Show Notes
In this episode of The Localist, host Carrie Rollwagen talks with Mitch and Maddie McEver, the duo behind Whammy Coffee in Birmingham. They share how Whammy began as a weekend roasting project — complete with toy dinosaurs and nostalgic branding — and evolved into a full-fledged coffee business after Maddie joined as both partner and co-owner. The couple reflects on their pop-up experiences, coffee cart days and eventually securing a permanent space in the former East Pole Coffee location near Railroad Park.
Mitch and Maddie highlight their focus on fun, hospitality and community. They describe “Whammifying” their space with quirky decor and shared seating, Maddie’s role baking in-house pastries and their standout drinks like the Gold Rush and Double Whammy. The episode offers insight into how creativity and connection fuel their business.
Mentioned in this episode:
Localist episode with June Coffee
Localist episode with Cala Coffee
Episode Transcript
Carrie
Welcome to the localist, a conversation with local makers and independent entrepreneurs. I’m your host, author of The localist book, and former small business owner Carrie Rollwagen, so today we’re talking with Mitch and Maddie mcever of whammy coffee. So whammy has been brewing and selling coffee for years. Mitch actually started it as a hobby before they were married. They weren’t even planning on it being a business, necessarily, but it became a business. They they roasted coffee. They started working at pop ups. They’ve been in Ore mercantile, and they’ve been in little professor in Pepper place. And finally, they kind of have moved on from that coffee Nomad life, and they have their actual brick and mortar space dedicated just to whammy coffee. So they’re located around Railroad Park in the denham building. It’s where East pole coffee used to be, and they moved in a couple of months ago and already have a huge following. I was really excited to talk to them. I loved visiting. I love seeing all the new and fun things that they’re doing. And when I say fun, I really mean it like a lot of what they want to do is bring fun to kind of the coffee space. I kind of chime in a little more than usual on this one, because they started a coffee shop in a space that was already built out for a coffee shop, and I used to own Church Street coffee and books, so I also started a coffee shop in a space that was already built out for a coffee shop. So we had a lot in common. I loved hearing what they’re up to, and also this podcast was really nostalgic for me as well. So I hope you enjoy it.
Carrie
Well, welcome to the podcast.
Maddie McEver
Thank you. We’re happy to be here.
Carrie
Yeah, I’m excited. Feel like I’m normally seeing you guys on the other side of a counter,
Maddie McEver
yes.
Carrie
So I guess we technically are,
Maddie McEver
yeah, that’s true. That’s true. It feels like a we’re on the other side though today.
Carrie
Yeah, it’s true. Yeah, we should be serving you. So kind of, I kind of want to start from the beginning with coffee with you, but I feel like that is a long, longer long ago. I don’t know is that
Maddie McEver
long long ago,
Carrie
because I think a lot of people are just hearing about you now, but you’ve actually been around Birmingham for a while, and then even before that, I think maybe you started a hobby. So like, how did that happen?
Mitch McEver
Well, I started roasting in late 2021, and I had a foot in the door as my sister and brother in law, they have a shop in Georgia, in cartersville, Georgia. It’s called noble & main,
Carrie
yeah,
Mitch McEver
and they just celebrated their seventh year in business. So one of my best friends in college. His name’s Tate. We decided that we wanted to do a fun, create a project over a weekend. So we didn’t, you know, drop it, get distracted, move to something else. And so I reached out to my sister and said, Hey, if Tate and I came to Georgia, would you be willing to teach us how to roast a little bit? Yeah, give us a crash course, like, let us play around, learn it, and bring some coffee back to our friends and my sister, who was like, of course. So we, we drew up a little, you know, pseudo brand, drew a little mascot, and decided that we would order bags and kind of bring, bring back an actual product, something that felt like tangible, and we could kind of complete this creative project in a weekend, you know, and have something to bring back and give. So it kind of started there, and the initial name was whammy. So we’ve stuck with that. We were just kicking around, you know, one word prequels to the word coffee, and it came down to, is it going to be grumps coffee, or is it going to be whammy coffee?
Maddie McEver
We like to joke like grumps is a completely different
Mitch McEver
Yeah, maybe whammy’s alter ego,
Maddie McEver
yeah, whammy after dark stuff or
Mitch McEver
whammy too early in the morning, yeah, maybe 7am is grumps coffee. But we decided on whammy pretty early. We had a felt logo. It was a little toodie dino with googly eyes on it. And before we were finishing, we know, we were kind of trying to style the branding to be somewhat nostalgic of like, you know, 90s cereal boxes. And so it made sense to say, let’s throw a free toy inside.
Carrie
Yeah. So if people aren’t familiar, you still do that.
Mitch McEver
We still do it. We have to, you know, they’re, they’re children aged 10 and under
Maddie McEver
across the greater Metro Atlanta and Birmingham area.
Mitch McEver
Who would, who would riot if we were to take it out.
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Mitch McEver
So, yeah, we, we put that in kind of the first, first or second round of bags, and then it just, it just stuck.
Carrie
Is that always a dinosaur? Is like, mixing up the toy?
Mitch McEver
It’s always a dinosaur for now.
Maddie McEver
Maybe one day we’ll do, like, temporary tattoos, or, like, you know,
Mitch McEver
some, yeah, I think, I think we can mix it up eventually, but other figurines,
Carrie
yeah?
Mitch McEver
But it felt, it felt right to do little toy dinos. And I think we loved seeing, you know, grown adults kind of get a little sparkle in their eye when they see a toy inside,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
yeah. I came by when you guys were a little professor with my boss, and he was just like, what is it really? Really,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
there’s, really, he kept asking, yes, there’s, there’s a dinosaur in here?
Maddie McEver
We get that just about every time. Wait, is there really toy?
Carrie
Yeah? So, yeah. I think that definitely works. So was this like a class project or anything, or were you just, like, we want something? Was it for fun or,
Mitch McEver
yeah? Well, I think we would were always kicking around like, Ooh, you know, we were kind of ideas guys, And we were trying to be more more doers.So we were like, Okay, let’s just, we need to figure out something we can do in a weekend.
Maddie McEver
Yeah?
