Alright now that you’re here shameless plug time! If you’re ever at the Jersey Shore, go to Beach Haven and hit up my favorite places on Earth… Artifacts and Company and the Coffee Nest , make sure to say hi to my “Momma Bird” Amy and her daughter Grace for me. 🙂
My summer work experience at the Jersey Shore has been anything but bussing tables, working carnival rides and games, or checking beach badges… I have spent three summers working at the most adorable coffee and coastal decor shop. Well actually, its more of a coffee/decor/furniture/art gallery/clothing/floral shop run and owned by mother-daughter duo Amy and Grace.
The shop sells everything from iced lavender honey lattes, to bikinis made out of men’s dress shirts, to hand-arranged bouquet of flowers, to a rustic, French-inspired bench.
Here are some things you would experience if you worked a week at the Nest…
You might accidentally make a regular latte instead of a decaf one… oops
You bump butts a lot behind the narrow counter but learn how to be a great team (her tiny stature means she can easily slide under my tall arms)
You teach your boss how to use the point-of-sales system Square then become the entire staff’s tech support
You eagerly await the opportunity to grind more beans to make a new pot of drip coffee
Your workout for the day consists of moving the 50-pound cold brew kegs from the front to back of the store
You celebrate each other’s birthday and special occasions by throwing parties at the shop
You sometimes run errands definitely not within your job description… running to the food store for plastic cups for your boss’s happy hours
You become completely nose blind to the smell of coffee, and oblivious to the fact that your clothes will always smell like coffee no matter how many times you wash them
You have to point to the milk and cream (directly in front of the customer’s face) after you already showed them where it is
You look forward to seeing your favorite regular (a.k.a the bartender from across the street who orders 4 large red eyes each with double shots!) because of his overflowing bucket of coins and small bills (from his tips) from which he grabs a sizable fistful and dumps it into your tip jar each and every day, so you start giving him an extra shot on the house in each because of the madness he has to deal with at work
You order breakfast burritos and fries to share between you and your bosses way too often
You start to get really good at guessing people’s orders based on what type of beach-house-renter they are
You feel more at home at the shop than in your real home
And most importantly…
Your bosses become family <3