It’s a great time to be a small business owner in Baton Rouge, business owner Stevie Guillory tells Business Report in the Entrepreneur feature from the new issue.
“People are really rallying around local businesses,” he says.
Guillory and business partner, Christopher Peneguy, are the co-owners of Cafeciteaux Coffee Roasters, housed in a 1,500 square foot warehouse space located at 14141 Airline Hwy. At the end of a long week, Guillory and Peneguy can usually be found at the warehouse, roasting batches of hand picked coffee beans and fulfilling orders.
Their business model is rooted in local support as their product is carried in grocers such as Calandro’s and Alexander’s Highland Market. Their product also has the support of Food Network Star alumni and local chef Jay Ducote.
Couple Ducote’s support with taste tests offer at local grocery stores, Guillory and Peneguy have been able to get their products in front of a new audience and have expanded their online and wholesale operations. Still, their success hasn’t come without tough decisions. The business partners frequently discuss whether one should take over the Cafeciteaux full time. Both have day jobs.
“Being an entrepreneur and a businessman who can control some of his hours—that is where I want to be,” Guillory says, adding he’s not ready to give up the fulfillment he finds working as a physician’s assistant.
In the meantime, Guillory and Peneguy continue to focus on growing their business, expanding online sales and caffeinating the world. They also want to open a café in the next few years.
Despite the dominance of large coffee companies in the local market, neither Guillory or Peneguy don’t view “commodity coffees” as direct competitors because Cafeciteaux is focused on producing speciality coffee from hand grown beans.
“We have a drought when it comes to coffee culture,” Peneguy says, noting some local cafés that feature specialty roasters are the exception.
But, many high-end restaurants in New Orleans have begun to request Cafeciteaux’s products, he adds.
“These young chefs that are coming up, they don’t want to do what everybody else is doing,” Peneguy says.
Read the full Entrepreneur feature. Send your comments to editors@businessreport.com.
