Compass Coffee

Compass Coffee is an American coffee roaster based in Washington, D.C. It was founded in 2014 and operates in Washington, D.C. and Virginia.[1][2][3] The company attracted attention in 2020 for eliminating the tipping of staff, which employees claimed resulted in a loss of income for them. As of May 2022, the company has 14 stores.[4]

Compass Coffee
TypePrivately held company
IndustryCoffee roaster
FoundedJuly 2014 (July 2014)
Shaw, Washington, D.C., United States
FounderMichael Haft and Harrison Suarez
WebsiteOfficial website

History
Store in Shaw, Washington, DC

The company was founded by Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez in 2014.[5] Following the Shaw neighborhood store, a second store was opened in the same neighborhood in September 2015.[6] Over the next few years, other stores were opened in Washington DC and Arlington, Virginia.[7][8]

Compass was served in the White House during the Veterans Day Commemoration Speech in 2015.[9]

On October 20, 2017, Compass Coffee founders Haft and Suarez received the District of Columbia Chamber of Commerce's Community Impact Award at the 2017 Chamber's Choice Gala.[10]

Elimination of Tipping

Towards the beginning of 2020, Compass Coffee eliminated the option for patrons to tip workers, but offered a base pay increase to offset "lost wages." Workers at the company's different locations compiled their hourly wages in a shared spreadsheet to determine whether the pay change coupled with the elimination of tips actually constituted a pay raise. They found that, in nearly every case, loss of tips was greater than the hourly pay increase.[11] This led to the creation of the Compass Coffee Union, which despite strong efforts to fight for better treatment of employees and higher wages, was stamped out by the March 2020 layoffs.[12]

Impact of COVID-19

Due to the impact of COVID-19, Compass laid off 150 of its 189 employees in March 2020.[13][14][15] The remaining staff had their pay cut to $15 per hour, and about 20 of the staff assisted in the construction of a new roasting facility.[16]

References
  1. Judkis, Maura (September 17, 2014). "From the Ground Up: Legacy and legwork". The Washington Post.
  2. Ravindranath, Mohana (December 28, 2014). "At Compass Coffee, data is the secret ingredient". The Washington Post.
  3. "Compass Coffee". compasscoffee.com. Retrieved May 18, 2020.
  4. "Compass Coffee's first drive-thru is under construction along Langston Blvd | ARLnow.com". ARLnow.com. May 12, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  5. Deutch, Gabby (March 17, 2021). "The Jewish Marine behind a proud D.C. coffee institution". Jewish Insider. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  6. Bethune, Meredith (November 3, 2015). "Compass Coffee's Second Location Is Now Open". Eater DC.
  7. Carman, Tim (April 5, 2017). "Starbucks is all over downtown Washington. These coffee shops are much better". The Washington Post.
  8. "Compass Coffee Set to Open New Location in Ballston Next Month". ARLnow.com - Arlington, Va. Local News. January 22, 2020. Retrieved October 4, 2020.
  9. "Remarks by the President at Veterans Day Commemoration Ceremony". whitehouse.gov. November 11, 2015. Retrieved July 17, 2020.
  10. "DC Chamber Recognizes Compass Coffee". MidCity DC News. November 10, 2017.
  11. "Here's What Happened After Compass Coffee Eliminated Tips". WAMU. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  12. "Here's What Happened After Compass Coffee Eliminated Tips". WAMU. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  13. "Coronavirus Is Causing Industry-Wide Layoffs In D.C., Hitting Service Workers Particularly Hard". DCist. Archived from the original on March 13, 2021. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  14. "Here's What Happened After Compass Coffee Eliminated Tips". WAMU. Retrieved October 8, 2021.
  15. "Compass Coffee Combats COVID-19 with their "Simple Sanitizer"". www.uschamber.com. Retrieved March 14, 2022.
  16. Berg, Nate (July 9, 2021). "Why this coffee shop turned its baristas into construction workers during COVID-19". Fast Company. Retrieved December 9, 2021.
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