Mitch McEver
That’s gonna kind of scratch that creative itch. And so it ended up being like, Okay, who do we know, you know, that can help facilitate this? And so coffee, kind of, like, was the vehicle for that. And initially, you know, it wasn’t anything like, oh, we hope this snowball is into an actual coffee shop. It was just like, oh, it’d be fun to make something tangible. Give it to our friends.
Maddie McEver
Hand these out to friends
Mitch McEver
yeah, hand it out. It’d be funny,
Carrie
yeah?
Mitch McEver
And it would feel neat to know that, like we roasted that coffee, even if you know my sister was holding my hands the whole time. So, yeah, it was just a creative thing,
Carrie
yeah? I mean, I think that’s such a good idea, though. Like, so many people are ideas people, you know, everybody’s like, I have an idea for an app.
Maddie McEver
Yep, 100%
Carrie
the idea isn’t much really, like, right, doing something. that’s like, very smart to say, Okay, let’s just take something all the way through. So,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
yeah. I think that’s really cool. So how did it so that’s how it started. Was it immediately, like, I love this, or was it kind of just like, fits and starts, like, oh, like, let’s do another roast, another batch. Or how did that kind of work?
Mitch McEver
So it was initially, and this was before, or we roasted the first batch before Maddie and I had started dating, so Tate and I were just roasting, and it was kind of in fits and starts.
Maddie McEver
We call that one the boys club win. Yeah, when I come along, it becomes the real win.
Mitch McEver
This was a bad prequel. So, I mean, it wasn’t like a man, this was just out of this world incredible. It was more so like, yeah, people really loved it. And it was like the experience of sharing the coffee we roasted the coffee that was kind of goofy and made people laugh, was a little unexpected. Like the experience of getting to give people that and tell them about it and see grown adults giggle, Was kind of like that. That was what really like, yeah. Hooked us.And we, I love coffee, because my sister had a coffee shop and was learning, but didn’t have as much expertise at that stage. But was like, Man, this is something that I have the ability to do, you know, because I can drive to Georgia and I can go roast, and I really loved getting to bring something creative and fun back to our friends family, and that’s kind of what, like ignited a little bit of the desire to keep going.
Carrie
Yeah, well, coffee is so much a connector right now. Like, a lot of times you meet over coffee, and I think that makes sense. Well, what happened? Like, how did you start? I mean, obviously, like, it sounds like you guys started dating. That’s how you got
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
Like, when did this become, was it like, while we’re dating, this is just, like, really interesting. Or, how did that? How did you guys kind of get involved?
Maddie McEver
The first time I ever actually texted Mitch was to buy a bag of coffee. So it’s kind of funny that we’re married and we’re doing this thing.
Carrie
Yeah, that’s awesome.
Maddie McEver
But yeah, I had some friends. And just like, I feel like the Whammy bags were circulating. He was at Beeson at the time, and I was at Samford. And like, I felt like people, there was a buzz in the air about this stuff.
Carrie
So, same campus,
Maddie McEver
yes, yes, yeah, same campus, just different, like, grad school, undergrad, but yeah. So I think, yeah. I think once, when we started dating, I was like, This is so cool. He roasts coffee. This everyone’s gonna love that. Like, you know, like, I date the guy in the band, kind of, yeah. Come and then, yeah, I guess, like, when we got a little more serious, it was like, Hey, would we ever want to, like, do the thing, like, because we got to see his sister and brother in law be married and also run this really awesome shop. And I think the longer we started dating, and as we got engaged, I think we were both were like, we love to do the thing more, so with the hope of just like loving and just like creating community and loving on people just through, like, a really, like, you said, like a connecting, a naturally connective thing. And I think like, similar to what Mitch described as like, I kind of, I love coffee. Obviously, we wouldn’t be doing this if we didn’t, but like, for us, it’s always been a little bit more about the like experience of the person who’s receiving the coffee. And it’s been a lot more about like, This is so fun to give my friend a bag of coffee, and now it’s like, This is so fun to give our friends a cup of coffee. You know, it’s like, it’s always kind of been so I think we got a little more serious, into dating, and then eventually got engaged and married. It was really like, okay, look, let’s, let’s commit to doing something with this, seeing this through. But we, I don’t know if we even knew in the beginning that it would be a full on, like, coffee shop. I think we thought we would like do events, which we both enjoyed, and do that for a long time, but it’s been awesome.
Carrie
Well, tell me about the events. Like, so did you get a coffee cart? Like, invest in that. Like, how did that start?
Mitch McEver
So I built a coffee cart. I say I built a friend of ours, Steve McCorkle, he essentially built the whole thing. While I watched. I held this drill make sure the batteries were charged. And then we we built it. And then I went ahead and bought an espresso machine so we could be on the move. And it was kind of like a lower stake step towards a shop, because it was like, okay, you know, I like roasting and giving slash selling coffee to people, and I love to create the label and to like, think how we can engage people through it. So let’s take one more step towards that, that, like, you know, I could still sell everything, recoup the investment and and keep moving if it doesn’t work out, but it was kind of like,
Maddie McEver
easier to, like, do things, like on a Saturday night, like at a wedding, rather than, like, every single day in the beginning, at least I feel like, yeah, it was easier to think about just
Mitch McEver
getting our feet wet a little bit.
Carrie
Yeah. Well, what are some things that do translate from the pop up and maybe that don’t translate like, well,
Maddie McEver
that’s a great question.
Carrie
Even I talked to we had Jimmy from June on, and yeah, started with a cart or a pop up also, And he was just like, I mean, I hated loading the machine every you know is like a mess. A lot of people don’t know how much temperature and things affect, like brewing coffee. So it’s like, he’s like, Yeah, I don’t, I’m paraphrasing, but yeah, he was a little bit like, I’m glad that nightmare is over.
Maddie McEver
Oh,
Carrie
but what is it like for you guys? And maybe you still do it, yeah, I don’t know if, yeah, if you do it,
Mitch McEver
but yeah, we still do. We’re trying to keep up some events, because we still have the cart, we still have that separate machine, but it’s definitely, I think if the carts and events showed us anything, it was that our our real desire was like to have a space that was permanent. People could come to and
Maddie McEver
you could control,
Mitch McEver
you could control, you could control a little bit, yeah, you know, I think if there’s anything that did translate, it’s if something, you know, catches on fire, we’re a little bit more ready to fix. Because when you’re at a wedding and there’s, you know, 200 people waiting for our coffee, yeah, and
Maddie McEver
waiting for a decaf cappuccino,
Mitch McEver
and it’s, it’s the only beverage available, yep, and the grinder breaks, it’s like, you just get, you get good at stomaching a little bit more of the firefighting side of, like, okay, there’s a little bit of a crisis, and we’re gonna try to, you know,
Maddie McEver
so how do you know the groom? Yeah, like, Mitchell will be with a screwdriver. I’m like, I love your dress.
