Episode Details

Podcast 335 - Building Community in Dunwoody at Crema Espresso Gourmet - Roey Shoshan

Thirteen years ago, a small group of friends missing the coffee culture they grew up with back in Israel took over an old butcher shop on Mount Vernon Road and turned it into Crema. Roey Shoshan was one of them, and he joined me to talk about how that little shop became one of the most loved gathering spots in Dunwoody.

Roey and his co-founders sold their stake in 2014 to Erez Inbal, who took over with business partner Udi Goldstein and has carried Crema forward ever since. Roey doesn't take the credit for what it's become. He points straight to Erez for building it into what he calls Dunwoody's version of Cheers, the kind of place where the staff knows your order and your name before you say a word. We also got into why Dunwoody has seen a real coffee shop boom since COVID, and why Crema's still the one everyone else is measuring up to.

We talked about the choices behind that feeling too. Crema still doesn't have a drive thru on purpose, Erez wants people walking in the door and saying hello. During COVID, when so much of Dunwoody shut down, Crema found ways to stay open for the community that leaned on it. It also traces back to a serious investment in their espresso machine, a La Marzocco, on day one. Roey works at the JCC too, and we touched on what that place means to Dunwoody, though that's a conversation for its own episode.

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Full episode summary lives here: whatsupdunwoody.com/podcast-335