The Ledger
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La Colombe clashed with its first PE backer over canned cold brew
“We did the deal, and that lasted 52 days to the first board meeting.
I said, ok, I believe that cold brew is going to be a thing, and La Colombe needs to be the father of it.
We also need to create ready-to-drink drinks that include milk, and hopefully one, if…”
Philadelphia had no cafes when La Colombe scouted the city
“There were no cafes in the city. You know, it's a city of a million, some people, and there wasn't one cup of coffee.”
La Colombe built its original Philadelphia cafe entirely without municipal permits
“In fact, we built the cafe by our, like, with no permits. Like, I did all the wiring, all the plumbing. Like, we asked forgiveness rather than permission on pretty much anything.”
Chobani founder Hamdi Ulukaya bought out La Colombe's initial private equity backer
“In order for that to happen, you need to take out this VC.
And he said, great, let's meet him.
And we met him, and he did.
And they had no problem with it?
They were like, sure, we'll sell.
That's fine.
Yeah, they doubled their money in a couple months.”
Carmichael: 1990s Philadelphia had over a million residents but zero cafes
“So the two main beautiful, you know, roads in the city right now is Walnut and Chestnut. They were pretty much closed down. There were no cafes in the city. You know, it's a city of a million, some people, and there wasn't one cup of coffee.”
Carmichael: La Colombe's first cafe was built entirely without permits
“In fact, we built the cafe by our, like, with no permits. Like, I did all the wiring, all the plumbing. Like, we asked forgiveness rather than permission on pretty much anything.”
Carmichael: Traditional coffee supply chains can have 10+ layers of middlemen
“Because that chain of events that you described can sometimes be 10 or more deeper than that.”
Carmichael vented La Colombe's first roaster through a 20-story outdoor garbage chute
“I jackhammered a hole into a garbage chute that runs the outside of the building, and I think it's about 20 stories high. And I piped the, then cemented the piping into the garbage chute and told JP to fire it up.”
La Colombe priced wholesale coffee at mid-$7 against a $1.50 market standard
“When we arrived in Philly, coffee wholesale to restaurants was at about a dollar 50 a pound, and ours was the mid-sevens.”
La Colombe Draft Lattes are in nearly two-thirds of U.S. grocery stores
“I'd say, yeah, it's probably higher than that now. I'd say we're getting like two out of three. It's close.”
Carmichael: La Colombe priced wholesale coffee at mid-$7/lb versus $1.50 market rate
“When we arrived in Philly, coffee wholesale to restaurants was at about a dollar 50 a pound, and ours was the mid-sevens.”
Carmichael: La Colombe Draft Latte is in nearly two-thirds of US grocery stores
“I'd say, yeah, it's probably higher than that now. I'd say we're getting like two out of three. It's close.”
Carmichael: La Colombe founders cut their salaries to zero during COVID-19
“JP and I, we just, we cut our salaries to zero. We went to the executive crew, we cut everyone 50%.”
Starbucks rejected Todd Carmichael as a barista before he founded La Colombe
“What I really wanted to do, and this probably exposes the kid in me, but I wanted to be a barista. I wanted to be the cool kid, right? And Starbucks wouldn't let me do it. You know, come on, I mean, I was a flannel-wearing farm boy, you know, I cut my own hair…”