Today we’d like to introduce you to Josiah Davie
Hi Josiah, can you start by introducing yourself? We’d love to learn more about how you got to where you are today?
Starting out as just a small pottery brand out of Josiah’s basement, the dream for something more had started to grow. Josiah and Justin have been friends for 10+ years and both carry a heart for caring for people and hospitality. Both have always dreamt of opening up a cafe, but the timing never felt right. One night in 2020 at a friends birthday party, Josiah went up to Justin & said… “Bro, do you want to open up a coffee shop with me?” You should have seen the look on Justin’s face in that moment. That was the moment when the two dreams became one dream.
Justin Bloom having 7+ years of specialty coffee experience under his belt brought a lot to the table when it comes to managing the coffee bar, training barista’s, and flow of things. Josiah Davie on the other hand brings artistic flavor with his pottery, branding, social media, and management experience.
Of course it has taken a bit of time to get to where they are now, but after that night was the start of a 3 year process for both Josiah and Justin. Starting out as a coffee cart, they did multiple events per week. Popping up at different vintage shops, public facing events, Art-A-Whirl, graduation parties, and more! Even had a 6 week residency at a distillery in Northeast Minneapolis called Norseman. But always working towards the goal of opening a cafe.
All while popping up, Josiah and Justin were on the hunt for a permanent location. After so many tours, so many questions, so many months and so many closed doors… one finally opened!
A local church, that was planning on moving into a larger building, had reached out to Josiah and Justin and told them about how they have always dreamed of having a coffee shop as a tenant in their new building. The building itself is a multi-tenant facility that houses a number of other tenants that include a child care facility open 5 days a week, professional suites available for rent, a basketball court and more! After a lot of consideration, Josiah and Justin said yes and the planning process began.
Fast forward 7 months, here we are! September 14th, 2024 was our grand opening and everything has felt like a dream ever since. It truly feels like we built a house and invited the entire neighborhood over for coffee.
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?
It has definitely been one of the biggest learning experiences we have ever had. We have been so blessed to have incredible people along side of us thorough out the journey, but anytime starting a new business from the ground up for the first time will be something to experience. Biggest thing that we’ve learned is.. hire people who are really good at what they do… as in book keeping, taxes, etc! It will save you a lot of time & mental space, thats for sure. Learn how to have good conflict resolution skills & learn how to have incredibly good communication skills. It will make or break it for you. Always have a heart full of patience & grace, its so important.
Appreciate you sharing that. What should we know about Happy Monday & Company?
Starting out as just a small pottery brand out of Josiah’s basement, the dream for something more had started to grow. Josiah and Justin have been friends for 10+ years and both carry a heart for caring for people and hospitality. Both have always dreamt of opening up a cafe, but the timing never felt right. One night in 2020 at a friends birthday party, Josiah went up to Justin & said… “Bro, do you want to open up a coffee shop with me?” You should have seen the look on Justin’s face in that moment. That was the moment when the two dreams became one dream.
Justin Bloom having 7+ years of specialty coffee experience under his belt brought a lot to the table when it comes to managing the coffee bar, training barista’s, and flow of things. Josiah Davie on the other hand brings artistic flavor with his pottery, branding, social media, and management experience.
Of course it has taken a bit of time to get to where they are now, but after that night was the start of a 3 year process for both Josiah and Justin. Starting out as a coffee cart, they did multiple events per week. Popping up at different vintage shops, public facing events, Art-A-Whirl, graduation parties, and more! Even had a 6 week residency at a distillery in Northeast Minneapolis called Norseman. But always working towards the goal of opening a cafe.
We have been open now for 6 months & it’s been absolutely a dream come true!
Not only do we serve some of the best coffee in the Minneapolis area & have a great selection of food items, but we also offer a wide variety of retail offerings as well. Such as products from local makers, retail bags of beans, T-shirts, hoodies & handmade ceramics made by Josiah.
Our hearts are to always love & welcome anyone who comes into our doors & we pride ourselves with the level of hospitality that our team brings. You can always trust that you will be greeted with a smile & amazing service when you’re at Happy Monday & Co.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
We cannot give thanks enough to all the friends & family that have & still are supporting us through this journey. Its truly overwhelming sometimes to take a moment to think about it all. Whether thats friends telling you you’re doing a good job, fellow business owners giving us advice, others giving their time & energy with projects / resources. It’s been absolutely amazing.
Contact Info:
- Website: happymonday.company
- Instagram: @happymonday.company