Mitch McEver
Literally, the first wedding we did, the grinder kind of malfunctioned, and so I, like, crouched down behind the cart. I’m taking it apart, and Maddie is just chopping it up with every guest
Maddie McEver
song on the dance floor. What’s going on? It’s like, just trying to fake it till we make it. And I feel like that is that definitely the hair on fire Moments definitely sometimes translate, especially when you’re like, in the middle of a rush, and you’re like, Oh, we’re
Mitch McEver
But it’s nice to at least have, like, the tools and, you know, some part time staff to help firefight. It’s not just like, kind of feel like, bear girls in the field, if you’re gonna feel like, how am I gonna figure out a solution? How do I keep coffee flowing?
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
yeah. Well, I do think that is important. And that is also kind of like, what I think makes good baristas. Yeah. So, like, some of a lot of it, obviously, is the quality,
Maddie McEver
sure,
Carrie
but also being able to keep talking to people and, like, keep them happy.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
it’s that’s extreme when your grinder is broken. But that is also what helps people through waiting through a long line, or, you know, like, not being out of their favorite pastry, yeah, out of a milk or whatever. So, yeah, yeah. Like, I think that is, like boot camp for those skills.
Maddie McEver
Yeah. The always, for me, this most stressful thing about events was, where are we gonna put all of our things, like, where are we gonna put the cup? So we’re gonna put the cooler. And now having a coffee shop, I’m like, everything has a home. Feel so good to know I don’t forget where the ice goes.
Carrie
Also, there’s so much sense memory with that. So it’s harder when you’re set up in different places, because once you have a coffee shop and you know where it is, it is, like, it’s just autopilot,
Maddie McEver
right, For sure,
Mitch McEver
you don’t have to put every neuron to work figuring out, how am I going to pull a shot
Carrie
Well, yeah, that’s awesome. And then you kind of, you’re in ore mercantile, is that the next? Was that the next step?
Mitch McEver
Yeah, we were in ore mercantile summer of 23 and so spent some time there, and kind of learned a little bit more about how, how to operate on a semi full time basis,
Carrie
yeah,
Mitch McEver
and that gave us a little bit more knowledge. And then I think that, yeah, then we got married,
Carrie
yeah?
Mitch McEver
So I, you know, officially said, I guess, you know,
Maddie McEver
business partners.
Mitch McEver
I guess we’re business partners.
Carrie
Yeah.
Mitch McEver
But that kind of time at Ore gave us a little bit more of a hunger for like, Man, this is great to have a place to serve people. What would it be like to be able to have our own space, like, be very diligent in crafting a customer experience that fits Whammy,
Maddie McEver
yeah
Mitch McEver
and fits like the people we want to bring in and yeah, just have a little bit more autonomy over it.
Carrie
There’s not a ton of foot traffic over there either. Like, my husband’s business is Ohm Jiu Jitsu, so they were right next to us. So, like, but other than Russell trying to get lattes every day,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
there’s not a lot during the day, just people, like, in shopping in that area. And then you guys were in little professor in pepper place, the same so, or, like, maybe the same, maybe different, I guess. How were those experiences, the same and different? And then, how was that, like, Was that helpful for, like, learning more, even about going into your space?
Maddie McEver
Yeah, yeah. I think for both of us, like, I think both of us kind of being around coffee it was, it was so good to kind of cut our teeth in a little bit of, like a low, low pressure, low stake. It was like we were to full on, like we are the name on the wall kind of thing. And so especially for me, like, I mean, his, he grew up, like his sister kind of had a but my family, like our Folgers in the morning in the coffee pot kind of family, and so, like, my I’m from a really small town in Arkansas. There’s not a coffee shop in the city. So I think I really appreciated getting to practice, like, really, and practice with the like, hospitality element too. And I think, as Mitch has said, of both experiences being man, we really would wonder what it would be like to do that to, you know, to be the name on the wall, and to, like, get to pick, you know, different elements of this experience. And I think both at little professor and ore, I felt like we were able to do like, you know, kind of, I don’t know, like, touch and go hospitality, because it was like people were there for other things,
Carrie
yeah.
Maddie McEver
Whereas I think we grew a hunger for like, man, we would love to, like, create, like, a space and an experience where it’s like, start to finish, like you are the main priority here, you know. And that’s not to say that that wasn’t true with those other businesses, like
Carrie
they’re different, yeah,
Maddie McEver
yeah. It’s like, you’re shopping. You’re not, you know, like, what can we get you? Yeah,
Carrie
people, I mean, I think that’s a big thing about a coffee shop, is you become a habit for people, you see a lot of times, people like, every day, sometimes multiple times a day. Sometimes people are there every single morning
Maddie McEver
Exactly.
Carrie
And that is something that is kind of magical about owning a coffee shop.
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
Of it’s weird to see people in like, like, regular life now, because I don’t own a coffee shop anymore, but they’ll be like, giving me a weird look like, oh yeah, like I made your cappuccino for like four years
Mitch McEver
yeah, kind of like, yeah. Teacher, yeah, yeah.
Maddie McEver
That’s so funny when you see a teacher in public.
Carrie
so yeah, that is some of the benefit. And that’s neither of those spaces are totally set up for that, either, like, again, because, like, or it was in a strip that was not exactly like, high traffic during the day. And pepper place is super high traffic one day, then almost nothing the rest of the time. So were you guys like, was that, like, did you serve a ton during market days in Pepper place? Or was it, was it,
Mitch McEver
yeah, Market. Market days were pretty crazy.
