Bailey Morris shared their story and experiences with us recently and you can find our conversation below.
Bailey, so good to connect and we’re excited to share your story and insights with our audience. There’s a ton to learn from your story, but let’s start with a warm up before we get into the heart of the interview. What is a normal day like for you right now?
Right now my life feels crazy and often unreal. Each work day is different and there’s no telling what kind of day I could have, but I work 12-15 hours each day. I typically wake up between 2:30-3 am to prepare for the long day ahead. Once I arrive at my shop I begin baking and don’t stop until 6:30 when we open our doors for those early risers on the way to work. At this point the bakery case is fully stocked, staff has started to trickle in, and I take 5-10 minutes to sip my coffee and just sit before more work begins, The whole morning is a mixture of taking orders, preparing drinks, interacting with customers, doing dishes, baking more if necessary, and making sure the whole machine is running smoothly. There’s a constant to-do list when running a business so that’s always in the back of my mind to complete throughout the day. Hundreds of people will walk through the doors of my business daily, and it’s so important each one gets the same level of quality and attention as the next. A good product gets people in the door, but a great experience makes them stay, so making sure I’m greeting every person with a smile and making their visit memorable is the biggest portion of my work days. Of course there’s lots of the not-so-fun business owning tasks like ordering inventory, grocery store runs, scheduling employees, managing payroll, advertising, emailing with customers, and so many other little things that fill each day. Once the shop closes at 4 and we clean everything up, I go home and rarely do anything more than eat a little snack and drink some tea before reading a book and heading to bed early to get up the next day and do the whole thing all over again!
Can you briefly introduce yourself and share what makes you or your brand unique?
Hey! I’m Bailey and I’m a 22 year old who loves coffee, a good thrift find, and is always ready for a deep conversation in the middle of a busy coffee shop. I opened my coffee shop and bakery called Third Space Coffee and Bakery in 2024 after running an online, home based bakery business for nearly 6 years. Home baking was my side hustle but being a barista was my full-time job for many years, which only grew my love for coffee culture and the necessity that coffee shops are to many. I wanted to combine these two passions into the brand that is now Third Space. The idea behind this name comes with the social construct of “third spaces” in life. We all have home and work, sometimes with those being the same place, but outside of those we need those “third spaces” we go to relax, socialize, be creative, or to do nothing at all. With social media taking the place of real human interaction and working from home becoming more common, these spaces are needed now more than ever. We create high quality espresso, matcha, and tea based drinks to pair with our wide selection of 100% homemade baked goods. All of our coffee syrups are made in house and we have a rotating seasonal menu of fun, unique drink specials for those who want something different than their classic latte. There is always something for everyone at our table!
Amazing, so let’s take a moment to go back in time. What relationship most shaped how you see yourself?
My relationship with work has always been a tricky one. I was raised to work hard, always give 110%, and respect those you work for. If there was something I wanted, my parents made me work for it, and I’m grateful for those early lessons. When I got my first real job working for someone else I quickly became addicted to working. I loved having my days filled and getting a paycheck. I loved feeling like I was accomplishing something and working with others to obtain it. But soon all I knew how to do was work, and all I knew about myself was the work I produced. I worked a full time job at 16 while running my bakery business on the side which was a whole other job. If I didn’t know what to do with my day or was wanting to escape from dealing with something else I would work, because it was an excuse no one could say anything about. Even going through college and switching to a less intensive part time job, I still looked to work as my measurement of self worth and success. This is one aspect that drew me towards opening a business, among other reasons. I felt like I could be proud of myself IF I opened the business, IF I worked 80+ hours a week, IF I sacrificed everything, including my own health, for a successful business. I don’t often view myself as just me, but by what I do, and what I can accomplish. While this is very motivating, it is also very costly, and I tend to forget who I really am, what I truly enjoy doing, and how to just be myself, not the business. It’s hard being a solo business owner in a small town, because everyone sees you and thinks of your business, not you as a person, which further perpetuates the self worth being tied to a brand. This complicated relationship with work has also taught me wonderful things about perseverance, not making excuses, and standing up for myself when no one else can. Even the hard things in life can teach us beautiful things.
