TWOP Q&A: Ed Savitt, Owner of DropShot Coffee

by Nov 19, 2018

We chat to Ed Savitt, Putney born owner and barista of London’s DropShot Coffee.

How did you start your business?

I was working in property development for about 2 years before I got sick of the industry and wanted to do something I was more passionate about. I loved coffee but didn’t know the first thing about the ins and outs of running a coffee shop so I left the property company and decided to go work in an independent coffee shop for a year to learn the trick of the trade.

Whilst doing this, I was searching for the right space to set up my own coffee shop whilst doing appraisals, market research etc and finally came across the site that DropShot is now situated in!

A year after first viewing the property and 6 months of a lot of hard building work, we opened the doors at the start of June.

What / Who makes you tick?

The main thing for me is being in a ‘job’ that I’m not timekeeping, I’m not thinking I wish I was somewhere else. Somewhere where I actually enjoy being and that really is my drive. Making it a place where people enjoy coming and people who I enjoy speaking with and seeing.

Who makes me tick; my family. It’s always great when a member of my family is meeting one of their friends in the shop or my wife comes to help me for a few hours. Just having them there at my place of work is really satisfying.

If you could attribute your success to anyone, who gave you your first break?

I’m not sure I can call it ‘success’ just yet but fingers crossed it will be!! But it would have to be Ground Coffee Society in Putney. Jenny (the manager at the time) and David Dickinson gave me the initial break I needed when I decided to move into the coffee world and I really haven’t looked back since.

Is your style of work influenced by anything or anyone?

Absolutely everything I like, I remember and try to incorporate it into the shop if I think it’ll work!

There is no one major influence and a lot of what I created is from different designs from coffee shops/restaurants/bars etc that I’ve either visited or predominately through Pinterest!

Of course, my wife has the final sign off on most of the things I want to do but we have similar taste!

What’s the toughest thing about your job?

Remaining positive when going through a tough period and there are a lot of those at the beginning.

Not only is it trying to remain positive for yourself but for your staff. You don’t want them seeing or getting the impression that things aren’t working out so it’s the trying to remain upbeat and motivated during these times.

How do you balance work with play?

I have a great team working in the shop so I feel confident and comfortable leaving the shop for a day or so nowadays.

At the beginning, I worked 8 weeks straight from 6am to 8pm 7 days a week and I got a bit of burn out!

I now try to keep at least 1 day free a week to relax and just chill out.

What do you think the future holds for the coffee/hospitality industry?

I’d like to think that the independent specialty coffee market will go from strength to strength but you really never know. There’s still the impression that ‘hospitality’ or working in a coffee shop isn’t a ‘proper job’ but I think that is slowly changing as it is a serious skill and one that can be used in any area of the world.

I believe people are more educated and aware of specialty coffee now and so the standard is improving the whole time and hopefully that’ll result in more independent shops popping up rather than the chains.

What are you most proud of?

Having something that is mine. Something that I’ve worked so hard for and at first, was just a thought I had in my head but now what I envisaged is actually pretty much spot on what we have created. Of course there is a lot of things we can and will improve on but when people come into the shop and pay you a compliment, it’s a very proud feeling.

What’s the best bit of advice someone has ever given you?

If you think it’s going to be easy, you’re delusional! And it’s true! If it was easy, everyone would do it wouldn’t they?

With thanks to Ed x

For more information and to have a a swoon at their Instagram pop over to @dropshotcoffeeldn.

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About Emily Eaves

Co Founder and Editor at To Work or Play, Emily has been Freelance Copywriting for over 10 years. She is passionate about food, drink, travel, design and finding ways to keep her two children out of trouble.

With a background in Luxury Restaurant and Hotel PR, Emily moved from London to Dorset in 2019. She now spends weekends at the beach and daydreams about her vegetable garden.

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