Season Two

And just like that, almost unexpectedly, my story about the best coffee shop in the world was interrupted a year ago. What makes it interesting is that the previous season was written during an incredible, dizzying rise. Now, we find ourselves right in the middle of an equally dizzying fall—the current week has been the worst in more than a year. That will be the focus of episode two of season two of our little show. For now, here is a short review of what happened with Fenster over the past year. Do not worry—we will return to all the fun and important events in dedicated episodes a little later.

So, as they say—let’s go!

Here is what Fenster went through over the year, in chronological order:

• We officially secured the space for the original Fenster, and in addition, the storefront location for the future coffee shop store, facing the main street of our building. That was a major part of our 2021 story. As of now, all construction and finishing work has been completed. What remains is equipment and the launch of the roasting operation.
• We gained our first and most important partner, who opened Fenster (April 2021) in Salzburg. A short thought about this: very interesting, necessary, and educational. We learned a lot and changed a lot because of this partnership.
• We rented a facility outside Vienna (just 25 minutes driving by the book, door to door), which will later become our roasting plant. For the time being, it has served as storage and a packaging facility (May 2021).
• We finally received our roaster from the United States—a delivery we had waited exactly a year for, since the moment the contract was signed with the seller and our bank (July 2021). From that point on, we began the complicated process of getting permission to use the facility for roasting, as well as preparing to connect the roaster. Ninety-five percent of all necessary work has been completed. Only the final two steps remain.
• We opened Fenster in Linz. This was our partner’s initiative—he decided to go for a second location. Linz is a very contradictory and interesting city. I believe things there will eventually settle and work out as they should (December 2021).
• We built our own training center. This space is part of the Vienna Fenster—about 25m², separate, renovated, and fully equipped (December 2021).
• Over this period, we increased annual revenue (cash register) by 2.68 times and reached €740,000, serving more than 150,000 cups of coffee. The pandemic shaped us. Yes, Fenster was already something special before, but 2021 was without doubt the year not only of the pandemic, but also of Fenster. When the wave rose, we were ready.

It was a year like driving a car in a full-on rally—an insanely powerful engine, barely under control. Everything guided by instincts and questionable impressions.

For me personally, it was a year of completely new experiences and fundamental systemic changes. For example, we officially gained a new director. Of course, I am still the actual manager, and I will remain so for quite a while, but now there is someone else also making decisions and learning to run this operation.

Another milestone: after a long period of hesitation, doubts, and back-and-forth, a new coffee brand was born—something we will talk about often. The debate was whether it made sense to separate certain coffee projects from Fenster and build them up individually, or to keep everything under the Fenster umbrella and manage it together. The concept of separation won. That is why, soon, on the foundation of Fenster, and thanks to its rapid rise and constant financial support, a completely new brand and concept will be announced. Another fascinating challenge, another dramatic beginning. In any case, we will see how it works. 🙂

As for the YouTube series—it is uncertain. Maybe it makes more sense to switch to audio? I am still thinking about it. Personally, I now prefer listening over reading, so it might actually be fun to create podcast-style episodes.

And with that, I am heading off to drink the best coffee in the world. I suggest you get ready too: we are starting a new season of stories about how coffee history is being made—right now. 🙂