Matthew Hull
Ruth Mueller
English 101
June 13, 2013
Profile Essay
People cannot function without caffeine; this is a fact of life. When you are walking by the Ragged Edge Coffee House in Gettysburg you tend to find yourself drawn in as if pulled by a magnet. The Ragged Edge Coffee House is located in a small red brick building that, if not for the OPEN flag waving from the front porch, you would likely walk past without a second glance. Upon entering, the first thing that you will notice is the smell of freshly ground coffee beans; you will be confronted by a large refrigerated glass case full to the brim with baked goods; and hear the sound of nonmainstream music being piped in through speakers over the door. It has a very relaxing atmosphere that just invites you to sit in one of the lounge chairs with a cup of fresh coffee and a newspaper. The atmosphere of the coffee shop is shared with that of its owner Jake Schindel.
The owner, Jake Schindel spent a few hours answering questions and showing me what goes into working at the coffee shop. Jake Schindel used to be an employee at the coffee house back in 1998-99 when it was operated under a different name by a prior owner named Skip. Jake was feeling restless just working at the shop; and so in 2000, he decided to attempt to get a commercial short range pilot license at a school in Tampa Florida. In 2001, after graduating from flight school in Tampa Florida; his prior employer Skip contacted him and offered to sell him the coffee shop. Jake took ownership and reopened the coffee shop under its current name in September of that year. Jake renamed the shop The Ragged Edge, after Jake's grandfather's farm which has the same name.
One of Jakes first orders of business was to build and guarantee a stable customer base. He started to do this first by making sure all of his supplies came from local companies; second, he made overtures to local businesses by letting them advertise in the coffee...