OMAHA, Neb. (KMTV) - Coffee shop owners and coffee roasters are both male dominated jobs. But at Amateur Coffee in Omaha, both positions are filled by women.
"I would say in the big scheme of things, it is very minimal as far as woman-owned businesses and coffee shops in general," said Jasmyn Wichert, founder and owner of Amateur Coffee.
Shelby Bertness showed interest in being a roaster for years but was never given the opportunity in the past.
"I kind of got the hint that I wasn't in their form, or their idea of what they wanted a roaster to be," said Bertness, now a roaster at Amateur Coffee.
She moved to Omaha from Chicago a few months ago and has finally been given the opportunity.
"I tried to get my foot in a few times, to no avail. But moving here I have had the great opportunity to learn and be able to grow within the coffee world and show that woman can do whatever they want,” said Bertness.
Wichert comes from a long line of strong women, so opening her own business was not the struggle. Instead, it's getting others to recognize that she is the boss.
"The biggest struggle that I probably face as a woman, is maybe just like my husband being assumed the only owner of our company and other people just wanting to shake his hand first," Wichert said.
Having a female owner and woman roaster isn't the only unique thing about this vegan coffee shop.
"There's only maybe 10 other coffee shops in the world that are doing this. It's called the glass revolution,” said Wichert.
Amateur Coffee does not have any paper or plastic cups, lids, or straws. Instead, they use a glass coffee cup for those dinning in and glass jars for to-go orders.
Wichert explained that by making this switch they only have one or two bags of trash a week.
"As a business owner I have this unique position to call the shots and say ‘We are going to do this’ and help encourage our community to make better choices by making it available to them,” said Wichert.
AMATEUR COFFEE
3913 Cuming St, Omaha, NE 68131
(402) 506-6333
Amateur Coffee | Facebook
Amateur Coffee | website
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