Maddie McEver
They were so fun though,
Mitch McEver
you know, little Professor kind of had that infrastructure of, you know, we we serve coffee, we can do espresso drinks here. So people already expected that. We didn’t have to really generate, yeah, new interests, per se. But yeah, I think, if there’s anything that I think, yeah, or kind of gave us the initial like, okay, like, we would love a little bit more, you know, crafting of the space, right? And then little Professor probably maybe fine tuned, like, our expectations as we were starting to look for a place to call a shop with, like, okay, like, you know, we’ve been in two different parts of, you know, downtown or close to downtown Birmingham. You know, what strengths did each of them have? How does that influence where we want to look? And, you know, all of that, all of that was in theory, we kind of cast a wide net, and then we’re lucky that the timing worked out to take over that East pole space. So,
Carrie
so yeah, tell me about that. Like, how did you hear about that from the beginning? Were you, like, was this so exciting, or is this even gonna happen? Or can we afford it? Or, like, what was that, like,
Mitch McEver
all of the above.
Maddie McEver
We actually before, you like, go all the way into the we had a day like, I guess it was right after. We kind of were, like, moving from being a little professor to the full on, like, let’s look for a space. And we kind of spent a day be bopping around town, kind of looking at, what do we like about shops? What do you not like about shops? What works, what doesn’t work? You know, all the things. And we actually started that day at East pole. It was the very first, like, almost like, vision casting type of trip, if you will. Like, it was the very first place we walked in. And we both forgot about that until, like, opening day for us at, like, at that location, was kind of a wild, full circle thing. But we, I feel like we did a lot of, like, looking around at different shops, like, all over town, like, God, like, just everywhere. And I feel like it was, it was really sweet to kind of be in the space where we kind of began all that whole saga,
Carrie
yeah, that’s awesome.
Mitch McEver
yeah. She, she always wants to, you know, hold off on my monologue. Yeah. We the, the agent locker and Chase, she lists lots of sloss properties, and I had reached out to her about, you know, looking at, you know, when we were thinking, thinking about, where do we want to go after little professor, we were like, Well, does it make sense to stay in Pepper place? You know, do we think, do we think we can, like, make a shop here and get enough pull to have people here on a regular basis? And so she said she didn’t have anything around there that would suit a coffee shop, but I just told her to keep me in mind. And really forgot about that interaction until we had, you know, looked at a ton of other places, and we’re kind of banging our heads against the wall. And then she reached back out and said that there was a chance that the denham building East pole property would come up and if we’d be interested. And I was like, absolutely.
Maddie McEver
I think I remember Mitch getting the emails, like, sitting in the other room. And he was like, I heard the big gasp, and he was like, how long is too long? Like, how fast can I reply? He was like, 20 minutes later, he was like, we’d love to see it.
Mitch McEver
Be cool. Be cool. I don’t know if that’s gonna give away my negotiating.
Carrie
I feel like a lot of times with realtors, it is they’re fine, like they work, so immediately,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
but then they just kind of disappear, like, when they’re when they don’t have anything to say, they just ghost you,
Maddie McEver
yes.
Carrie
Like, so hard to get used to that.
Maddie McEver
yes, I feel like we, like, when we were in the you know, like, more so the lease negotiation, yeah, it would only be like, two days, but we would be like, they haven’t called
Carrie
Well, and that’s so was that like it? There’s so many, there are benefits and drawbacks, I think, to going into a space that’s already built out.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
I think most of them are benefits. We did the same thing. So Church Street was a Starbucks before.
Maddie McEver
I didn’t know that,
Carrie
yeah, so I actually worked there as a Starbucks, and Cal, who’s my business partner, managed that store as a Starbucks.
Maddie McEver
No way.
Carrie
So yeah,
Maddie McEver
oh my gosh.
Carrie
And he actually, he called me first, so we were in the same, like, community group type of thing. And he was like, I think Starbucks is gonna close. And I was like, they’re definitely not, because they’re still making money at the space. But he had been like, so like, kind of on autopilot for a while that he was, like, excited about it. So I was like, Okay, well, we’ll just pretend this is happening. You’re like, coming back to life. Yes, to me, it was like a thought experiment. And then they actually did announce because they are only trying to do, like, drive throughs, and it wasn’t as a drive thru. So I was like. Wow, this actually, this is real. But yeah, so there were definitely huge benefits. Also, Starbucks kind of leave, I don’t know if they still do this, but they kind of leave equipment if they’re not using it in town. So we were like, crossing our fingers, like, what will we get?
Maddie McEver
Yeah, yeah.
Carrie
So we got, like, a sound system and Cal actually, dumpster dove for, like, Mats and stuff trash cans, pulled them out of the dumpster.
Maddie McEver
It’s fine.
Carrie
Yeah, exactly.
Maddie McEver
It’s a trash can, yeah, so funny
Carrie
and you can go in the bathrooms, unless it’s different now, like, we couldn’t get the mirrors off the wall. It’s like, this old swirly Starbucks thing, so we just have to, like, paint over them. They’re like, I don’t know if these are load bearing or what, but they’re not coming off.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, that is so funny. I did not know that,
Carrie
yeah, so it was, but it did, like, make it possible for us, because it was like, Yeah, we did the build out ourselves, but there wasn’t as much build out. They took weird things, like, they took the front of the cabinet, stuff like that that were like, Okay, let’s figure this out. Yeah. But what was that like, were you got, did they leave a lot of stuff? Were you like, tempted to change the infrastructure, or were you just, like, good, we don’t have to build it, or what?
Mitch McEver
Well, I think the context we were coming from was we were we had looked at a couple properties that were just a sandbox, just, you know, were not purposed for food, and we knew that A, we were going to have to spend a lot of money to make that suitable, and B, that we were, to a degree, going to have to know what we were doing in that process,
Carrie
yeah?
Mitch McEver
And I think yeah, we had very little, and it’s
Carrie
like, I can’t just stand here and watch somebody yeah on the coffee cart. Yeah. We’d have to do more.
Maddie McEver
Yeah. I was like, No, what’s a 220 volt?
Carrie
Yeah?
Maddie McEver
Explain that to me.
Mitch McEver
And I think that world was super intimidating, because we didn’t have like, you know, a great GC connection that could just quarterback it for us and kind of like, and it felt like all the contractors we talked to knew, like, each 1/5 of the puzzle or so, it was like, we’re trying to put it together through Conversations with all of them. So it was kind of getting the point where it was like, if we do this, it’s it will feel like a gamble, to an extent of like, are we? Is their infrastructure going to be done, right?
