Working for Pete Berres I’ve come to learn quickly that ideas will pop into his head, and he will run with them. Literally. Running shoes should have been under the “required” field on the job listing for this position. He certainly knows how to keep his team on their toes. He has been called the Willy Wonka of the coffee industry, and I must concur that is indeed an accurate comparison. The production floor, that we’ve nicknamed the Flavor Factory, is always in a state of organized chaos, crafting the fun, delicious coffees our fans have come to love and crave from us.
The Best Production Team Ever! I’m obviously totally biased when saying that, but it IS totally true! It is incredible what our close-knit team can accomplish here on the production floor every day! The saying goes that ‘Sales drives Production’, but let’s be honest, if the production team isn’t top-notch (like we certainly are), Sales is gonna be up a creek without a paddle. You’re welcome Sales department! *Cheerfully waves*
And now this is where my role with the team gets fun; so, my official title here is Lead Packager, meaning I am responsible for making sure our packaging department runs smoothly (that’s kinda the part where I cross my fingers and hope for the best). However, I also have a new side-gig— this blog: Spilling the Beans, where I will be giving you a behind the scenes look at what really happens here at our small-town roastery.
I wanted to be a part of the Berres team because being born and raised in Watertown, WI, Berres Brothers is more than just a household name around here. I mean, if you live in Watertown and don’t drink Berres Brothers’ coffee yourself, I guarantee you that you have at least 10 friends on Facebook that probably do! And we’re talking about coffee here, which the people of the world love...job security, anyone?
Just the other day I asked Pete what he was most proud of with Berres Brothers since we are getting ready to celebrate 30 years of business. He thought about it for a minute and then replied, “I am proud of the fact that we started 30 years ago as an unknown in a small town and have turned our brand into a Midwest Regional Coffee Roaster with dedicated employees from Watertown, WI.” He’s quite well-versed, isn’t he? But that right there honestly sums up the whole feel of Berres Brothers as a company and team. We are small town- heck, we still use pen and paper on inventory days, but we have come a long way in 30 years. What started as a small(er) operation on Western Ave in Watertown back in 1992 has led to now having a “global headquarters” on Air Park Dr. Still waiting on that private jet though… I mean honestly, how can we have a global headquarters and not have a private jet, Pete?! We do get catered lunches from time to time though, so there’s that.
15 years ago, we broke our existing company record and roasted over one million pounds of beans! Makes me curious to find out how many we’ll roast this year! Our former Master Roaster, John Johnson, who trained our current Roaster, Mary Pernat, placed 4th and 3rd respectively in the Specialty Coffee Association of America’s annual Roaster’s Choice competition in 2008 and 2009. That tells you how great our coffee is, not only do we utilize high quality green beans for our many roasts, but we also have people who truly love the effort that goes into roasting— making sure we present our customers with the best coffee we can offer them!
We are so excited to continue to celebrate this milestone and can’t wait to have you, our incredible fans, join in on all the fun we plan to have!
So be sure to watch our Facebook page, and sign up for our emails, so you don't miss out on any of the awesome ways we are going to continue to embrace turning 30 years old this August!
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