Risk & Business Magazine California Fall 2017 | Page 29

URTH CAFFÉ
tiny space of just over three hundred
square feet, the shop concentrated on
brewing organic cups of coffee as well
as selling bulk packages of coffee and
tea. Strong believers in paying farmers
a living wage, the Berkmans bought
only fair trade coffee grown in far-flung
locales, including Peru, Mexico, Uganda,
Indonesia, Guatemala, and New Guinea.
With this initial success, the couple
purchased a second location in West
Hollywood in 1994. A somewhat larger
space, the new location was perfect for
starting a menu selling simple food
items. Slowly, the café’s menu has grown
to include a wide variety of carefully
sourced options, such as sandwiches,
pizzas, breakfast bowls, egg dishes,
entrée salads, and desserts. All of these
menu items are available to eat in-house
or to-go, and there’s even a local delivery
service and catering options.
While it wasn’t easy going for Urth in
the beginning—the Berkmans racked
up plenty of debt in the early years—it
continued to focus on expansion. The
café expanded to four US locations—
in West Hollywood, Santa Monica,
downtown LA, and Laguna Beach—with
two more set to open in Orange and
Hawthorne, the site of the company’s
new state-of-the-art manufacturing
facility. There are two cafés abroad, and
soon there will also be locations added
at LAX and at the Wynn Casino in Las
Vegas.
The cafés themselves take advantage
of Jilla’s many talents, including menu
design, restaurant siting and design,
and executive management. She is the
“chief taster” and COO of the business,
ultimately responsible for the food
as well as the employees. She is also a
master tea blender, having grown up
around her father’s tea garden in Iran.
Ironically, it is Shallom who works on
the coffee side of the business, often
travelling abroad to visit the various
sourcing farmers and constantly tasting
and experimenting with different bean
varieties. On an average day, Urth Caffé
carries twenty-five types of organic
coffee, along with fifty flavors of
organic tea.
Twenty-six years after Urth first opened,
the couple remains enthusiastic about
their business. “My wife and I do
everything we do based on love and
passion—not profit,” says Shallom. “We
want to create the best products and
service possible for our guests so they
always enjoy themselves in our cafés.” +
URTHCAFFE.COM
AMERICA'S FI RST EXCLUSIVELY ORGANIC COFFEE COMPANY.
urthcaffe.com • info@urthcaffe.com • 213-797-4534
451 S Hewitt St Los Angeles, California
29