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
I also don’t think people realize how expensive a coffee shop is. They’re just, I’ve a lot of people are like, Oh, I’ll do this concept, and then we’ll throw a coffee shop in it.
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
Do you even know how much an espresso machine,
Maddie McEver
right right yeah
Carrie
even when I was doing this, which is we started a long time ago, it’s like $10,000 for the machine,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Carrie
And that you have to have certain electric, electrical things, and if you’re gonna cook, you have to have a hood and, like, all of the stuff that people don’t
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
I think people just think, like, I brew coffee, this seems fine, yeah? Like, So, yes. So the East pole did seem like, it seems like you’re like, Okay, well, this would be nice,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Mitch McEver
Like, oh yeah. Well, it was, like, the biggest relief was like, Okay, y’all had a coffee shop here, which means, you know, you had, you had your permits, you had health department approval. Like, these are things that the stuff that is most scary to us to figure out and see,
Maddie McEver
just like, uphill,
Mitch McEver
yeah, learning curve, yeah, like that, that part is, you know, to a degree a formality,
Carrie
yeah.
Mitch McEver
And then they were willing to, you know, negotiate on some of their fridges and ice machine and keep some of that infrastructure in place,
Carrie
yeah?
Mitch McEver
So that by the time like we were looking at moving in, it was like, we can mostly focus on esthetic changes, and then a machine, yeah, the other little pieces and training employees, and yeah, we got to focus on stuff that felt a little bit more in our wheelhouse, which was, like, a huge, yeah, it was like, Man, I would’ve inhabited a lot of different spaces if we didn’t have to build it out,
Carrie
yeah.
Mitch McEver
But it helped that Eastpole, like, you know, really made a beautiful space that people really enjoy.
Carrie
Yeah. Well, I even think Cala, they did their original build out, but then in the downtown space?
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
I think he was on the podcast and he was talking, or they were, both were, but they were talking about how they weren’t really thinking they would do another space.
Maddie McEver
Sure.
Carrie
It’s like, okay, well, this is built out, so if there’s a time to try it, it’s Now. Yeah, and that was kind of our story too. It’s like, okay, well, we’ve all thought of like doing this, so yeah, either do it here, where it’s set up, or just admit like I’m not really, I don’t really want to do this.
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
Okay, so what was it like converting the space to whammy?
Maddie McEver
Yeah
Carrie
What the whammification? I think that was on one of your
Maddie McEver
Yeah, that was, I mean, it was such a blast and we were like, you know, our backs were aching and, like, we were so tired, but that that whole like process of kind of switching over, my brother has a commercial painting business, and so he, like, flew down from Arkansas, and Tate, the one that Mitch started whammy with, like, came in, and the four of us, over the span of a weekend, like, painted all the walls. Like and it felt very like I’m on my own HGTV show, like I was, like, Joanna Gaines right now, yeah. And it was, I think those, like, those memories I’m gonna look back on, I hope forever. And I’m like, That was so fun that we really like, DIYed and just like, had a blast and listened to really loud, like, you know, pop music, and like, ate like crap all week, and just like, painted that, and it was so fun. And I think, yeah, I think our biggest goal when, when whammifying the place, was to, like, East pole, like the spot was so beautiful, but we just really wanted to increase the amount of like, community centric like. We wanted that to feel like a priority when you walk into space. It’s like, I can gather with my friends here, and I can, you know, sit at a table with more than just, you know, one chair or something, so
Carrie
Well, talk about that for people who haven’t been there. Because that was kind of like I rarely went to East pole, partially because I’m usually, like, having a meeting or something. And it felt like this is here for people working on their own,
Maddie McEver
for sure.
Carrie
And then when I walked in to Whammy, it does not feel like that. So did you take anything out? Did you, I know you probably put tables in, but like, what did you change? As far as that goes?
Mitch McEver
Yeah, we first thing was, let’s you know, they had their six seater community table. So we were like, Okay, let’s leave that. That’s group seating. And then let’s put shares on the other side of all those small round tables, so that every bench seater has an opposing chair, like, everyone can, you know, yeah, meet somebody there. And then we took the the bar on the back wall with all the bar stools, and we took that bar and cut it into the three tables that we have in there now. So we were like, you know, this wood is gorgeous. And, you know, yeah, we want to add more seating. So let’s, let’s repurpose it out of this. Yeah, so we did that, and then we painted, and just tried to, like, brighten up the space a little bit. You know, East pole had a very kind of specific, specific brand decorations and like, style of decorating. So, you know, part of the decorations you see in there are just from our house,
Maddie McEver
like silly knickknacks is kind of our general esthetic.
Carrie
Yeah,
Mitch McEver
brought a bowling pin from home. Martini lamp from home, yeah, stuff like that.
Carrie
yeah, well, I mean, it, it works, like, it’s, like, branded, well, and it, I think it, it, and I was very impressed with the seating, yeah, I mean, yeah, that was, it was like, it’s totally fun. It doesn’t seem like a huge Birmingham thing either, though, to have, like, only single seating, right? Like that doesn’t seem how people seem to be how most people use coffee shops right here, right? And it definitely doesn’t seem like what you guys were wanting, right? Like, just be quiet and sit at your own table.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, don’t talk to anybody. Yeah?
Carrie
Well, one thing that I noticed, and like everybody else I’ve talked to has said the same thing, is it is crowded, like, it’s there, it’s popular,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Carrie
I mean, because it’s not, it’s by Railroad Park, ish, you know? But it’s not like exactly some place that people are always going. But I feel like it seems like you guys have built a following as you’ve gone, and that they have followed you to where you are,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
tell me if that’s true or not. Like, it seems like, it seemed like a lot of Samford people, and maybe people from church,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
and also people discovering it. But I was really impressed with how much of a following you’ve gotten to go to that space. Because, I mean, I had a neighborhood coffee shop, so it was like, that’s pretty easy,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
I mean, we were only closed for a month. They they kept they just came back,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Carrie
Also, we had all been braces at that Starbucks. Like, it’s they knew us,
Maddie McEver
yeah, yeah.
Carrie
So that was we didn’t really have to build that. I didn’t have to say, like, follow me across town,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
Did you guys do anything to make that happen, or, did it, what? How did, how did you do that?
