Today we’d like to introduce you to Hayes McPherson
Hi Hayes, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
My partner (business and by marriage haha) Amy and I are both born and raised Memphians. I got my start in coffee as a college job but quickly fell in love with the industry. It quickly became something I knew I wanted to do forever. At the time, Memphis only had one or two “specialty” coffee shops, basically shops that were creating community (a coffee shops inherent purpose in my opinion) and also focusing on every aspect of the quality side of things. Another term used for this was Third Wave Coffee at the time. While there’s nothing wrong with providing a different approach to coffee, we saw that there was a gap in the city for something different. When we wrapped up school, we moved back to Memphis and began working on a building in the Pinch rehabbing it to be Comeback Coffee! After being open for nearly 6 years now, Comeback looks very different than we ever planned. What started out as a small shop in Memphis, now is a full on coffee roaster, beverage company and coffee shop! We are stocked in shops/ stores all over the world at this point which is beyond anything we ever expected when we opened back in 2019!
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Not in the slightest! Small business, especially food industry, is notoriously difficult. When we opened Comeback Amy and I were fresh out of college and entering into our mid 20’s. While, I had been in the industry for years at that point, this was our first venture so there was a pretty steep learning curve. We always say how thankful we are for the folks that were by our side in the early days especially (still true for our folks with us now) because I know it was a journey for everyone haha. But we were challenged early on when we had to celebrate our one year anniversary literally on the first day of Covid shut downs in Memphis. There’s no way to fully prep for small business ownership but never in our wildest of expectations did we think we would have to navigate a global pandemic. Despite the hardships of pivoting several times because of that, those struggles set Comeback up to be where we are now. If it weren’t for those struggles, we would have never canned our coffee sodas and we would have never have expanded in the way we have now. But every day brings a new challenge which is the exciting part of the job and one of the most difficult as well. Now, we’re worried about shipping products to Australia, distribution across the nation and how we build a company that is impactful not just for ourselves but for the city of Memphis and the folks who have bought in on this journey with us.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
We are really proud of what we’ve built here in the city. We now have helped develop the Pinch in what we hope becomes a really special district for the city ( it already is In our opinions). Three buildings in, 3 businesses started, and a whole host of fun projects in the works. To be able to do that while brining in accolades like being named as one of the best coffee shops in the country by Food & Wine, a finalist in best design/ packaging from Sprudge Magazine, and being named Memphis 30 under 30 is just icing on the cake. Getting to do all of that while still playing into my first professional love of coffee is really special.
Where we are in life is often partly because of others. Who/what else deserves credit for how your story turned out?
Literally everyone who’s worked for us over the past six years deserves a massive shout out. We are who we are because of our team. I function like many creatives/ entreprenuers in that I’m a little scatterbrained. Our crew keeps me focused and helps all of my crazy ideas click into place. There are so many folks who make it happen. All of our baristas who represent our commitment to community and quality, Victoria Moore (shop manager) who ensures that the shop ( and myself) doesn’t fall apart, Ethan McGaughy (COO of the production side of Comeback) who has been with us for nearly every step of the way. From hustling alongside of us when we began making coffee soda in a non insulated garage during the Memphis summer to now growing it to a multi country brand. Hannah Sisson (Director of Wholesale) who echos our mission to folks all over and also has a hand in every facet of Comeback. Caitlin Robinson (Roaster and Shipping and Fulfillment) who has stepped in this past year and ensured quality and consistency while picking up the jobs that are tedious and sometimes plain annoying. finally, None of this is possible without the support of my partner Amy. Amy is Co-Ceo and head of design at Comeback. But in that, she’s what keeps us all sane and realistic in our approach. Plus, she ensures we look as good as we do. And plenty of folks who have supported the dream since the beginning.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://comebackbev.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Comeback.coffee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ComebackCoffeeUS/
