Compass Coffee

Compass Coffee ("Compass") is an American coffee roaster and retailer based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2014 by Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez, both former Marines. The company currently has twelve existing locations in Washington, D.C. and Virginia, including one active roasting facility.[1][2][3] Compass serves hot and cold drinks, whole bean and ground coffee, espresso, latte, bagged and loose-leaf teas. Compass is in the process of constructing a roasting facility in the Ivy City neighborhood of Washington, D.C. to support its East Coast operations.[4]

Compass Coffee
TypePrivately held company
IndustryCoffee shop
FoundedJuly 2014 (July 2014)
Shaw, Washington, D.C., United States
FoundersMichael Haft
Harrison Suarez
Headquarters1535 7th Street NW, Washington, D.C., United States
ProductsCoffee, tea
SubsidiariesSimple Syrups, Simple Sanitizer, Crown Tea
Websitewww.compasscoffee.com

History
First Location of Compass Coffee in Shaw, Washington, DC

Haft and Suarez, both native Washingtonians, decided to start a company together following their return to the city after leaving active duty in the Marine Corps.[5]

After writing the book, Perfect Coffee at Home, they settled on starting a coffee roasting company. In Haft's basement, the two experimented with coffee-roasting apparatuses and finally opened their flagship café July 2014 in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington.[6] This location also houses the company's main roaster and production center as well as offices.[7]

Following the first location, Compass built another café in the same neighborhood, opening in September 2015.[8] Over the next few years, Compass would open 10 more locations with their most recent located in the Ballston Quarter of Arlington, Virginia.[9][10]

Compass supports local DC-based businesses by stocking their products in cafes. To do this, the company works closely with Union Kitchen, a food accelerator in DC, that helps them source DC-made food items for its cafés.[11]

Community Relations

Made In DC

Compass Coffee has deep ties with its Washington community. Compass played a role in jumpstarting the Made in DC movement in 2017, a non-profit with the purpose of building a stronger DC food ecosystem and creating jobs. [12][13] Made in DC is also involved in the partnership between Compass Coffee and Union Kitchen, allowing the promotion of DC-based companies in various ways.

Black Lives Matter 2020

In lieu of the Black Lives Matter protests of the summer of 2020, Compass came under fire for their relations with Washington DC natives, their Black customers, and their homeless customers. Former employees and customers took to social media to express their distaste for Compass's discriminatory behavior. The company posted a photo and surveillance video of a cafe that had been looted during the height of Black Lives Matter protests.[14] The captions of these posts claimed support for Black Lives Matter but not of perceived violent acts within the movement. According to several social media users, the company began deleting comments that criticized their actions on these posts.[15]

Compass deleted these posts and issued an public apology. Commenters continued to express their varying opinions about the company's actions. Some commenters explained their criticisms for the coffee shop: "I’m a regular at Compass on 7th in Shaw. I’ve been disappointed recently to notice you charge a dollar for ice, only allow bathrooms for patrons even during the protest, and will kick community members off of your benches outside,"[15] while others urged that the owners are not racist, but merely "surround themselves with other white men and women that look like them." Many customers also took the opportunity to support Compass in saying, "it sounds like you are an innocent victim," and reassuring their right to be upset in their particular social media post.[16]

Following Compass Coffee's June 3rd, 2020 post that reads, "We can do better. We will do better. And we are here to listen and learn," nothing public has been released about Compass Coffee's community relations initiatives, despite an employee-led company-wide meeting calling for change. Numerous employees have resigned due to the inaction and an overall toxic workplace.

Promoting Voter Participation

Compass Coffee is the only independent coffee company partnering with the nonprofit, Power the Polls. The company used its 8 open cafes to serve as voter registration locations on National Voter Registration Day, September 22nd, 2020 and will work with Power the Polls to offer healthy, low-COVID-risk employees paid time off to volunteer as a poll-worker on Election Day 2020.[17] The company has also received resources from the Civic Alliance, a non-partisan coalition of nearly 250 employees with the aim of increasing voter turnout.[17]