Maddie McEver
Yeah, that’s, yeah, yeah. I think that’s been, like, one of the most, like, just, just the thing that I think has blown us the way, blown us away the most is just like, the the people and both, like, I work part time in college ministry at Redeemer Community Church, and so I’m super connected with, like, college students. So I kind of knew, going into it, like, there would be a good pull from there. Also, like, you know, people at church drink coffee, like, we knew that, but, but we’ve been, I think, blown away at the amount of regulars that we have that just like, live nearby, or even some that don’t just like, enjoy the experience. I think it’s, it’s been, I mean, you can talk more like about that. But like, it’s been so I like, I agree, it has been so crazy that it’s so pop. Like, I’m like, I feel that imposter syndrome. Mean, like, Of all the places you choose this, yeah, and I think it’s, it’s been really cool as we’ve as we’ve been in so many different spots to see the people, both, like, our, our, our people that have followed us along, but like, even the people that we met through serving coffee, like you know, it’s like he followed, you know, it’s like, it’s a really special gift, I think,
Mitch McEver
yeah, I think we’re both caught off guard to to the degree that, that which, like some folks, kept following us around, because it was like, you know, you you start something with this thesis in mind, of like, okay, you know, we can make coffee fun and light hearted and approachable, and people will hopefully like that, and then as years kind of tick by, and you don’t get to see that vision necessarily take place as you’re expecting. It’s definitely like, okay, you know, is it, did we kind of miss the thesis a little bit like, do we still believe that those things are true? And so like seeing opening day, like people come and love it, and people we knew and people we didn’t know. We were kind of like, oh man, like, I saw so many friends today, and I didn’t know they kept up with us, you know, and, like, it was really, you know, every other person in line, I was like, I wish I didn’t have to make your coffee, because I would come hug your neck right now. So I think we were definitely, like, off, a little off guard, and a little, like, humbled by it. And it was, but also was encouraging to be like, okay, like, you know, this is
Maddie McEver
people do like this,
Carrie
yeah.
Mitch McEver
Like, you know, thank goodness. If that the thing that we’ve spent, you know, all this effort on, yeah, we can at least see, like, some green shoots of like, okay, maybe we can, like, get to build this into something that lasts.
Carrie
Well, I do think you, you guys do have very good coffee, which I do think you can’t do it without that. But I also think you do have more of that emphasis on hospitality and like, you seem, I mean, because especially when you’re, I saw you were at little professor,
Maddie McEver
yeah,
Carrie
there, across the street from here,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Carrie
But like, you know, you always would be like, happy, you know, that whole Yeah, we don’t know each other well, but just acting like, Oh yeah, you know, like, and I do, it does seem like you bring that to everybody, like, when it’s like, when we walked into Whammy, it was like, Oh, hi, you know, like, we’re happy to see like, you seem genuinely happy to see people I don’t know if you are, or you’re just doing a good job of thinking
Maddie McEver
you’ll never know,
Carrie
yeah, well, I mean, to some extent I don’t care, yeah, yeah. I mean, it’s, you know. So I think that that hospitality is a lot more rare, especially post COVID, I think it’s more rare, um, and I, I think it’s also the tone, like you said, like, you bring you kind of say in a lot of your messaging, you’re bringing fun to coffee,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
And I do think that’s all that’s missing in a lot of coffee. Like, you know that there’s a coffee snob idea, and that is fine. Like, sometimes I am fine going to a coffee shop that it’s like, I’m gonna get a really great cup of coffee cup. I’m gonna get a great cup of coffee or great latte. But if I asked for sugar free syrup, I would be like, told to get out the door,
Maddie McEver
yeah, 100%
Carrie
which I’m not doing, just for the record. But like, you know, like, there’s that kind of coffee shop. I don’t think that you guys are that kind of shop.
Maddie McEver
Thank you.
Carrie
Like it does seem like it’s more like, let’s make this accessible, let’s make it fun. And I think that has translated also in your social and maybe that’s also how people follow you. So I also want to talk about your pastries and your drink recipes, because, generally speaking, I like a brewed coffee or like a cappuccino, so I just usually do that, and I don’t like look around at the menu. When I was like, researching you, I found way more stuff that I didn’t know about. So first, let’s talk about pastries. So you bake your own pastries.
Maddie McEver
Yes,
Carrie
That’s huge.
Maddie McEver
It’s huge. That’s a great word for it,
Carrie
and something, because Starbucks, we froze the pastries and serve them later, and then at church street we made them. But it was like a huge learning,
Maddie McEver
yeah, yeah.
Carrie
Somebody finally, I shouldn’t have said this, but somebody at one point, was like, Well, he was always complaining about everything. He’s like, I like the old lemon loaf. I was like, Well, I would have to put in the freezer for two months.
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
How about that?
Maddie McEver
Yeah.
Carrie
But anyway, I think, tell me about, like, what that process is, because that’s a whole other thing, \
Maddie McEver
yeah, yeah,
Mitch McEver
yeah. And you can go ahead and turn my mic off, I know nothing.
Maddie McEver
No, you are the greatest test, you know, recipe tester I could ever ask.
Mitch McEver
That’s true.
Maddie McEver
No, that’s, that’s been something that when we kind of were like, All right, let’s full send a shop. I was always kind of like, I think doing in house pastries would be fun. I’ve always thought that baking is fun. I would never say I was like, a baker. I just like, thought it was a fun little hobby. And Mitch’s sister’s shop noble and Main. They have a full like, pastry bakery operation down to a science. And so. So we kind of knew, when we were like, We’re gonna do a shop. We kind of knew that we had a pretty amazing, like, you know, we had the, I don’t know, like, we had the all star, right, in our pocket of Mitch’s sister, just from baking for so many years and doing it exactly in the context we were gonna do it,
Carrie
yeah,
Maddie McEver
how much butter I’m gonna go through a day? How much scones, this much butter is gonna give me, like, she knows all of that, so she kind of gave me, like, almost like a, we’ve been calling it the Whammy Bible, like, the recipes and tips and tricks, and that has been such a game changer, like she’s been so helpful in that. But it is, it is so wild. I mean, I love a pastry, I love I love to get a pastry and go somewhere, but sometimes people will come in only for the pastries. And I’m like, Are you sure? Again, you want to come here for it? Like Thank you.
