Compass Coffee facts for kids
 |
|
| Private | |
| Industry | Coffee roaster |
| Founded | July 2014 Shaw, Washington, D.C., United States |
| Founder | Michael Haft |
| Headquarters | Washington, D.C., United States |
|
Number of employees
|
190 (2020) |
Compass Coffee is a company from Washington, D.C., that roasts and sells coffee. It started in 2014. Today, it has 18 stores in Washington, D.C., and Virginia.
The Story of Compass Coffee
Michael Haft started Compass Coffee in 2014. Their first store was in the Shaw neighborhood of Washington, D.C. A second store opened in the same area in September 2015.
Over the next few years, more stores opened. These new locations were in Washington, D.C., and Arlington, Virginia. In October 2022, Compass Coffee opened its first drive-through store.
In 2017, Michael Haft received an award. The District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce gave him the Community Impact Award. This award recognized his positive effect on the community.
Also in 2017, Compass Coffee was mentioned by DC Mayor Muriel Bowser. She spoke about how the company helped start the "Made in DC" movement. It also created many jobs in the city.
Working with Others
Compass Coffee works with different groups to help the community. One partner is Dog Tag Bakery. This bakery helps military veterans who have disabilities. It teaches them how to start their own businesses.
Compass Coffee provides coffee to Dog Tag Bakery. Michael Haft also visits the bakery to share his business knowledge. He helps teach the veterans in their program.
The company also works with The Corp at Georgetown University. This is a group run by students. They learn about managing businesses and being leaders. Compass Coffee has supplied coffee to The Corp since 2015.
Compass Coffee also teamed up with The Washington Post. They created a special coffee blend called "The Post Roast." This coffee celebrated The 7, a popular newsletter and podcast. The 7 reached over a million listeners and was a top series in 2022.
Facing Challenges: The COVID-19 Pandemic
In March 2020, the world faced the COVID-19 pandemic. This was a difficult time for many businesses. Compass Coffee had to make some tough decisions.
The company had to reduce its staff. About 150 of its 189 employees were temporarily laid off. The remaining 39 staff members had their pay adjusted.
Twenty of these employees helped build a new coffee roasting facility. Compass Coffee also stopped allowing customers to add a tip when paying by credit card. This change affected how much money workers earned.
During this time, Compass Coffee received over $9.9 million in government help. This support helped the company manage through the pandemic.
