Vermont tourists and locals alike are knocking down the door for a taste of Three Branches Cafe & Bakery.
The charming coffee shop is set in a historic building in Island Pond, Vermont, and owned by Texas Coffee School Coffeepreneurs® Erin Miceika and Pierre Gervais. The area welcomes tourists almost year round, with snowmobiling in the winter, leaf peeping in the fall and lake activities in the summer. Visitors come from neighboring states like Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York, and New Jersey, as well as bigger towns just 30 minutes away.
Learn how Erin and Pierre are attracting customers, hiring in a small town, and using their education from Texas Coffee School.
Serving Coffee to Both Tourists and Locals
Residents love their new specialty coffee option, too. Before Three Branches Cafe opened, the only coffee options around were at gas stations and country stores. The rural community isn’t used to espresso-based drinks or being served. Three Branches has brought a taste of luxury to the community.
The coffee shop is named for the three branches of community: people, social interactions, and fulfillment of needs. “We feel that in everything we do (and with the people we hire) they have to be focused on these components,” she says.
Occasionally, Erin’s been known to charge some loyal members of the community what they can afford. They might come back the next time to cover the remaining cost. Or, someone else will. “Luckily, we have the tourism to support financially what we’re trying to continue to build for the locals,” Erin explains.
Most importantly, guests can come in to socialize, warm their hands by the roaring fireplace, and enjoy freshly brewed coffee and freshly baked goods. It’s what we call a non-transactional customer experience.
The coffee shop opened last January, and their first day saw an influx of town people. “It was supposed to be a soft opening, but it’s a small town, so everyone saw our open flag out and bombarded us,” Erin laughs.
During the first year, the team learned through trial by fire, along with guidance from their Texas Coffee School education. Over time, they’ve discovered what customers want. For example, Erin purchased peppermint syrup for the holiday season but planned to retire it on New Year’s Day. To her surprise, customers told her they wanted it all the way through February. What tourists and locals want, Three Branches can provide.
When the Duo Couldn’t Find a Coffee Shop, They Opened One
Let’s rewind for a moment to where it all began for Three Branches Cafe.
Erin worked for the Department of Defense and Pierre is retired military, and they’ve been married for five years. Erin’s always been keen on specialty coffee. A self-described coffee snob, she looks for a coffee shop whenever they travel because that feels like home to her.
So when she visited her husband’s hometown in Vermont, she wanted to find a coffee drink that wasn’t from a local gas station. To her chagrin, there wasn’t one. “This is a cute town,” she said. “Why don’t they have a coffee shop?”
Thanks to the couple’s savings, they were able to buy a historic building for sale. They live upstairs while the downstairs serves as the cafe. After the purchase, she joked, “Now we have to figure out how to actually open a coffee shop.” Since they planned on moving to the town in one year, they started renovations. That’s also when they began researching coffee education options and discovered Texas Coffee School’s 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class®.
Erin admits she felt anxious during the class; our coffee education team emphasizes the importance of conducting research on a location’s viability before committing to a lease or a purchase. “How are we going to make this work?” she thought? Luckily, their purchase turned out to be a good one.
“Texas Coffee School manuals saved our lives,” Erin says.
Their education at Texas Coffee School taught them about an ideal coffee shop layout, plumbing and electrical requirements, and start-up costs. They were able to hand the specs we provided to the electrician, plumber, and carpenter. Pierre handled much of the buildout, while Erin managed the hiring, bookkeeping, equipment, and funding. They were able to secure grants from the state of Vermont.
All the while, Erin was still working part-time, proving that it’s possible to start a coffee business on the side. (With the right plans and support, that is.) The couple still emails Texas Coffee School owner, Tom, on occasion with questions and to get recommendations. They love having a trusted source in the coffee industry — and say it’s well worth our cost of tuition.
Hiring in a Rural Community
As many small town business owners can attest to, hiring can be tough. With a smaller labor pool, it can be tricky to find qualified workers at the right price. Erin admits there aren’t many experienced baristas in town, so instead, she trains them from scratch.
In fact, she didn’t realize how much barista work she’d be personally doing in the first year. When the total solar eclipse happened in April 2024, people who were originally going to New York flocked to their area instead for better visibility. In her words, it was chaos. But sometimes chaos = dollars!
Now, Three Branches has several part time employees. They’re training to welcome guests who walk in, ask if it’s their first visit, and show them the menu. With baristas now fully trained, Erin says she can focus on a bigger strategy. Pierre does the cooking, and she wants to invest more into baking and grab-and-go items.
Attracting New Customers
Fortunately, Three Branches Cafe has had a strong customer base from day one. They receive a lot of word-of-mouth referrals, especially from people just 20 minutes away in bigger towns that only have a Dunkin’ Donuts. Residents want better coffee and a way to socialize that doesn’t only include alcohol.
Three Branches has also built a social media presence where they post their open hours and yummy menu features — like specialty coffee, breakfast sandwiches, and pastries made fresh daily. And by opening at 5:30 am, the cafe welcomes the earliest risers in town.
Learn How to Open a Coffee Business at Texas Coffee School
Erin and Pierre invested in the foundation of their successful coffee shop business in our classroom. The Vermont tourists and locals thank them for it.
“Without Texas Coffee School, I don’t think we would be here,” Erin testifies. “It really jump started our ability to do this.”
If you’re ready to invest in your coffee business dream in 2025, we’re offering classes every month of the year to teach hands-on barista training, in-depth coffee business education, operations training, and a step-by-step business launch guide from the industry’s highest-rated educators. Sign up for our 3-Day Coffee Business Master Class®!