Carrie
That’s how I feel about my stuff. I totally understand.
Maddie McEver
It’s just a chocolate chip scone. You know, I’m like, I have a hard time accepting the praise when it comes specifically to the pastries.
Mitch McEver
Sometimes she’ll be like, I can’t look at them take a bite.
Maddie McEver
Or someone would be like, Oh, this is such a This looks so good. I’m like, okay,
Carrie
yeah,
Maddie McEver
yeah, so, but that’s been, like, a really fun, I think, way to get to again, kind of do this, like, whammy is meant to be a place where you can come in and be like, a chocolate chip scone, yes, blueberry muffin, yes. Rather than be like, what’s this ingredient? And, you know, and there’s, like, you know, plenty of places that do really cool stuff, and that’s awesome. But I think we really wanted to kind of prioritize, like, a little more of the quality and accessible and, like, Mom and Pop vibe, yeah, like, comfort food, exactly. And having, having, like, one of our moms walk in and be like, I want that, yeah. What is that?
Carrie
Well, I think it’s smart for the shop too, because at least at Church Street, we made a way better margin on pastry. Yeah, and coffee is made of like coffee, obviously, and milk, but both of those are extremely variable how much they cost, the shop, not just Yeah, yeah. And so pastries, okay, we can rely on this. So, yeah, it does seem really smart. That makes a lot of sense to, like, say, like, okay, these are tried and true.
Maddie McEver
Yeah?
Carrie
Because I was like, how are they? I was kind of, I was not kind of, I was shocked. I was like, Oh, wow, they’re making them,
Maddie McEver
yeah?
Carrie
Because most people either outsource them, which is great, but they’re not making much margin on that, or they’re just freezing them, which is also fine, but it’s a different thing.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
so I think that anyway, yeah, in case you’re wondering what
Maddie McEver
I do, thank you, Carrie, thank you. That’s gonna, I’m gonna have to play that over in my head when I wake up at four o’clock.
Carrie
Well and that is the thing, though, is that, like, are you guys at the shop at the same hours? Are you having to, like, not seeing each other? Like, are you just like you see each other at the shop. Like, how does that work? Because baking hours are extreme.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Mitch McEver
I do wave at Maddie as I go back to sleep in the morning,
Maddie McEver
we have the same alarm. And then, yeah, I get up and start getting ready to head to the shop. And then I leave and I say, goodbye, I’ll see you in a few hours. I’ll see you in a few hours,
Mitch McEver
and then I’ll get to the shop and say, You didn’t even tell me goodbye. Don’t remember. Don’t remember it at all.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, I would say that we see each other a good bit So, and I’ve, like, kind of gotten a little bit of a routine where I can prep some dough ahead of time, and like, we’re, I think, in the process of figuring that out, but Mitchell also, we have kind of worked it out, where I spend probably four or five hours on the prep and while he’s roasting,
Carrie
yeah?
Maddie McEver
And kind of like, we’re kind of doing our independent things for the job, and then spending some time together at the job. And also, like, together, notbut yeah, I think, I think that’s like a, it’s a, it’s something I hope to get better at. It’s like just getting better, more practice at the, at the actual, you know, not having to, you know,
Carrie
yeah,
Maddie McEver
do it all, yeah, at 4am right?
Carrie
Yeah. Well, I think that comes, like, with, Well, talk about some of your drinks, because you have some really, like, cool, I think, kind of unexpected drink pairings, like a lot of people have talked about the gold rush in your Google reviews. So it’s like, I haven’t, again, I haven’t had it because I didn’t really go off. I didn’t explore,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
But I feel like if people are mentioning it repeatedly in your Google reviews, it’s actually good. It’s not just like, we thought this was cool, yeah. So
Maddie McEver
it is that drink, specifically, is for sure, our number one seller, and it’s my favorite drink. And it’s just, like, a it’s a simple syrup that’s made with, like, instead of just white sugar and water, it’s made with brown sugar, white sugar and water, and then vanilla and orange and cardamom and rosemary. Steep situation, and it is delicious. And our little menu, it says vanilla, orange, rosemary, cardamom. It’s just that good. Don’t overthink it. It’s like, it’s truly just, it’s so delicious.
Carrie
Well, it sounds great, and it sounds like it’s like an unusual pairing, is that? And like, unless you guys are like, Oh no, it’s everywhere, and you’re just like, but I feel like it’s not like a lavender latte or something that’s like, you’ve heard of this,
Maddie McEver
right?
Carrie
You know? And like, a blueberry Mocha, which I think is a cool spin on it,
Maddie McEver
yeah, yeah.
Carrie
So what are some of the what are some of the things you’ve tried, or your favorites, as far as that goes?
Maddie McEver
yeah, why don’t you tell everyone what you have every morning?
Mitch McEver
I wouldn’t say every morning, but the double whammy. Yeah, we knew we had to. We had to have something in the store called double whammy. It didn’t, you know, we couldn’t exist without
Carrie
Yeah,
Mitch McEver
mostly because people would keep giving us suggestions on
Maddie McEver
Yeah. You should,
Mitch McEver
you should call X,Y,Z
Carrie
people love to give suggestions. especially coffee shops. like So many people’s dream, like, when I finally realized I just need to be like, Oh, good idea,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
Cuz I was like, they’re just dreaming. They’re not really giving you advice. Like, it made it easier.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Carrie
okay, so yes, you’ve been told you have to have a double whammy
Mitch McEver
double whammy, yeah, which I think is probably our most polarizing item on the menu.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, it’s definitely hot button.
Mitch McEver
Yeah, it’s, it’s kind of a take on the Americola, which is served some coffee shops. And so double whammy is Coca Cola, vanilla syrup and a shot of espresso. So it is,
Maddie McEver
it’s very,
Mitch McEver
yeah, super
Maddie McEver
Yeah, very low, caffeine
Mitch McEver
yeah, if you love herbal teas, you’ll love
Carrie
Yeah.
Maddie McEver
They’re Like, what is that? And I tell them, they’re I watch their eyes get bigger as I mention all the ingredients.
Mitch McEver
I would love to record a video, just a compilation.
Maddie McEver
We should do that.
Mitch McEver
of People’s reaction when you tell them what it is.
Maddie McEver
most people think it’s like a double shot of espresso or something,
Carrie
yeah.
