Hard work and coffee built billion-dollar business
When a Boston-area factory caterer noticed that 40% of his revenue came from coffee & donuts, he opened a simple shop that would eventually span 39 countries and change how America eats breakfast
On the outskirts of Boston on Memorial Day in 1948, Bill Rosenberg opened his first coffee and doughnut shop. He called it the "Open Kettle."
A few years earlier, he started a catering company with his customized vehicles that delivered meals and snacks to factory workers in the Boston area. Rosenberg was a serial entrepreneur.
While he fulfilled a need for the workers and solved plenty of their problems by having his early iteration of the "food truck" around the job sites, Rosenberg soon realized that about 40% of his revenue came just from selling coffee and doughnuts. Sandwiches and breaktime snacks were nice, but they were low-margin items.
So, he started Open Kettle as a standalone shop to do just that. Sell coffee. Sell doughnuts. That's it.
At the time, most traditional coffee & doughnut shops offered just five types of doughnuts. Rosenberg offered 52 varieties.
He opened his sixth shop in 1955 and then decided to franchise the idea. Plenty of other folks had caught on to the value of franchising, and by 1960, thanks to his influence, the International Franchise Association was born.
In the early 1960s, Rosenberg founded another fast-food chain. Primarily a burger joint, but he also offered fries, fish sandwiches, clam chowder, and other New England staples. He expanded the company to 27 locations before it came to an end in the late 1970s.
In the 1970s, after a cancer scare, Rosenberg bought a farm (literally) and became one of the leading breeders of Standardbred horses in New England. Rosenberg died in 2002 at age 86.
Perhaps you're not familiar with Rosenberg or Open Kettle, but shortly after opening his first coffee shop, he decided to change the name.
And indeed, you have heard of Dunkin' Donuts.
While I’m a sucker for good trivia and fun biographies like this, ignorance amounts to bliss for some people.
But ignorance happens to be a burden. It will catch up to you eventually. Education—real learning—therefore, is the antidote to ignorance.
Sure, we can take classes, read books, listen to podcasts, and all that stuff, but we must take action. Passively consuming media only goes so far. It becomes our responsibility to solve for any gaps in our knowledge.
A lifetime of learning is the result of days full of effort and action.
One thing we don’t hear much about these days is the educational workshop—a small event where we can put education into action.
Yet, my pal John DeRosa has done precisely that. He’s got a workshop ready for the curious this Thursday night.
Not only does John produce regular shows as the host of the Classical Theism Podcast, he has a full-time job teaching high school mathematics, is a devoted husband and father, and the series of workshops he has done over the last couple of years is designed to help you better defend your Catholic or Christian faith.
A man for others.
His next workshop will be the Bible Objection PLAYBOOK on Thursday, August 21.
Keep in mind, some of the most vitriolic objections to Catholicism—or Christianity in general—come from those ignorant of the Bible. It's like these people don't read.
Although few arguments come out of their side, many of us are woefully unprepared for their attacks.
John will not only provide a space to work through the attacks, but he also has a physical PLAYBOOK for you as one of the bonuses.
Plus, DeRosa’s mission is to prepare you to face the objections you will undoubtedly encounter defending the Bible. It's a one-night workshop.
Even better, DeRosa says all he needs from you is an hour of your time.
Right now, John is giving you the “O’Leary Discount” for 20% off his Bible Objection Workshop when you use the link below:
There are even more bonuses to unlock once you reach the registration page.
A reminder: this is a live workshop, but if you can't make it to the live session, it will be recorded, and you can watch or revisit the workshop on your own time.