Meet Breno Donatti | Chief Barista

We had the good fortune of connecting with Breno Donatti and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Breno, can you walk us through the thought-process of starting your business?
First of all, I could never have achieved what I have in any other country. The USA and its incredible entrepreneurial spirit with freedom and equal opportunity to all made it possible for a kid from Brazil to feed my family by doing what I love, serving people making coffee and give back by donating meals to the needy.

Before starting my business, I worked in the restaurant industry for about 6 years while also attending UCONN full time. I had worked in a variety of places from fine dining to casual take away pizzerias. I was working a crazy rhythm, but I dreamt of opening my business and start a family with my wife. That is when I decided to find a low key business to purchase, and after a few months of research I found this very old delicatessen and purchased it with some savings we had. The deli had a great reputation, but it needed a lot of love. The current owners wanted out. After a few months, I decided to pivot and focus on coffee and since then we opened 5 more units.

With the COVID pandemic, we knew that the organizations we always donated to would be most vulnerable, so we created a Giving Back program in which we donate one meal for every check of $20 or more. We were able to donate about 10,000 meals since the beginning of COVID

What should our readers know about your business?
There are hundreds of coffee shops out there and many choices for customers to make, but I always tell my staff to focus on one customer at the time. People that support us like supporting local joints and we need to give them that feel. People walk into small businesses because everyone loves feeling special and it is our job to make sure they know we need them. If we don’t provide a real value to the community and to each customer, there is no reason for us to exist.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
Sure thing! Plenty of places to visit in our neck of the woods. Fairfield County, CT, and Stamford, in particular, where our flagship is located, is home to Taco Daddy and Lila Rose, Remo’s Pizzeria, Fiesta Peruvian and Layla’s Falafel, just to mention some of my favorites. We have Scalzi Park and Mill River Park for a picnic and Cove Beach for a family day. I would also take my friend to a workout at CrossFit Stamford or F45, and to a massage at Massage Palace

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There is dozens of people that influenced my career and directly supported our goals. My wife Jeanette, who put her opera career on pause to build the business with me; my dad and Godfather, with their direct and effective counsel; my old bosses at Pizza Post, Rowayton Pizza, Wilton Pizza, Barcelona Restaurant; UCONN and NCC; Steven Semaya, who coached me through getting my s*** together as far as business plan and financials go; Inspirica, a local organization that feeds and equips needy people in our community; and my business partners Peter Krupa, Ben Wasserman and Anthony Harvey

Read more at: Shoutout DFW