The Owner’s Line
Direct WhatsApp access to one of our owners, for the questions that come up between deliveries, rotas and the lunch rush. Fifteen years and more of running specialty coffee shops, on your phone.
A second opinion you can trust, the same day
Running a coffee business means making a hundred small calls a week, often on your own. The Owner’s Line gives you someone who has made those calls for years, and who will tell you plainly what they’d do.
See how it works- Café and coffee shop ownersQuality, costs, staff and the day-to-day running of the bar.
- Hotel, restaurant and bar managersCoffee that holds up at breakfast service and on a busy Saturday night.
- New café foundersFrom the first plan to opening week: equipment, layout, menu and team.
- Head baristasDialling in, recipes, training new starters and keeping standards up.
Anything that touches coffee in your business
Big decisions and small fixes. If it affects the cup, the queue or the bottom line, ask.
- Coffee qualityDialling in, extraction, milk, consistency across shifts.
- Equipment and set-upMachines, grinders, water, bar layout, what to buy and what to skip.
- Menu and recipesDrink specs, pricing, seasonal drinks, plant milks.
- Staff training and hiringOnboarding, training plans, what to look for in a barista.
- Workflow and operationsSpeed of service, rotas, opening and closing, waste.
- SuppliersRoasters, milk, equipment servicing, getting a fair deal.
- Opening a caféLocation, fit-out, budget, the first menu and the first hires.
- And everything in betweenIf you’re not sure it’s a coffee question, ask anyway.
Voice notes, photos and videos of your shots are welcome. A ten-second video of a pour often says more than a paragraph.
One of our owners
Personal, one-to-one advice. Not a call centre or a chatbot: your messages go straight to one of the owners of Barista School Ireland, and every answer is about you and your business.
owning and operating specialty coffee shops.
trained at our training school.
trained, including hotels, cafés, restaurants and bars.
- 01Subscribe
Fill in the short form below and pay securely by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay.
- 02Get your welcome email
It arrives straight away, with the WhatsApp contact and everything you need to know.
- 03Message us
Tell us about your business and what’s on your mind. Ask whenever something comes up.
Built to pay for itself, twice over
€150 a month is real money for a coffee business, so it has to earn its place. Most of the value comes from small, practical changes that add up every day you’re open.
- 01Dialling in fasterLess coffee down the sink every morning, less milk poured away, and a better cup sooner.
- 02New hires up to speed soonerA clear training plan means fewer remade drinks and less of your own time on the bar.
- 03Avoiding a costly equipment mistakeA second opinion before you buy a grinder, a machine or a water filter, or pay for a repair you don’t need.
- 04A menu or price tweakDrink specs, sizes and prices that protect your margin without putting off your regulars.
- 05Fixing the bottleneck at the rushSmall changes to bar layout and workflow that get the queue moving, so fewer customers walk away.
- 06Knowing who to callEngineers, roasters and suppliers we’d trust, so you don’t have to find out the hard way.
We’d expect every member to get back at least twice the monthly fee in savings or extra sales. That’s the standard we hold ourselves to.
We can’t promise results, because every business is different. But if you’re not getting good value, tell us and we’ll talk about it.
You’re on the list
We’ll email you as soon as a place opens.
Good to know
How fast will I get a reply?
Same-day replies, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 17:00 (Irish time). Messages that arrive in the evening or at the weekend are answered the next working day. It isn’t an emergency line, so for a machine breakdown, call your engineer first.
Who will I be talking to?
One of the owners of Barista School Ireland, with more than fifteen years owning and operating specialty coffee shops. Our training school has trained thousands of baristas, and hundreds of businesses including hotels, cafés, restaurants and bars.
What can I send?
Questions, voice notes, photos and videos: a clip of a shot running, a photo of your bar, a draft menu, a supplier quote. Ask about anything from dialling in to hiring, or opening your first café.
Can my staff use it too?
The Owner’s Line is one-to-one: a membership covers one person, on the WhatsApp number you give when you join. If someone else on your team would benefit, they can take their own membership while places are available.
What’s not included?
On-site visits, team training sessions and consultancy days are separate. See on-site training and consultancy, and ask in the chat if you’d like a quote.
How do I cancel?
Any time, from Manage my membership. Our membership terms explain the notice period.
Do I get invoices and receipts?
Yes. Stripe emails a receipt every month, and you can download each invoice from Manage my membership. Add your VAT number when you join and we’ll keep it on file for VAT invoices.
Why only 5 places?
So that replies stay quick and personal. When every place is taken, the form becomes a waiting list and we email you as soon as one opens.
Ask someone who’s done it
One WhatsApp message away, the same day. Most months, one good answer covers it.