Meet Whitney Feltrop of The COOP & Coffee House

Today we’d like to introduce you to Whitney Feltrop.

Hi Whitney, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, you could tell our readers some of your backstory.
From a young age, I dreamed of owning my smoothie stop or drink stop, yet I thought owning a business would be out of reach until after spending years saving money to cover the startup expenses. When I was 16 years old, I was hired as a barista for The Coffee House, a small drive-thru coffee shop in Derby. I graduated high school in 2015, went to Wichita State University, and graduated with my Bachelor of Business Degree, majoring in Marketing in 2018, after working a few jobs, including sales, management, and corporate office work. I was itching to escape the mundane and pursue my dreams. My sister sent me a press release about The COOP, which mentioned it would have a coffee shop inside. I reached out to the founder, Brant Dumford, and he was eager to give me the opportunity. I asked my boss (the owner of The Coffee House), Carmon Davidson, if I could open a 2nd location of her store, and she was eager to have me help expand The Coffee House brand since the following was outgrowing the capacity of the original drive-thru store. The Coffee House at The COOP is a 2nd location serving the same menu, and Carmon is my business partner in the venture. Our grand opening was in April 2020. That year presented many challenges, but it was also great timing to provide opportunities for bakers and creators that were out of work due to the pandemic, and we provided essential services in the form of to-go food and beverages that brought our customers joy in a chaotic and stressful time. The community has supported us in full force. Derby and the surrounding suburbs, Wichitans, and even tourists stop in. After 2 years after opening, Brant promoted me to Operations Manager. On top of running the coffee bar, I am now responsible for maintaining the entire store, recruiting and onboarding co-op members and assisting existing ones, and marketing The COOP. And I owe a lot of our gratitude to the many co-op members who we have cross marketed with and have been able to reach a larger audience and market thanks to their products. Seeing the growth and hearing so much positive customer feedback daily has been exciting. I feel truly blessed to be the operations manager of the coop and for it to have such a great trajectory. Brant recently purchased the land neighboring The COOP and has hired me to be the Property Manager of Derby Market Square, a community hub featuring a local restaurant, creamery, plenty of outdoor dining and yard games, and some space for pop-up boutiques. Derby Market Square is set to launch in January 2024 and will only add to The COOP & Coffee House’s appeal.

We all face challenges, but looking back, would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
We opened in March 2020. We were supposed to open before we even knew of the pandemic, but due to some setbacks in renovations and a leak in our water main, we had to push back opening. I had already quit my full-time job, so there was no turning back; we had to find a way to open and operate safely throughout the pandemic. Due to how politically polarizing the pandemic became with mask regulations, social distancing requirements, etc., we had to tread lightly and do our best to be welcoming and respectful to all but compliant with the regulations and make our best judgments for the sake of the public. With limited management experience, running the coop has been a huge learning experience from managing the 7-10 baristas team and working with our 20-30 co-op members to ensure they’re happy and meeting COOP standards and expectations. I lead with a people-first mentality, and that goes a long way. My priority has always been to be a great workplace, and an enjoyable place to visit that treats our employees and customers with patience, empathy, and kindness. Everybody makes mistakes, but we do our best to learn and improve. One of my favorite aspects of my job is finding the inefficiencies or hitches and thinking of ways to improve the overall experience for both employees and customers. Maintaining a team of motivated employees and positive workplace culture has been more difficult at times than I initially anticipated. I’ve learned much about differing personalities, communication styles, and learning. I’ve also learned a lot about myself and my vulnerabilities, which I have been working on. Owning a business has brought about more personal growth than I could have ever gotten in school or other professional jobs. I’m very grateful for the small amount of experience and wisdom I’ve gained in the past few years.

As you know, we’re big fans of The COOP & Coffee House. What can you tell our readers who might need to be more familiar with the brand?
We are a co-op called The COOP. Our passion is working with small, local businesses to make their products more accessible to the community and make retail space more attainable and reasonable for small businesses as they get started. We are also a coffee shop; the original location has served the Derby community since 2005. We serve locally roasted coffee and have a large selection of drink flavors and customizations, including boba and flavor combinations, to ensure we can tailor our drinks exactly to our customer’s tastes and make it a fun and unique experience every time. There is a lot of creativity behind the drinks and the goods our 20+ co-op members make and sell in our store. It makes it an exciting place to visit and treat yourself. I am most proud of our reputation for customer service and overall product quality. There’s truly something for everybody in our store. We have so many kid-friendly fun drinks beyond coffee, like fruit smoothies, lemonades, sodas, shakes, hot cocoa, and teas with boba options! Our co-op members cater to diabetics, gluten allergies/celiac, and vegans, and our coffee bar serves dairy alternatives, plenty of sugar-free flavor options, and some amazing decaf espresso. We even have local eggs, honey, meat, meals, jerky, kombucha, handmade soaps, scrubs, pottery, knit goods, and much more beyond baked goods and drinks.

Who else deserves credit for your story?

• Brant Dumford is the founder of The COOP. He took a run-down gas station and transformed the space into the store it is now. He set up the concept and has worked alongside me in keeping The COOP growing.
• Carmon Davidson is the owner of The Coffee House and is the best boss I’ve had and has always been a role model to me. She showed me that a female in her 20s can open a successful coffee shop and be successful. She is super modest but has a book of knowledge regarding customer service and managing employees.
• My spouse, Terran Brown, has been with me from the beginning when I first became a barista and supported me through it all, even when it meant long days and him barely seeing me and taking care of me when I worked myself into the ground.
• My family has been super supportive, is full of advice, and helps me make decisions when looking for an outside perspective.
• Our co-op members all have played an integral role. They each make unique and amazing enough products to keep people talking about us and visiting to try more.
• My staff (including Elizabeth, who has been part of it from the beginning and is well recognized and appreciated by our frequent customers). They all work hard, sometimes during very chaotic rushes for small stores, to serve our customers with a smile and helpful info and recommendations as needed. Elizabeth and other team members have been helpful, passing along feedback, ideas, and things she’s noticed.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.coopks.com
• Instagram: Thecoopks
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Thecoopandcoffeehouse?mibextid=ZbWKwL
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-coop-and-coffee-house-derby-2

Image Credits
Elizabeth George Photography