We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Greg Dorr a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Greg thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Alright, so you had your idea and then what happened? Can you walk us through the story of how you went from just an idea to executing on the idea

The founders of Fulton Yards knew nothing about coffee when we set out to open our coffeehouse. It was October 2020, in the midst of the pandemic and two couples and long-time friends, Greg and Katie Dorr and Gregg and Linda Berry, decided that after watching so many younger entrepreneurs launch new endeavors, it was time for us “fiftysomethings” to join the crew. We knew banking and marketing and teaching and insurance and the airlines….but alas….not a thing about coffee. So, naturally, we created Fulton Yards Coffeehouse and Spirits with the single goal of creating something new that is firmly rooted in the history and legacy of industrious workers who came before us in the East End neighborhood where the Dorrs lived. We chose to build a business and a brand, from scratch, as opposed to franchising, because the land where we’re situated was originally home to a community of people who built everything from the ground up. The shipyards of Cincinnati’s East End on Riverside Drive. It was harder to create our vision this way, but it allowed us to make sure that every touchpoint had purpose and was intentionally chosen. We set out to create an experience for our guests, not just a retail stop for morning caffeine. After finding the perfect space in an 1891 brick house a block from the Ohio River, we aligned ourselves with the most amazing roasting partners who had been blazing new trails in Cincinnati and across the region for many years. With Urbana Café, we made new friends, forged a strong partnership and arrived at what we believe is a first-rate, third wave coffee program. We then sought out other partners who were committed to offering high quality, artisanal fare and libations in their own outlets and would allow us to share their quality wares with our guests.

Our dream involved opening a welcoming space that celebrates art, music and culture going beyond food and beverage. Programming entertainment, supporting neighborhood passion projects, convening friends and neighbors to talk about books and films, promoting and supporting regional artists…..we wanted all of this to converge in the space we set out to create to share with one and all. As we said, Fulton Yards lives to fuel the creative spirit.

But building a business takes more than having a vision. From its founding in 1826, the East End (called Fulton in the late 1800s) lumber yards and sawmills fed the shipyards. And 25% of all the steamships commanding the Ohio and Mississippi Rivers at that time were built on the stretch of land where our coffeehouse was to call home. Even though the vibrant neighborhood was born to build, in the midst of a pandemic with supply chain issues, worker shortages and permit and variance challenges, an 1800s steamboat was built faster than our space.

We started by painting the building a vibrant blue to show that something was indeed going to take place. We used the time spent waiting for permits and contractors to solidify our business plan, create our marketing assets and launch the longest “coming soon campaign” ever realized on social media. With delays and starts and stops, we hired people and paid them and then had to ask them to wait until we were ready to open. Believe it or not, this took the better part of a year. We returned to our “day jobs” and used our dining room as a warehouse for everything from espresso makers to menu boards. Soon, you couldn’t see across the dining room, but we never lost faith in what we set out to do.

In January 2022, construction was cleared to begin and we started to see small steps taking place every day. Exposed brick was unveiled, walls and counters were installed, hardwood floors laid. At last, the paint chips, granite, furniture and lighting fixtures selected and stored so long ago, were brought out of hiding and proudly installed. After a year and a half of waiting, we were finally in a time crunch! We had to start hiring again, train, get our amazing coffee roaster partner, Urbana Cafe, back on board and ready to provide us with our most critical ingredient. We had to set our bar menu and try to establish relationships with our distributors – who legally can’t do a thing until your liquor permit is firmly in hand. Our goal was to be open the first Sunday in May 2022 when thousands of marathoners would stream past our front door at Mile 24 of the Flying Pig Marathon. That didn’t happen. We did, however, set up a cheer station and pass out complimentary cold brew (brewed in our home kitchen). We wanted people to know that our finish line was in sight as well.

Two weeks later, we were all ready from a contractor standpoint. The cascading approvals from the City, Health Commissioner and lastly Liquor Control came one after another and we were cleared to open. On Friday, June 10 we opened for Friends and Family with a coffee and cocktail reception Open House and officially opened our doors to the community on Saturday, June 11, 2022. Almost two years after deciding to create our own business from scratch.

