Meet Melissa Locy | Owner of Flatiron Coffee

We had the good fortune of connecting with Melissa Locy and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Melissa, can you share the most important lesson you’ve learned over the course of your career?
I am a perfectionist and have been since I was young. You would think that this might help someone own a small, independent coffee shop, but the most important lesson my business has taught me is, actually, to let go. Of course, I take pride in all of the drinks I make, but figuring out that my effort has nothing to do with other people’s expectations was life-changing. What I want to create at Flatiron Coffee is an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome and they can get good, local products, but for years I wrestled with other people’s conceptions of what a coffee shop should be like. When I finally realized that my best was all I could give and that people would eventually recognize that, despite a small group of loud naysayers. By understanding that the only thing I could do was teach my employees how to navigate the crazy world of coffee with pride, quality, and a sense of joy, it was better than being ‘the best’ coffee shop in town.

What should our readers know about your business?
I always joke that this is still my first job; that I didn’t know you could switch jobs. When I was 17 in 2004, I got hired at a local chain of coffee shops and worked throughout high-school and college, switching locations and steadily working my way from employee, to night-shift lead, to manager, and eventually to owner. I bought Flatiron Coffee in 2012 and have enjoyed almost a decade of ownership. I come from a coffee culture that dates back to 1990, when that local chain of coffee shops started, so I like to think I have a traditional style that I mash up with new and up-and-coming trends. I pursue quality over everything else and the bottom line is I want to make you a delicious drink that you can’t find anywhere else. I have struggled being a young woman in a mostly male-dominated field. I have a friend who also owns a coffee shop and I’ll just say that no one is ever surprised when he says that he’s the owner. Whereas I receive anything from disbelief, to wonder, to anger. So, getting over those preconceived notions carries a lot of baggage that, I believe, makes it harder to do my job. But, as I teach my employees, you can’t meet everyone’s expectations, you can only do your best and be content that you worked hard and produced something of merit.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Since I pride myself on using only local products, I try to stay local when I go out to restaurants. In Longmont, there’s a wonderful cidery called St. Vrain Cidery that has over 30 different ciders on tap. Almost all are from Colorado and they make several of them themselves. I think it’s great that a business can focus on just one thing–cider–and do it so well. There’s also a new tiki bar in Longmont called Swaylos. Now, having been born and raised in a land-locked state, the idea of tiki bars always seemed to exotic and faraway, but Swaylos has delicious (and strong!) drinks and a menu to match. And in true local fashion, the Boulder County Farmer’s Market at the Boulder County Fairgrounds has a fantastic pupusa stand from La Familia Pupusas. I think I’ve been getting a pupusa every Saturday morning in the summer for the past four years and it hasn’t even gotten old.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I’m actually going to buck the trend and say that I deserve most of the success of my business. For too long, especially as a young woman (I bought the coffee shop when I was 24!), I was looking to imitate others and find inspiration outside of myself, but recently, I have figured out that I am excellent at my job, that I lead others well, and that I can manage this insane thing called entrepreneurship by myself. For women, we are often told we need to be polite, not to take up space, to be strong but silent. That’s not how I want to life my life, nor is it how I want to run my business. So, as self-centered as it may sound, I am going to shoutout myself for finally recognizing that I am hard-working and successful.

Website: www.flatironcoffee.com

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Twitter: https://twitter.com/flatironcoffee

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FlatironCoffee/