Compass Coffee Explained

Compass Coffee
Founded:
Shaw, Washington, D.C., United States
Founder:Michael Haft
Hq Location:Washington, D.C., United States
Type:Private
Industry:Coffee roaster
Num Employees:190[1]
Num Employees Year:2020

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], the company has 18 stores.[6]

History

The company was founded by Michael Haft in 2014.[7] Following the Shaw neighborhood store, a second store was opened in the same neighborhood in September 2015.[8] Over the next few years, other stores were opened in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia.[9] [10] The first drive-through store was opened in October 2022.[11]

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.[12] 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.[13]

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.[14] Compass supplies the bakery with coffee, and Michael Haft serves as a guest speaker with each cohort.[15] [16] Compass has also formed a 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.[17] Compass has been supplying The Corp since 2015.

The Washington Post and Compass Coffee collaborated on "The Post Roast", a coffee blend celebrating The 7, the Post’s newsletter and podcast, reaching over a million subscribers and being recognized as Apple's top series of 2022.[18]

Impact of COVID-19

In March 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Compass laid off 150 of its 189 employees.[19] The remaining 39 staff members had their pay cut to $15 per hour, and 20 of them were tasked with working on the construction of a new roasting facility. The company also eliminated the option for customers to tip when paying by credit card, which decreased worker wages. Compass received over $9.9 million in government assistance during this time.[20] [21]

Controversies

In May 2024, workers at seven Compass locations announced their intent to unionize with Workers United. In June 2024, Compass Coffee United accused the company of hiring 124 additional people, including Liz Brown, a lobbyist for Uber, and Cullen Gilchrist, the CEO and co-founder of Union Kitchen, and of manipulating schedules retroactively to make it appear as though the newly hired employees were eligible to vote in the union election. In response, US Senator Bernie Sanders publicly criticized the company on X (formerly Twitter), labeling the company's actions "totally absurd & disgusting" and calling on the company to "end its union busting."[22]

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Thibodeau . Patrick . May 19, 2020 . Compass Coffee's post-pandemic plan starts with bulk hiring TechTarget . 2023-09-22 . HR Software . en.
  2. Web site: Bryman . Howard . 2020-09-24 . Compass Coffee Offering Pay to Staff Volunteering at Polling Places . 2023-09-22 . Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine . en.
  3. News: Judkis. Maura. From the Ground Up: Legacy and legwork. The Washington Post. September 17, 2014.
  4. News: Ravindranath. Mohana. At Compass Coffee, data is the secret ingredient. The Washington Post. December 28, 2014.
  5. Web site: Compass Coffee. compasscoffee.com. May 18, 2020.
  6. News: Sainato . Michael . 2024-06-24 . DC coffee chain lists CEOs and Uber lobbyist as baristas to halt union drive . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240624121147/https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/article/2024/jun/24/compass-coffee-union-election-uber-lobbyist . 2024-06-24 . 2024-06-25 . . 0261-3077.
  7. Web site: Gabby . Deutch . 2021-03-17 . The Jewish Marine behind a proud D.C. coffee institution . 2022-03-14 . Jewish Insider . en-US.
  8. Web site: Compass Coffee's Second Location Is Now Open. Meredith. Bethune. November 3, 2015. Eater DC.
  9. News: Starbucks is all over downtown Washington. These coffee shops are much better.. Tim. Carman. April 5, 2017. The Washington Post.
  10. Web site: 2020-01-22. Compass Coffee Set to Open New Location in Ballston Next Month. 2020-10-04. ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. en.
  11. Web site: 2022-10-27 . Compass Coffee's first drive-thru location is now open on Langston Blvd ARLnow.com . 2023-09-22 . ARLnow.com . en.
  12. Web site: November 10, 2017. DC Chamber Recognizes Compass Coffee. MidCity DC News.
  13. Web site: Mayor Bowser's 2017 State of the District Address mayormb . 2020-07-17 . mayor.dc.gov.
  14. News: Jenkins . Mark . 2015-01-14 . D.C.'s Dog Tag Bakery helps disabled veterans learn to run a business . . 2023-11-08.
  15. Web site: Muto . Jordan . 2018-04-15 . This bakery is changing the lives of military veterans in a unique way . 2023-11-08 . TODAY.com . en.
  16. Web site: 2015-03-13 . Veterans Learn Business Skills at DC's Dog Tag Bakery . 2023-11-08 . Hiring Our Heroes . en-US.
  17. Web site: Smith . Daniel . 2015-01-30 . Corp Rolls Out New Coffee . 2023-11-08 . The Hoya . en-US.
  18. Web site: 2023-09-19 . The Washington Post and Compass Coffee brew "The Post Roast" . 2023-11-08 . Capitol Communicator . en-US.
  19. Web site: Williams . Elliot C. . Lefrak . Mikaela . 2020-03-17 . Coronavirus Is Causing Industry-Wide Layoffs In D.C., Hitting Service Workers Particularly Hard . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20210313081515/https://dcist.com/story/20/03/17/coronavirus-is-causing-industry-wide-layoffs-in-d-c-hitting-service-workers-particularly-hard/ . March 13, 2021 . 2021-10-08 . . en.
  20. Web site: Kurzius . Rachel . 2021-11-07 . Here's What Happened After Compass Coffee Eliminated Tips . live . https://web.archive.org/web/20240226140807/https://wamu.org/story/21/10/07/compass-coffee-tips/ . 2024-02-26 . 2021-10-08 . . en.
  21. Web site: Berg. Nate. 2021-07-09. Why this coffee shop turned its baristas into construction workers during COVID-19. 2021-12-09. Fast Company. en-US.
  22. 1804505866567115242 . BernieSanders . Claiming that a lobbyist from Uber & CEOs from other companies are workers in order to rig a union election is totally absurd & disgusting. I strongly support Compass Workers and call on Compass Coffee DC to respect the rights of their workers to organize & end its union busting. . Bernie Sanders . June 22, 2024 . June 24, 2024.

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