BTB: MAgs Herrera
Although bread making may be our raison d'être, coffee comes to be a near second best.
This is very much true for one of our most highly skilled (dare we say best?) barista on bar. We’re excited to share with you behind the scenes to meet the hands behind the coffee.
This week we introduce you to,
Mags Herrera
She enjoys long walks, getting creative with ceramics, hunkering down with a good book, — oh and serving up some of the best coffee in Orange County. Mags is our Front of House Manager at Tustin. She’s been with the company for over 2 years now, and swiftly made herself known as one of our most reliable, trusted, and kindhearted employees.
What specialties do you bring to the team at Rye Goods?
“Coffee - and honesty.”
Working alongside her, you can’t help but feel at ease. Mags keeps it cool and poised, but when needing a second opinion on a product, we can trust she’ll be honest (her face says it all). Especially when it comes to coffee. We rely on her knowledge from calibrating the perfect shot, creating new syrups, and perfecting our latte art.
Speaking with Mags, you’ll find she’s incredibly humble. She turned our conversation about her, to shine a light on the importance of the relationships we have with our local community — particularly an anecdote on Thursdays when Sunny Cal Farms pays the shop a visit…
…you can really tell that they are excited about selling their product to us because we use it (their fruits) well.
She also couldn’t help but touch on the importance of loving where you work, and wanted to share a sweet memory in honor of Rye Goods days at Lido…
“…when we were really crammed, especially on Saturday mornings, everyone would be clocked in, we would always play the Parent Trap soundtrack. Yes, when the doors were open!”
Getting to spend some time to chat with Mags brings us down to earth. Her kindness and beaming smile are the kind of qualities that make for a happy workspace. When you ask someone what keeps them showing up to work every day, most will say it’s the people they work with. That’s the same for us at Rye, especially when you work alongside someone like Mags.
Before wrapping up, we had to ask…
1. What’s your favorite Rye Goods pastry and do you bite into or cut up?
A classic, butter croissant, 100% bite into!
2. You’re going to a dinner party, what do you take from Rye Goods?
Wine and a jalapeño cheddar loaf.
Come visit us this weekend — and grab a cup of coffee in Mags’ honor (or say hi to her at Tustin!)