Urban Grind
Small Business Spotlight | Atlanta, Fulton County | Region 3
By Kimberly Knight, Outreach Specialist, Georgia Entrepreneur and Small Business Team
Urban Grind is a cozy coffee shop nestled in Atlanta’s West Side among a live, work and play community established over a decade ago.
In 2007, against the backdrop of a then-bustling economy, Michigan-born and University-of-Georgia-MBA grad, Cassandra Ingram, struck out to accomplish her lifelong goal of becoming an entrepreneur.
When asked about the origins of her entrepreneurial aspirations, she says the dream was likely embedded in her DNA. Perhaps the seeds were planted years before by her Mississippian ancestors. Although not raised with small business owners in her immediate family, stories of her southern fore-parents are steeped in entrepreneurship. Ms. Ingram recounts tales of a gun-toting great-great grandmother running a store, community center and dance hall in rural, segregated Mississippi.
Her great-great grandfather’s 12 siblings possessed 200 acres. On this vast acreage, enterprising men and women protected their land during uprisings and racial tensions and hosted thought leaders like George Washington Carver who, after speaking engagements, could not obtain lodging in local hotels. The settlement outside Laurel Mississippi also had a church and cemetery. These ancestral stories undoubtedly shaped what we see today in Ms. Ingram and Urban Grind.
Ms. Ingram’s entrepreneurial journey takes a harrowing turn when not long after opening, the economy tanked, forcing her back to full-time work. Her story is unusual in that during the downturn, while businesses large and small failed, Urban Grind was not among them.
Twelve years later, Ms. Ingram still ‘grinds’ in the same spot, greeting her customers with warm smiles and firm handshakes. Ms. Ingram is a survivor and an extremely hard worker who still splits her time between her full-time marketing job for a global brand and her beloved Urban Grind.
Throughout our interview, she acknowledges her patrons — regulars and new. Former employees, now customers, offer hearty hellos. All mill about harmoniously in the calm and serene space with earth-toned walls, as soulful rhythm-and-blues music plays in the background.
“Congratulations on your appointment,” she says to a well-dressed man in the corner of the shop. “He’s one of the ministers at my church,” she explains. He asks if she comes to the coffee shop often, to which she responds, “I own it.”
It’s a great moment. Ms. Ingram and the patron exchange pleasantries about the church they love. She picks up the interview where she left off without missing a step. Very unassuming and humble, Ms. Ingram watches with great intention each soul in her space. She often stops our interview to offer guidance to staff or to say hello to a customer.
Detail oriented and conscientious, she knows her greatest differentiator is customer service. “Get the door for her,” she directs another staff member when she observes a challenged customer attempting to make her way out of the shop. She sees everything at all times. As for time, there’s little left in Ms. Ingram’s day. Her story is one of sacrifice and perseverance that so many on the entrepreneurial journey share.
Ms. Ingram says she has always possessed an entrepreneurial spirit. As a young girl growing up in Michigan, her earliest memories of entrepreneurship are of selling pens as president of her high school Junior Achievement team as a fundraiser. Although Ms. Ingram delayed small business ownership, instead, building a solid corporate career in New York, the call to entrepreneurship never waned.
As the call became louder, like any good business person, research and analysis came first. Ms. Ingram evaluated many business options and opportunities. The decision to open a coffee shop was a perfect solution that married the data she collected with her passion to create a thriving community where people could gather.
Ms. Ingram took courses at the New School in New York to get specific training. Although she had an MBA, Ingram knew nothing about running a coffee shop. Ms. Ingram immersed herself in learning the specifics surrounding running a coffee shop, even working one year at a major chain before opening her own.
Ms. Ingram is as much about building a culture as she is a strong company.
"Urban Grind is as much a place to 'escape your grind,' to relax and unwind, as it is a place for people to gather and share their experiences, discuss community issues, express their creativity and hone their grind. It's a kind of double meaning." - Cassandra Ingram, Owner of Urban Grind
The entertainment world has also taken notice of Urban Grind – the shop is a regular spot for filming, serving as a location for the Real Housewives of Atlanta, the BET series Being Mary Jane, as well as MTV and OWN Network series among others. The coffee shop also hosts comedy, poetry and original music open mics every week. Several artists from many genres hone their skills at Urban Grind.
When asked about her greatest challenges, she says retaining staff and finding capital to accomplish the many projects she has in mind are difficult. She is fortunate to have a couple of team members who have been with her several years, but the ability to keep staff is one of her greatest impediments to growth.
Ms. Ingram talks of sacrificing to finance her business, which she did with her own savings. “There were a lot of trips I missed. The night President Obama won the presidential election, I was here taking out the trash. I knew he won only from the cheers I heard in the neighborhood. I would have loved to have been at a watch party, but I was here working,” she said. The sacrifices are the parts of entrepreneurship people often don’t see.
Ms. Ingram is asked to share her secrets to success with budding entrepreneurs. She creates a win-win scenario, giving inquirers practical, hands-on experience working in the business in exchange for her knowledge. She gets extra hands for projects, while her mentees learn from her vast years of experience.
Urban Grind and Cassandra Ingram are a gem in the community and in the state of Georgia. With a faith that is unwavering and work ethic that is unsurpassed, Ms. Ingram is a shining example of the fortitude, wisdom and courage needed to have staying power in any business.
Next time you're in Atlanta, make a stop at Urban Grind at 962 Marietta Street NW. And be sure to connect with them online, on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.