The smell of freshly roasted coffee beans and a strong cup of coffee are the calling card of The Rise. Locals, with its own barista bar and roastery, provides The Rise with tasty, sustainable and skillfully blended coffee. Owners Shenol and Rachel Pishori tell us about how it feels to be the engine room of The Rise.

The coffee adventure of Shenol and Rachel Pishori started in 2013, when they opened their own coffee shop in Tilburg: Locals. Soon, the pair was looking for an extra challenge. “Six months later we added a roastery to our coffee bar, in which Shenol roasted the coffee himself. Eventually, local businesses wanted to use our coffee in their stores. We thought it wise to separate the roastery from the bar. The room was too small and the machine too noisy; we simply couldn’t combine it anymore. That’s why in 2018 we settled in the Spoorzone in Tilburg with a 6 kg roaster. Now, we have moved our entire roasting operation to The Rise. Together with our 15 kg roaster and Peggy, the face of locals in The Rise and Tilburg’s first female coffee roaster.”

From city to office 

At first Shenol doubted whether settling in The Rise was the right thing to do. However, after hearing the progressive plans for the building he was convinced. “It’s a whole other world than the one which we were used to. So I doubted if The Rise would match our Locals-persona. This changed when I saw the building scheme, which I liked very much. Even more so considering the durability aspect, the cooperation with Prins Heerlijk and the design. This is exactly the way in which we want to take Locals. Modern, but with a distinct ‘authentic feeling’. The craft should never be lost.”

The engine room

A good cup of coffee is the perfect way to 'survive' the working day. Shenol and Peggy notice this too. “In our coffee bar in the city we use less strong coffee than we do here. In The Rise, we roast our beans a little darker, so they have a stronger taste.” This blend can be found on every office-floor in The Rise. Rachel: “The coffee machines in the offices upstairs prepare the coffee a little different than we do downstairs. Said machines are less powerful than a real espresso machine, as such the taste of the coffee is a bit less. The thought behind such a machine is that it must be fast and efficient. At the barista bar we like to take things a bit slower and really take our time to make a good cup of coffee.”

Cooperation

Besides roasting and supplying coffee, Locals offers the students of Prins Heerlijk a place to learn. Rachel: “When a conference room is booked, Prins Heerlijk takes the coffee orders and collect the coffee from us. We also teach them how to serve the coffee.” Shenol adds: “Actually, it is somewhat of a learning pathway. In exchange for their help in serving, we teach them how to roast coffee, maintain the fully automatic machines and make cups of coffee. In the near future the students are going to start help us pack the coffee beans for transport as well.”

Business card

Locals was one of the first companies to commit to The Rise and they regard the building as a great place to receive guests. Rachel: “We like it very much here. Everyone walking through the front doors for the first time is immediately ‘wowed’. The whole setting is perfect. For this reason, when we have a business meeting, we choose to host these meetings at The Rise. Everyone is really impressed when they see the building. Locals at The Rise has really become our calling card.”

Expansion

The two owners of Locals see the future in a bright way and hope that more and more people will find their way to the coffee shop at The Rise. “We're really ambitious, and believe that The Rise is just the right building for us and our plans. Also, it is a great place to start the expansion of our coffee adventure. And remember: when you are in the area, don’t forget to stop by for a cup of coffee!”