We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Alyxandria Schroeder. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Alyxandria below.

Hi Alyxandria, thanks for joining us today. Any thoughts about whether to ask friends and family to support your business. What’s okay in your view?

Friends and family have always been a vital part of making our space what it is. The biggest compliment I have received as a business owner is that when people walk into the shop they feel warm and welcome and a part of it all – and that’s always been my goal. Initially friends and family would come in and show their support and hang out at the bar – then strangers would join in conversation and before long they would be friends hanging out at the bar too. It’s really special and feels very gratifying to be a space where people feel at home.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers

My name is Alyx and I’m the owner of Morning Ritual – a coffee bar located on the West Side of Grand Rapids. I got into the coffee scene by working various coffee jobs and loving the energy of the profession and the customer connections I got to make. Drink making has always been a creative outlet for me and I get to go wild with that making our drink specials, which is always a lot of fun. We specialize in floral and herbal flavors, glitter infused drinks and we’re always looking to wow you with how the drink is presented and tastes. The thing I am most proud of is our Stargazer Society series – each astrological season we launch a drink that symbolizes the sign and an art print by my friend and local artist Kelsey of Best Wishes. We have a punch card that goes along with it and at the end of the astrological year if you’ve filled your card, you get a free prize. The drinks have challenged me to really go beyond normal specials, I get to work with one of my best friends – and most importantly I get to see customers get excited about what the next drink will be. I’m also very proud to be a space that feels homey to anyone who walks through our doors!

Do you have any insights you can share related to maintaining high team morale?

My best advice would be to treat your employees like you would want to be treated. Be fair and understanding and cultivate an environment where everyone feels like their voice is heard.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

Have fun and don’t take it too seriously! Just be yourself and try to remember not every post has to be a sales pitch. I think our following happened naturally just by connecting with our customers in person. We do a lot of pop ups with other local businesses as well and then their followers sometimes become ours and just builds up the local community connection. Social media is great and all but connecting with real life people is the most important.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.morningritualgr.com
• Instagram: @morningritual_coffeebar
• Facebook: Morning Ritual