Unemployment was 8.9% and credit markets were not what one would describe as particularly fluid when Steady Hand opened its doors in Feb 2011. I can also imagine capital investors were not waiting in line to drop cash into a coffee shop at that time. Nor did the thriving business I describe magically appear overnight. I’m not going to fault these guys nor any other small business entrepreneur for not signing a long-term lease under these conditions. To imply they had it coming to them is cavalier.

A deal is a deal. However, the optics of any transaction are often more complicated than the calculations of the underlying agreement. Usually you want to get this right before an announcement rather than clean up after.

I’m done.

Five years ago, a little known coffee shop by the name of Method Coffee Bar opened at 1593 N. Decatur Rd. It’s goal was to show Atlanta that brew-to-order coffee through a Chemex, using responsible/sustainable coffees, using no artificial syrups or sugars could, in fact, be fast and friendly. It did well. It even got a little national recognition for its efforts. This is also where Jordan, Jamie, and I (now owners of Steady Hand) met and where we met our two baristas, Thomas and Frank. We did good business, made great friends, and showed we cared about the community and neighborhood as much as our coffee.

The owner of Method was not as dedicated as we were and ran out on us without warning. Jordan and I wanted to stay. We did it on our own for a short time, working for tips and using the register money for buying coffee and milk. We worked until the power was turned off. During the month between the power being shut off and Octane Coffee taking over the space, we got to really know Andy of Everybody’s Pizza. He would buy us beer and pizza to help lift our spirits, and well, feed us. At one point, we even rebuilt the wood benches that sit outside of Everybody’s for a little extra cash. Then the space was Octane and things were good. Jordan and I were there for 12 of the 15 months Octane was open, but we wanted to get more creative with our craft. So we traveled to Australia to learn to roast coffee.

When we got back, we had no desire to work for anyone. We wanted to do our own thing but wanted to be in the neighborhood we’d been a part of for three years. Jordan, Jamie and I formed a coffee company and a started a coffee van. Crazy? Yes. The van is a 1982 VW bus that was driven down here from New York by a “hippie” who wanted to see his “ma” in North Carolina and hang out in Atlanta for a weekend. We outfitted the van with an espresso machine, grinder, fridge, steel tables, and a whole lot of dreams and it became the Rattletrap. It wasn’t overly pretty what with its old brown paint, but it was awesome.

As the Rattletrap was ready, so was Octane to return 1593 N. Decatur Rd to us. We wanted it; we wanted our customers, our friends, and our neighborhood all back. So, we put most everything we had into it. We put the Rattletrap in the parking lot to show the community we were coming back, while serving the best coffee ever to come out of a van—promise. The shop got a face-lift, and Andy even helped us through our changes. He gave us advice and a month to get everything off the ground before our lease started. The name Steady Hand Pour House was formed as a statement to our dedication to our craft and the people who supported it. Steady because we wanted to assure we would never leave; Hand because we craft by hand; Pour because baristas specialize in not only coffee but also in pouring; and House because it was home.

In our first year, we doubled sales from the last two coffee shops; we had customers who were our friends; we became know as one of the best coffee shops in the south, and we got Andy to drink cappuccinos. But most of all, we finally had turned the space into a community. At our one-year anniversary, we decided against having a celebration, because we only wanted to celebrate after being there longer than any other shop. When our trial lease was up, we started the back and forth of negotiating a new lease. We started paying what Andy wanted until we could come to a number we both could agree to. After awhile and some building issues, we just shook on it. We were closer then landlord and tenant, and I trusted him. From a business standpoint, maybe we should have done things differently, but I didn’t think our longtime neighbor would sell us short.

In the last 6 months, Steady Hand Pour House has had a two-year anniversary celebration that will never be forgotten, grown business to a point where we were going to have to hire a third full-time employee, and ventured into roasting our own coffee. Steady Hand Pour House has brought to Emory Village a stand-out, steadfast small business in a sea of big commercial business options. We took on two Starbucks that you can see from our patio, just like Slice and Pint will take on two fast delivery pizza joints. I only ask that no one doubt Steady Hand Pour House loved its community and the people within it. No one asked if we wanted to stay, and we are allowed to be angry about that. I wish Slice and Pint luck, and I hope Andy enjoys retirement. The owner of 1593 should know that he could have asked us to stay and entered into another lease with us instead of trying to provide another location option. Most of all, I hope that no one thinks we’re done. We’ll be around. We are not closing, cause we don’t do that. #SHPH4LIFE

It is what it is. I appreciate what you are doing to help the entrepreneurs at Steady Hand. You don’t have to, but it certainly sends a good message. Good luck with your endeavors.