mary alive and become an institution here in Santa Barbara. We opened our roastery and second store with a small business loan that we are still paying off. I like to set the stage because if you just moved here in the past five years, maybe you see The French Press differently, but I think it is important to know that every single day we all work incredibly hard to keep our small business alive.
My parents both grew up here, and my brother and I are both raising families here in Santa Barbara, and I am deeply committed to our hometown being a steward of progress: environmentally, socially, and economically. Our mission for our business is to create careers in an industry that is traditionally seen as part-time and short-term. I’m proud of what we have done: We have many employees who have been with us since the beginning, and 25 percent of our staff is made up of folks who have worked for us for three-plus years.
How do we keep our business sustainable in the expensive landscape of Santa Barbara while pushing for growth for our employees? I struggle deeply with how capitalism puts profit above most everything, and I don’t think that as an “owner” I am somehow more deserving than all the folks who do the hard work daily.