COVID-19 Updates

In mid-March 2020, Compass Coffee decided to lay off 180 of its 200 employees abruptly with no monetary support under the promise that employees would be rehired when business picks up again from the coronavirus-related slowdown.[18] Compass initially closed 6 of its 12 cafes. They reopened two locations in August 2020, so 8 of 12 original locations are fully functioning. Some locations were operating with limited hours. Haft and Suarez said they were serving between 50 to 100 customers at some downtown locations, down from about 1,500 on a pre-pandemic weekday.[19]

In late March 2020, Compass Coffee began a partnership with DC Mayor Muriel Bowser under which the company was commissioned to aid in producing 2,000 gallons of hand sanitizer for DC government workers and emergency / first-aid responders in light of the COVID-19 pandemic in Washington, D.C.[20]

Awards & Recognition

In 2015, Compass was praised by President Barack Obama as the coffee voted to be served in the White House during his Veterans Day Commemoration Speech[21]

On October 20, 2017, Compass Coffee founders Haft and Suarez received the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce's Community Impact Award at the 2017 Chamber's Choice Gala.[22]

Roasting Process & Equipment

The Compass roasting process is the first to use NASA technology for consistent brewing.[23] It involves a Proportional Integral Derivative controller, which was developed by NASA to automate manual tasks and standardize operating procedures.[24]

Lattes with Espresso roasted using PID Controller
Effects of varying PID parameters (Kp,Ki,Kd) on the step response of a system.

References
  1. Judkis, Maura (September 17, 2014). "From the Ground Up: Legacy and legwork". The Washington Post.
  2. Ravindranath, Mohana (December 28, 2014). "At Compass Coffee, data is the secret ingredient". The Washington Post.
  3. "Compass Coffee". compasscoffee.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  4. Judkis, Maura. "Compass Coffee is expanding with a new roastery and coffee shop in Ivy City". The Washington Post. Retrieved May 20, 2020.
  5. Judkis, Maura (September 30, 2014). "With Compass Coffee, two former Marines find their way home". The Washington Post.
  6. "Best Local Coffee Shops in Washington, D.C." CBS Local. February 27, 2018.
  7. Hayes, Laura (November 26, 2014). "The best coffee shop in 13 DC 'hoods". Thrillist.
  8. Bethune, Meredith (November 3, 2015). "Compass Coffee's Second Location Is Now Open". Eater DC.
  9. Carman, Tim (April 5, 2017). "Starbucks is all over downtown Washington. These coffee shops are much better". The Washington Post.
  10. "Compass Coffee Set to Open New Location in Ballston Next Month". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. January 22, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  11. "Meet the Maker: Compass Coffee". Union Kitchen. Retrieved July 29, 2020.
  12. "Mayor Bowser's 2017 State of the District Address | mayormb". mayor.dc.gov. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  13. Donner, Kathleen (November 1, 2017). "DC Chamber Recognizes Compass Coffee". MidCity DC News. Retrieved July 26, 2020.
  14. "Photos: DC stores looted". wusa9.com. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  15. "Compass Coffee on Instagram: "We're sorry. . We made a mistake. . We've heard your voices, and we now understand that posting about physical destruction was a…"". Instagram. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  16. "Compass Coffee". www.facebook.com. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  17. "Compass Coffee Offering Pay to Staff Volunteering at Polling Places". Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. September 24, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  18. "Coffee Talk - sadness at Compass Coffee, Some Delivery options at Bluestone Lane and wondering what those working from home are brewing up?". PoPville. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  19. Jamison, Peter. "The pandemic has devastated downtown D.C. Some fear the damage is permanent". Washington Post. ISSN 0190-8286. Retrieved October 24, 2020.
  20. Muriel Bowser [@MayorBowser] (March 23, 2020). "DC Government has commissioned 2,000 gallons of hand sanitizer from @RepublicRestore and @CompassCoffeeDC (1,000 each) as part of our response to the coronavirus (COVID-19)" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  21. "Remarks by the President at Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony". White House. November 1, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  22. "DC Chamber Recognizes Compass Coffee". MidCity DC News. November 10, 2017.
  23. "How NASA Space Exploration Technology Makes Big Difference in Small Business". Nextgov.com. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  24. "Thanks, NASA: How Space Inventions Help Small Businesses". OnDeck. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
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