Today we’d like to introduce you to Amy Kay Schramm.
Hi Amy Kay , thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
I started working at Roasted Rail Coffee House when I was 16. My mom told me to find somewhere I could get nice hours while going to high school and I thought, “well I love coffee so why not”! Through my years of high school, this job had so many ups, downs and fun memories in-between. When I got to my senior year of high school, a new manger took over and promoted me to a shift lead, to say I was excited was to say the least. After his first month he told the whole staff that he was going to hire or promote an assistant manager, depending on interest and qualifications! I was young compared to the other girls that were interested and not as experiences, but my dad told me you miss all the shots you don’t take, so I contacted him expressing interest in the promotion. After all the interviews, he took a chance of me and said he believed I could grow and become the manger. He became a mentor to me and taught me things about business that I would have struggled to understand otherwise. Over time I grew confidence in business; I am forever grateful for this business and all the opportunities I have been given; these experiences are what sparked my interest to pursue a career in business. I took over as the General manger one month into my first year of college! This job has been nothing short of challenging, interesting, and ultimately everything I have ever wanted for this time of my life! After taking over as the general manger, some new mentors stepped into my life, and I have grown to look up to them very much, they have recently stepped away from helping as often, but I still talk and meet with them frequently just as you would a friend!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
There have been many struggles for me on the way. When I was a manger during my senior year, it proved to be difficult balancing work, friends, and school. During that time, I lost quite a few friends and decided to prioritize being successful in school and business! I will admit it was a lonely road for a while, but I kept a positive attitude and make sure I was emotionally intelligent with the choices I made! Towards the end of high school and after graduating, I found a group of friends that I am still close with today! These people showed me that friendships didn’t have to be hard or taking time away from my business and academic priorities. Through being a manger, I have developed emotional intelligence, life skills, and so many other things. I have had to rebuild 70% of my staff and created a place they love to be at, even on their days off. I am proud to say that since I have taken over, I have worked alongside my staff to eliminate all drama and really create a welcoming environment for both them and our customers. This wasn’t always easy, and many days I questioned my choices or how I was doing things, but in the end, everything is now running fairly well, and customer traffic has even jumped dramatically!
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Through managing Roasted Rail Coffee House, I have been given the opportunity to have full creative freedom! This has been one of my favorite things because I have the opportunity to play around with the graphics on our menu and on our social media! Our social media has been one of my bigger focuses as time goes on and I really prioritize new ways to bring people in! I like to think we are known for our fun menu and Flights! At Roasted Rail, we provide something called a Flight, which is four 6oz drinks on a colorful board! This was created by a past manger, and I have really taken it and ran! We have a summer coffee flight that has a few fun drinks that you may not see other places. I love how I get to make them cute and include drinks that our equally as creative staff come up with! You can find the new monthly flight flavors updated on our socials such as Instagram and Facebook, as well as getting flash codes for discounts on them… if you catch it in time! Roasted Rail is set apart from others because of this and the positive store we have! Another thing you can catch any day of the year is our drive through window art! Our staff members and I focused on eye catching window art that includes our logo and drinks specials, just so they stick in your head longer! I am very proud of our atmosphere. We also have chalk outside for kids of even creative adults that wish to add fun quotes of pictures even before you even enter the store!
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
As a store we try to provide fun events and activities for our customers! When I took over as a manger I focused on bringing in other small businesses or bakers to host “Pop-ups” at our store! I feel that this helps not only them, but us too!
I really try to reach for that kid friendly aspect as well! We have games, a small table and chairs, chalk, and so many kids drinks to choose from!
I used to do foster care for a local dog shelter and since then have made us a very pet friendly store, with the stipulation that your pet is respectful and leashed! Making these changes was something that is very important to me since not everyone is pet friendly. I wanted just one more thing that could set us apart from other shops and be truly welcoming to everyone and all different types of families!
Pricing:
- Kids drinks are all under or around $6
- Dirty Alanis are offered for $8.75 in our large size
- Flights are between the ranges of $20-22 for 4 drinks!
Contact Info:
