RESILIENCY FOR LOCAL BUSINESSES
Shelley and Jeff Akers of Bohemian Roastery: “When we began our wood-fire coffee business journey in 2017, little did we know what the future would store for us! We built a custom roaster and a sweet coffee shop in a new mobile trailer with a deck on the back. When the pandemic hit, we pivoted our business model to exclusively roasting and selling beans directly to our customers and markets around town. Thanks to our loyal, local community, the farmers markets were a godsend in 2020! Making the drastic decision to change our plans for our business truly saved us. We are so thankful for our strong customer base, and look forward to continuing to wood-fire roast small coffee batches long into the future.” Kristin Bergh of Compassion Kombucha: “When the initial blow of COVID hit, 25 generous supporters helped us ride the wave by signing up for essentially a kombucha CSA. By paying upfront, we were able to pay the bills and had fun delivering growlers to doorsteps each week! Once we were able to get our feet back under us, we knew we needed to pivot and took the leap of purchasing a bottling line to finally launch our product into 16oz bottles in the fall.” Randi Holm of Holm Made Toffee Co., LLC: “2020 brought a ‘back to basics’ approach and A LOT of change to survive: • Downsized kitchens to maximize rent/square footage • Increased visibility on social media, including a campaign featuring fellow small-businesses • Launched a new website focused on D2C • Created a safe curbside option for locals • Curated gift sets featuring other local businesses’ products • Renewed focus on community and fundraising Our tagline “Happiness, Plain and Simple” seems to be filled with more meaning than ever intended the past 12 months!”
8 | HDFFA | HIGH DESERT FOOD & FARM DIRECTORY 2021