Now, Fulton Yards Coffeehouse and Spirits is proud to take its place in a locale entrenched in history, hard work and a drive for progress and purpose. We are devoted to honoring the collective aspirations of our founding settlers while celebrating the individual inspirations of our present-day guests.
Here, all are welcomed where art is shared, music experienced, conversations convened, local fare savored and the finest coffee, teas, wines and spirits freely poured. Where once the dreams of skilled laborers, mechanics and artisans forged a progressive new world, Fulton Yards Coffeehouse and Spirits invites all who embark to construct the exceptional, ignite ingenuity, propel personal principles and accelerate towards ambitious harbors……
……full steam ahead.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

I am a career marketer. Since graduating from the University of Dayton in 1986, I have worked in advertising and marketing. I started as a copywriter for several Cincinnati ad agencies creating print, radio and TV campaigns for everything from Pampers to Skyline Chili. In 1994, I decided to jump to the corporate side and started working for one of my clients, First National Bank of Cincinnati. The Bank eventually grew into the 5th largest bank in America, U.S. Bank, and I grew into a role as SVP, Director Consumer and Small Business Marketing. After 22 years, I moved back to a local agency. Only this time, it wasn’t traditional advertising, it was experiential marketing. I had done some work with AGAR, a Cincinnati-based experiential shop known for creating in-person, memorable connections for brands (including BLINK, the nation’s largest light, projection mapping and art festival). The pandemic, and the fact that my wife and I were truly empty-nesters following the Covid-era wedding of our daughter, led to the difficult but “if not now, when” decision to leave and start our own business together. If it weren’t for the branding experience I gained through the Bank and the experiential and entrepreneurial experience I received at AGAR, I never would have been able to make the jump I did at the young age of 57.

Building a business is first building a brand. Create the space and find the audience and with hard work and long hours you just might find that your back of the napkin idea is now actually open for lattes and espresso martinis.

How do you keep your team’s morale high?

I have had the honor of managing teams at independent ad agencies, large corporations and now my own small business. I can honestly say that I have used the same management style and approach at each business. I treat people the way I expect to be treated and I make it very clear that I am here to teach as well as to learn. You can’t demand respect. You have to earn it. But you also have to bring leadership to the table, and when final decisions have to be made, everything can’t be a consensus or group think. I have always tried to look for varying viewpoints and to reach out to the team member who isn’t talking to see what they might have to add. Sometimes they truly don’t think their voice is being heard, sometimes they are not comfortable talking in group settings, sometimes louder voices get hear first and sometimes quiet people are contemplating amazing ideas and solutions. Interacting with ALL team members, giving them space to share and create and making sure that respect for each other is always present. Having uncomfortable conversations is also key to managing a successful team. If you “let things go” you’re not helping the team or the company. Addressing difficult challenges head on isn’t easy – but it shows the individual you address and the whole team that you care and you want to lead everyone to the same positive outcome.

It comes down to listening and respecting every voice – being comfortable being uncomfortable when needed, leading by example, thanking team members who go above and beyond and caring about people not just process – I’ve learned that when I do these things, successful business outcomes invariably will follow.

Any insights you can share with us about how you built up your social media presence?

My career in advertising saw the landscape change from mass media (radio, television, out of home and print) to digital ads complementing the mass media to now a much more 1:1 approach where brands connect with consumers where they live, on their terms. Events and hyper-local promotion have always been a key driver of customer engagement. Too often, big brands relegated these to the back burner and they were often the first initiatives to be cut. Today, experiential and event-based marketing and sponsorship is one of most significant line items in a marketing budget. What big businesses are learning, small businesses knew out of necessity. Small businesses don’t have the luxury to waste marketing dollars on print or radio that might reach consumers outside of their target audience or geographic base. Creating events and meaningful content that will appeal to your audience and share with theirs, will help drive your social audience and your revenue.

Since opening we have programmed our space with a wide selection of events that attract a variety of guests. We promote the events on our social media channels and encourage our followers to share and engage with us. We partner with The Bookery, a local independent bookshop down the street for a monthly event we call “Books and Beans”. The owner highlights four books that have a unifying theme, we sell lattes that match the theme and we have the books for sale in our shop all month long. We promote on social media and feature the books on social throughout the month. It doesn’t matter how large attendance is as the platform reaches people online throughout the month.

In March we created a St. Patricks Day event encouraging guests to wear Irish garb and come visit the 7 participating bars and restaurants in our neighborhood. Everyone promoted the event on their social feeds, we had a costume contest that was Instagram based and we promoted individual specials with social media quizzes and posts leading up to the event. It ended up being our single biggest day of business since we opened, and we did it all through social media.

We also use social media to promote our seasonal latte and cocktail specials, introduce our team members, share out special hours and engage with quizzes and questions.

Biggest learnings:

1. Create and market experiences and events
2. Take compelling and original photos that don’t look like stock
3. Share a quiz to create engagement
4. Hold a contest that encourages sharing

Contact Info:

• Website: www.fulton-yards.com
• Instagram: @fultonyards
• Facebook: @fultonyards

Image Credits
Greg Dorr Katie Dorr Matt Stalf Beard and Bear Infotainment Web Developers