Maddie McEver
And when people order, I’m like, do you know, Has anyone told you what it is yet? Let me, let me be the one to break the news,
Carrie
yeah?
Maddie McEver
But it’s delicious,
Carrie
yeah,
Mitch McEver
yeah. It’s yeah. People are either like, I think that that drink was made for me,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Mitch McEver
Or they’re like, I would never order that.
Carrie
Yeah,
Maddie McEver
I get a lot of, I get a lot of, oh, maybe some other time,
Carrie
yeah,
Mitch McEver
that’s what it always is.
Carrie
that is what a double whammy should be. Like, if you were gonna choose something to be named, that it should not be. It should just be like, I mean, I feel like everything you’re saying is what it should be.
Mitch McEver
It couldn’t be too tame.
Carrie
Yeah,
Mitch McEver
couldn’t be too much of a fastball.
Carrie
Yeah, exactly.
Maddie McEver
We also, like, I, my favorite parts about going to coffee shops are trying seasonal drinks. And so I really, we really wanted to, like, focus in on doing some, like, unique things, but not like, you know, off the grid, like, I’ve never heard of putting black pepper in a coffee or something like that. And so we have the Dreamsicle tonic right now, which is another really popular one. And we house make most of our syrups, which is really fun. And so we like to kind of play around with, like, you could also put that Dreamsicle syrup in a latte, or the blueberry matcha can become a blueberry latte, or whatever people want to do, which is really fun. But yeah, we’re like, kind of scheming some summer menu stuff. As we speak, we did a trial run this morning of a strawberry lemonade Matcha. And it was very delicious.
Mitch McEver
And just to clarify, when she says we, in this instance, she is talking about herself. I taste things.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, you help me with that.
Mitch McEver
But I’m not, I’m not the brains
Maddie McEver
Everything we do is a partnership.
Carrie
When you guys have a Shirley Temple for kids?
Maddie McEver
Yeah, you would be surprised at the amount of people that order a Shirley Temple at 7:40 in the morning. And every time, it’s my favorite, when people are like, I think I want to Shirley Temple. It’s really fun.
Carrie
Well, I mean, those are, I think those are also, like, kind of community builders too. Yes, it’s like, it makes it unique, it makes it fun. So, yeah, I think that’s awesome.
Maddie McEver
Yeah,
Mitch McEver
yeah. I think we with that, and, like, with the double whammy, and really, with the brain as a whole, I think we’re trying to hone in on a little bit of, like, surprise, little delight that maybe people didn’t walk in expecting that, yeah, that they’re gonna, you know, have a toy in their bag of coffee, or they’re gonna order a coffee drink with coke in it. But, like, they’re kind of a little caught off guard by, like, wow, that’s, that’s actually kind of fun, you know, yeah, and to kind of, you know, get people out of their their standard rhythms, and to enjoy it in maybe a way they didn’t expect is kind of part of that experience we want to create.
Maddie McEver
I realized this morning we kind of have a unintentional secret off menu, kids menu item where a lot a bunch of our baristas, we have these, like little mini mugs for our shots of espressos. When a kid comes in, they just ask them, Do you want whipped cream? Yeah, sprinkles. And hand it. And I’m like, did we check with the mom? Yeah, but I watched it happen twice this morning. A little boy be like, really, that’s new off kids menu item. It’s like a pup cup, literally, extra sprinkles,
Carrie
yeah? But, I mean, that’s fine. Well, I feel like, because you kind of balance it like you have, like, a little bit of quirkiness, but you also have that comfort food, and you also have, like, a fun like, you have a double whammy, but, you know, I’ll get, like, espresso based, some form of, like, something boring, but good, like, you know, like a cappuccino or whatever, and that’s still solid,
Maddie McEver
yeah.
Carrie
So I feel like a lot of businesses are either doing, like, it’s this menu. This is all. We’re not changing anything, or it’s crazy, but who knows, but you have a good balance, I think of both. Well, cool. Well, I could keep talking about this forever. But, we are actually out of time. So tell people how they should interact with you. Like, is it first follow us on Instagram or just come by the shop or buy some beans? Or what should they do?
Mitch McEver
I think we’d love to see you at the shop. And I think Maddie, Maddie and I are there all the time, and we love the bar set up where we can make a drink and then just chat a little bit. So like, if you haven’t been like, we’d love to see you, meet you and show you a little bit of what we’re doing.
Maddie McEver
Our team is great. They’ll take great care of you.
Mitch McEver
Yep, we’ve, you know, they pour better lattes than us, so we’ll make sure that they make your drinks. But yeah, I think the the best way, the way we hope we would enjoy most, and they would enjoy most, is just come by and see us.
Carrie
Yeah, awesome.
Maddie McEver
Yeah. We are on Instagram, and all the things we are on Instagram for those digital people, yeah, I think we just whammycoffee, right?
Mitch McEver
Yep, whammycoffee on Instagram. Maddie takes selfies in the morning. Post on the story.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, most of the time when you see a story, it’s me, but we have someone else who like, actually, because I’m a little bit nervous, I would turn it into a silly fest. So, like, someone needs to be paid to keep this professional also.
Carrie
it was also my face a lot when I worked at Church Street, because it was like, all the other baristas were, like, I don’t want to go on Instagram. Yeah? It’s like, I was the one who would do it, yeah,
Maddie McEver
yeah. We have, like, a Notes tab of skits we want to do. We gonna who’s gonna
Carrie
Yeah? So stay tuned for that, yeah. Well, we’ll link to all this in the show notes. So if you’re listening and you’re driving or something like that, the links are there. Cool. Thank you both so much.
Maddie McEver
Yeah, thanks for having us. This was so fun. Feels so official.
Carrie
Oh yeah, I know the
Carrie
The localist podcast is written by me, Carrie Rollwagen and produced right here at infomedia studios. So if you’re interested in a podcast, some social media, video footage or photo video for your website or your social media. We would love to help head to infomedia.com and fill out that contact form and let us know what you need. find show notes about this week’s topic at carrierollwagen.com and you can find me on pretty much any social media @crollwagen. our showrunner is Taylor Davis. Jen Tucker is our outreach manager, and Alana Harmond is our promotions manager. So until next time, here’s to thinking global by acting local and putting small shops before big box.