Compass Coffee

Last updated

Compass Coffee
Company type Private
IndustryCoffee roaster
FoundedJuly 2014;9 years ago (July 2014)
Shaw, Washington, D.C., United States
FounderMichael Haft
Headquarters Washington, D.C., United States
Number of employees
190 [1]  (2020)
Website Official website

Compass Coffee is an American coffee roaster based in Washington, D.C. [2] It was founded in 2014 and operates in Washington, D.C. and Virginia. [3] [4] [5] As of March 2023, the company has 16 stores. [6] [7]

Contents

History

Store in Shaw, Washington, DC Compass Coffee Original Location.jpg
Store in Shaw, Washington, DC

The company was founded by Michael Haft in 2014. [8] Following the Shaw neighborhood store, a second store was opened in the same neighborhood in September 2015. [9] Over the next few years, other stores were opened in Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia. [10] [11] The first drive-through store was opened in October, 2022. [12]

On October 20, 2017, Compass Coffee founder Michael Haft received the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce's Community Impact Award at the 2017 Chamber's Choice Gala. [13] On March 31, 2017, Compass Coffee was featured in DC Mayor Muriel Bowser's State of the District Address for jump-starting the Made in DC movement and creating jobs in DC. [14]

Partnerships

Compass Coffee has partnered with Dog Tag Bakery, which offers a vocational program teaching disabled military veterans and their caregivers entrepreneurship skills to launch businesses. [15] Compass supplies the bakery with coffee, and Michael Haft serves as a guest speaker with each cohort. [16] [17] Compass has also formed partnership with The Corp at Georgetown University which is a student run organization that teaches students management and leadership shills through operating businesses on campus. [18] Compass has been supplying The Corp since 2015. [18] The Washington Post and Compass Coffee collaborated on "The Post Roast," a coffee blend celebrating The 7 newsletter and podcast, reaching over a million subscribers and recognized as Apple's top series of 2022. [19]

Impact of COVID-19

Due to the impact of COVID-19, Compass laid off 150 of its 189 employees in March 2020. [20] [21] [22] The remaining staff had their pay cut to $15 per hour, and about 20 of the staff assisted in the construction of a new roasting facility. [23]

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References

  1. Thibodeau, Patrick (May 19, 2020). "Compass Coffee's post-pandemic plan starts with bulk hiring | TechTarget". HR Software. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  2. Bryman, Howard (September 24, 2020). "Compass Coffee Offering Pay to Staff Volunteering at Polling Places". Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  3. Judkis, Maura (September 17, 2014). "From the Ground Up: Legacy and legwork". The Washington Post.
  4. Ravindranath, Mohana (December 28, 2014). "At Compass Coffee, data is the secret ingredient". The Washington Post.
  5. "Compass Coffee". compasscoffee.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  6. "Compass Coffee's first drive-thru is under construction along Langston Blvd | ARLnow.com". ARLnow.com. May 12, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  7. "Compass Coffee chooses West Falls Church for second drive-thru cafe". FFXnow. March 1, 2023. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  8. Deutch, Gabby (March 17, 2021). "The Jewish Marine behind a proud D.C. coffee institution". Jewish Insider. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  9. Bethune, Meredith (November 3, 2015). "Compass Coffee's Second Location Is Now Open". Eater DC.
  10. Carman, Tim (April 5, 2017). "Starbucks is all over downtown Washington. These coffee shops are much better". The Washington Post.
  11. "Compass Coffee Set to Open New Location in Ballston Next Month". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. January 22, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  12. "Compass Coffee's first drive-thru location is now open on Langston Blvd | ARLnow.com". ARLnow.com. October 27, 2022. Retrieved September 22, 2023.
  13. "DC Chamber Recognizes Compass Coffee". MidCity DC News. November 10, 2017.
  14. "Mayor Bowser's 2017 State of the District Address | mayormb". mayor.dc.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  15. Jenkins, Mark (January 14, 2015). "D.C.'s Dog Tag Bakery helps disabled veterans learn to run a business". The Washington Post . Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  16. Muto, Jordan (April 15, 2018). "This bakery is changing the lives of military veterans in a unique way". TODAY.com. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  17. "Veterans Learn Business Skills at DC's Dog Tag Bakery". Hiring Our Heroes. March 13, 2015. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  18. 1 2 Smith, Daniel (January 30, 2015). "Corp Rolls Out New Coffee". The Hoya. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  19. "The Washington Post and Compass Coffee brew "The Post Roast"". Capitol Communicator. September 19, 2023. Retrieved November 8, 2023.
  20. "Coronavirus Is Causing Industry-Wide Layoffs In D.C., Hitting Service Workers Particularly Hard". DCist. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  21. "Here's What Happened After Compass Coffee Eliminated Tips". WAMU. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  22. "Compass Coffee Combats COVID-19 with their "Simple Sanitizer"". www.uschamber.com. September 28, 2020. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  23. Berg, Nate (July 9, 2021). "Why this coffee shop turned its baristas into construction workers during COVID-19". Fast Company. Retrieved December 9, 2021.

Official website