If you could say one kind thing to your younger self, what would it be?
Don’t care what other people think! This is so easy to say but very difficult to actually live out especially during the ages where everything seems scarier than it is. I used to live trying to please and impress every one. I always felt like I didn’t fit in, so I would change and morph just hoping to be accepted by “that friend group”. I would even go back on who I truly was, and the standards and morals I live by, just to not be the outsider. But looking back I like that girl that was different, that wore the clothes no one else did, that still played with legos instead of having a DS, that didn’t party on the weekends like her peers because that’s not her vibe. I would tell her to keep being all the things that make her unique because one day you grow up and realize the other girl wasn’t any better than you just because she wore the name brands and you didn’t. I’m grateful I learned this valuable lesson of individuality and celebrating what makes each of us unique!
Alright, so if you are open to it, let’s explore some philosophical questions that touch on your values and worldview. What are the biggest lies your industry tells itself?
Most in the coffee industry tend to be either two things: trendy or pretentious. Coffee shop culture has boomed since the pandemic, so the recent trends have produced a surplus of coffee shops that are all copy and paste the same. They’re super cute and aesthetic, the perfect instagramable spot, and they jump on any drink trends that come across their feed. These type of shops are in no way bad, but they don’t often last because they rely on riding the wave of trends, rather than a high quality product and deeper customer experience. These shops aren’t unique to they often come and go without people noticing. The pretentious coffee shops came from a different side of the pandemic. Those who had too much time on their hands while being stuck at home got busy learning and researching all that coffee can be. They started roasting their own coffee, played around with brew methods, grind sizes, coffee origins, and all the cool, scientific things coffee can be. This is not bad, but is actually a great way to educate others on what goes on to make their morning cup of coffee. This can be so educational and expand someone’s taste, but this has also lead to coffee shops that judge those who prefer a latte over a cortado, scoff at those who add cream and sugar to their coffee (unless it’s a pourover, I would judge this. IYKYK!), and criticize instead of educate. I believe every coffee business has their own clientele, and it’s perfectly okay and reasonable to appeal to what their clientele like most, but you can do this without compromising quality or pushing others away. The lie is that there can’t be something for everyone. While it’s true that not everyone will like your style of business, it does not mean that you can’t create a space where everyone can feel welcome to enjoy. On our coffee menu we have all the basics, but we have a seasonal menu filled with very unique drinks for the adventurous ones, while also making a killer cortado the coffee purists. The same high level of quality and consistency is applied to everything, met with a warm smile and great interaction, to create an experience drawing people back in.
Thank you so much for all of your openness so far. Maybe we can close with a future oriented question. Are you tap dancing to work? Have you been that level of excited at any point in your career? If so, please tell us about those days.
I get up so early that tap-dancing would be a stretch, but there have been some very high highs for sure. Opening week of my business was filled with complete unknowns: will anyone show up, how much do we bake, what if we run out, how can I do it all? But throughout that whole week I was so excited, I barely slept at night. I couldn’t wait to meet new people and introduce them to my business. I was excited to be creative and bake whatever ideas came to mind. I looked forward to the buzz you feel after efficiently managing a rush and seeing a full room with happy faces. That first week was the scariest but one of the best weeks of my life. I still have many days like this, where I’m having the coolest conversation with a regular that’s now closer to a friend, creating a new drink that takes the town by storm, chatting with my employees that are like family about the show we’re all obsessed with, getting to see the sun rise over my business every single morning, and so many other little things that just make life so special and sweet. While the hard days are far from few, these beautiful moments are constant reminders of why I do what I do.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thirdspacelandrum?igsh=cGtkODQ4bHMyOG1m&utm_source=qr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/share/1a4z1i8KQU/?mibextid=wwXIfr
so if you or someone you know deserves recognition please let us know here.
