Coach is pushing deeper into what you’ve called the “brewtique” space—where retail and food & beverage intersect. What does success look like for a concept like the Coach Coffee Shop beyond foot traffic, and how do you measure its impact on the broader brand?

Traffic matters, but there are so many things that excite me about what we are building. At Coach, we are thinking about how people engage with the brand in between purchases. Someone may buy a bag a few times a year, but they could visit The Coach Coffee Shop every week. That fundamentally changes our relationship with them. We are not trying to become a coffee company; we are using coffee as a way to connect with consumers beyond products and create spaces for community and connection. When we see people thinking about Coach as a part of their lifestyle, we know we have made an impact.

You’ve built your career across legacy brands like KFC, Starbucks, and Ralph Lauren—how are those experiences shaping the way you approach scaling a lifestyle-driven coffee concept, especially as you expand into new markets like the West Coast?

Each of these experiences taught me something different. KFC taught me how to build systems, and scale and since it was my family’s business, it also taught me how to “operate it like you own it.” The remainder of my experiences taught me that it is more than just coffee. It is about ritual, community and a daily habit. The beverage matters, the design matters, but what matters most is how people feel when they are there. That is the part that scales. 

Cabazon marks your first California location, featuring newer elements like iced beverages on tap and locally driven design. How are you thinking about regional identity as you grow, and how much flexibility do individual locations have to reflect their surroundings versus maintaining a consistent global brand?

Our stores will always feel like Coach, blending the brand’s heritage of craftsmanship with a playful spirit. Everything we do at Coach, including our Coffee Shops, ties back to our brand purpose, “The Courage to Be Real,” and crafting multi-sensory experiences that encourage play and exploration. That is our foundation. It is also important to us to embrace the unique character and culture of each location, feeling authentic and connected to the local community. Most recently, in California, we saw that the region has a unique coffee culture. People live outdoors, gravitate towards refreshing beverages and we wanted Cabazon to reflect that. It is why you will see our store is designed with a mural by a local artist and we have introduced iced beverages on tap and a Date Shake latte (a popular local favorite drink). These are experiences rooted in where they are—and that is where the magic happens.