Jotam and Chelsey Torres have been in the business of feeding people for a while, but it wasn’t until they opened Refuge Coffee in Crown Point that the duo found purpose behind the production.
Although he’s since built a substantial career in the food industry, Jotam, president of Refuge Coffee, never envisioned himself as a restaurant owner. He attended Illinois State University where he explored a few different majors but never found anything that stuck.
When the Torreses moved to a condominium in Hyde Park, Chicago, he applied for a job at a European cafe and espresso shop that opened next to their home while Chelsey attended pastry school.
Jotam learned a lot from his time at the cafe and was promoted shortly after joining the team. Eventually, the Torreses began making bagels for the cafe to sell in-store.
The bagels were consistently top sellers at the cafe, and Jotam and Chelsey decided to open the Bagelers Coffeehouse, which sold bagels and other wholesale pastries to around 35 businesses in Chicago – including just about every coffee roaster in the city.
“Through that process, we just really fell in love with the food industry. It was the perfect place. Everybody's got to eat, and everybody, in one way or another, gets excited about food or coffee. It's just a very unique opportunity to make a relational connection with people every single day,” Jotam said.
Jotam and Chelsey worked out of Chicago for about 15 years and began a new endeavor – Refuge Coffee – last year. After selling the Bagelers Coffeehouse and placing deeper roots in Crown Point, the two decided to open a coffee shop and cafe that delivers quality food for an affordable price.
They began realizing a need for accessible delicacies when Chelsey was attending pastry school. After a long day of learning new techniques and recipes, Chelsey would return home with pastries from all over the world.
“The stuff she would bring home was just phenomenal. We were blown away. We started realizing that there’s so much out there that people just don't know about, and many times they can't afford it because it's reserved for people that are wealthy,” Jotam said. “We wanted to find a way to apply traditional processes and get the best quality ingredients but find a balance to where we don't have to charge an arm and a leg. We don't want to be your $22 latte and muffin once a week. We want to be your $8 breakfast three or four times a week.”
Thus began the story of Refuge Coffee, but it’s more than just a coffee shop for Jotam and Chelsey. It’s a modern-day sanctuary for people to come as they are and experience the love that the two have found in the Lord.
“It's not a church thing, and it’s not a religious thing. It's a relationship thing. We feel that what God is calling us to do is to be relational, to create an environment and culture that puts people first,” Jotam said.
Refuge Coffee was founded with the mission statement of “serve, craft, lead,” and the mission is clear to both the customers and employees that walk through the door every day.
Adhering to the mission statement begins with the hiring process at Refuge Coffee. There’s a place for everyone at Refuge, but if someone isn’t willing to serve other employees and customers with intention, Refuge may not be the place for them.
This heart of service stems from the Torreses themselves, who take pride in acknowledging their own weaknesses and being transparent with their struggles and triumphs. The two encourage their employees to do the same and provide plenty of opportunities to build genuine relationships with the people they surround themselves with at work.
“Every week, our manager has a one-on-one with every staff member to provide the chance to pursue depth in the relationship. We don't bring an agenda, and we don't talk about work. It's just getting to know our people on a different level,” Jotam said.
This type of transparency and intentionality is not strictly reserved for employees, however. In fact, Refuge Coffee also operates under four core values – feedback, love, growth, and identity. These values are something that the team at Refuge Coffee keeps in mind with everything they produce and every interaction they have with a customer.
“We want people to know that, when we make things or when we do things, we mean exactly what we say – to the point where we'll show you the recipe and where we get the ingredients. We think transparency is the best policy, and we have core values that help us accomplish these things,” Jotam said.
Apart from Refuge, Jotam enjoys spending time with his wife Chelsey and their kids at home in Crown Point. He likes to stay busy, however, and has recently learned how to farm using hydroponics in his basement. He hopes to bring this new knowledge into the coffee shop through a miniature farmer’s market on the patio during the summer and fall.
Once he masters the art of hydroponics through his work at his own home, he will begin taking steps toward establishing a commercial hydroponic farm within the bakery warehouse. Once the farm is approved for commercial sale, he hopes to begin setup for a mini farmer’s market where people will have access to fresh produce year-round.
The farmer’s market will serve as another way for people to get fresh, authentic food at an affordable price. At Refuge, it’s all about bringing the best of the best to everyone, no matter who they are.
Whether it’s a connection through family, coworkers, or customers, Jotam is determined to build relationships in whatever he does. For him, Refuge is a place for people to come as they are, to be their most authentic selves, and to appreciate and uplift one another every day.
“If there's one thing that I hope that Refuge is amazing at, it's loving people well, connecting relationally, and having that human impact on one another,” Jotam said.
To learn more about Refuge Coffee, visit refugeculture.com.