Café puts a spin on the daily grind

Local business helps coffee shop owners get off the ground

By Calvin Hall

The Gresham Outlook, Jul 31, 2010

Jim Clark / The Outlook

Mo Black prepares a coffee drink at Alex & Associates Barista School in Troutdale. Black is a student at the faux cafe, which teaches people the finer skills of running coffee shops.

In a small, modest and unmarked storefront in downtown Troutdale, there’s a trendy café that has comfortable seating, a relaxed atmosphere, friendly baristas, an easy-to-read menu and, of course, delicious espressos, mochas, cappuccinos and iced coffees.

But it’s not open to the public.

Instead, the mock café serves as a training ground for entrepreneurs and café owners from all over the United States and the world who travel here to learn practical tips and advice about running a successful café while avoiding the costly pitfalls and oversights.

Owner Oksana Fisenko and her son, Michael Fisenko, run the café through Alex & Associates, a Tigard-based consulting company. Oksana established the company in 2007 to impart the lessons she and her husband, Alex Fisenko – a pioneer in the American café industry – learned during their 25-year career as café owners and consultants.

“All those little things we learned over the years, we teach now,” Oksana said.

Alex, who died in 2007, and Oksana established their first coffee shop in Berkeley, Calif., in the late 1960s when the general public’s interest in drinking espressos and gourmet coffees was still in its infancy. However, their first café became a financial success. Alex and Oksana opened 15 more espresso shops across the country, including American Espresso near Portland State University, between 1970 and 1994.

Clients can sign up for hands-on training sessions in the Troutdale café, or they can get business advice over the phone and on site at their café. The Fisenkos have consulted with clients across the United States and from countries like South Africa, South Korea, Belgium and Thailand.

“We want to show people how to do it not only from the theoretical point of view, but from the practical point of view,” Oksana said.

Oksana said she and Michael review everything about a café – its location, work environment and design, the menu, the name of the business and its employees’ knowledge and enthusiasm about coffee.

The quality of the coffee is critical.

“That first sip can make or break a business,” Oksana said. “(The customers) won’t come back if they don’t like it.”

A hands-on lesson at express pace

On a recent Thursday afternoon, Mo and Shane Black of Twin Falls, Idaho, were busy at work in the mock Troutdale café, making espressos and iced coffees while Michael Fisenko supervised.

Mo and Shane said they had plans to open their own café in Twin Falls in September. They traveled to Troutdale to attend Alex & Associates’ two-day class and get experience in making coffee drinks.

Mo acknowledged that their café will be quite a change from the couple’s appraisal and real estate businesses, as well as her job at a bank.

“I really like the interactions with people” at cafes, Mo said. “This seems like something I would really enjoy (going to work for).

“(The class has) definitely been worth it,” she said.

Oksana said she schedules classes at the Troutdale café every month, and they usually have one to 13 students in a class. Most of them are just getting started in the business, but some are less prepared for the job than others.

“We’ve had this happen, where they’ve got everything ready: ‘Yikes! I don’t know how to do coffee,’ “ Oksana said.

The company’s website is decorated with comments from former clients who have gone on to successfully launch their own cafes.

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