Greens to Beans: Local Pro Uses His Golf Knowledge to Run Own Unique Business
For most people being a skilled golf professional means total commitment, but for Michael Mann, PGA, he was able to accomplish that and much more.
Growing up in North Carolina on the tennis courts, Mann had the athleticism to pursue any sport, and after picking up a golf club for the first time, it took only three rounds for him to break 80. Mann turned pro at the age of 17 and graduated from Appalachian State University in 1999.
In 2007, Mann earned his Class-A through the PGA of America and found a home as director of golf and general manager of the Santa Lucia River Club in Port St. Lucie.
However, Mann isn’t your run-of-the-mill PGA professional, he also doubles as owner and master roaster of The Roasted Record coffee shop in downtown Stuart.
Away from the golf course, Mann always had a hobby of making things like beer and cheese, eventually becoming interested in producing his own coffee. After buying his own roasting machine, he began selling coffee to his friends, who thought the coffee was too good not to commercialize. With the help of a contact Mann had from his golf work, he was able to open up his own establishment in 2014.
In addition to selling coffee, which has won awards in international competitions, including two bronze medals at the Golden Bean North America in 2019, his shop is also a fully blown record store, selling vintage records and turntables. With Mann also becoming fully licensed in record dealing, the unique twist became an immediate hit.
“In the first year we were around, we sold almost half as many records as we did coffee,” Mann said. “Selling records helped offset the cost of manufacturing the coffee, it kept me alive.”
From the outside, managing a golf course and owning a coffee shop appear vastly different, but using what he has learned in the golf industry, Mann feels it taught him everything he needed to know to run a successful coffee shop.
“My training in golf has been to create a great product with great service and everything should take care of itself,” Mann said. “I try to concentrate on the product as much as possible.”
Mann tries to take what he’s implemented at his coffee shop to the Santa Lucia River Club as well, saying that a business has to have a feel, an experience, something people would want to come back to.
With The Roasted Record making over half a million dollars in sales a year and producing all coffee themselves, it’s certainly one of the most piping hot spots for coffee lovers (and music lovers) in town.
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