We’re running one of our favorite episodes from The Business of You archives. If you missed it the first time, or just want to listen again, check this one out!

Nick Ambeliotis knows what it takes to turn a small business into a national brand.

Born from a deep-rooted appreciation for fine foods, Nick founded Mediterra Cafe to satisfy his longtime passion and to provide a warm and inviting gathering space for Pittsburgh natives and visitors alike.

Mediterra is a wholesale production facility for artisan bread whose customers include Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Ritz-Carlton. Nick opened his first cafe location in June 2018 with the mission of serving high-quality coffee, pastries, breakfast, and lunch, in addition to hard-to-find cheeses, charcuterie, and more. Mediterra has since grown to three locations but remained a family-owned and operated business.

Spiritual Guidance

Advice from spiritual elders has played an important part in Nick’s business journey. It was during an elder consultation at his church that he first decided to open a bakery, specifically with a mission-driven lens. Mediterra gives away hundreds of loaves of bread every day. Their facility in Arizona also makes extra bread to be transported to families in need in Mexico.

All three cafe locations have grown to incredible financial success, averaging $1,000 per square foot in sales per day — but for Nick, faith always comes first. His primary goal is always to be a good steward of the wealth the company generates, which means giving back as much as possible and sharing the company with his family.

Building an Industry-Leading Brand

If you want to build an industry-leading company, Nick says three main factors contributed to Mediterra’s success. The first was his willingness to learn from experts in the field. Nick spent years working for his father’s retail business and later for specialty food importers.

Second, understand what your market wants. Mediterra sells handmade artisan bread, which means they need customers who appreciate premium products. So he chose cafe locations in neighborhoods with high foot traffic and disposable income. They also started with multiple product options to understand which items were most popular.

Lastly, it’s critical to hire the right people for the right roles. For his service team, Nick prefers artistic types who are engaging and enjoy talking to customers all day. On the backend, provide instructions to make sure the work is done to a high standard, but micromanaging employees doesn’t help anyone.

Enjoy this episode with Nick Ambeliotis…

Soundbytes

36:08–36:25 “It literally just happened organically and by never compromising what we do, and just trying to find ways to make bread better, faster, all the time.”

47:18–47:44 “The big thing in business is, find something that you’re going to want to do the rest of your life, if you really want to be a businessman. Find something that you know when you get up in the morning, you’re going to want to go and do it. And secondly is, there’s nothing like practical experience from people who know what they’re doing.”

Quotes

“As many revenue sources as you can have, as long as they’re good and you research them, you’ll do well.”

“The only way someone’s going to learn is if they fail.”

“There’s a lot of sorrow in the world and a lot of people who are really suffering. So it’s always been our mission: what can we do to help? We’ve never lost sight of that mission.”

“If you feel you’re Christ-based, you’re going to be shown the direction.”

“I’m not worried about gaining wealth as long as you’re a good steward of it.”

“You can’t listen to God and what He has to say if you’re in all the noise.”

Links mentioned in this episode:

From Our Guest

Connect with Nick Ambeliotis on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-ambeliotis-10a69a18/

Website: https://www.mediterracafe.com/our-vision

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediterracafe/

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