After majoring in hospitality management in college, McKaley graduated, still unsure of what she wanted to do. She dabbled in the sales industry, as well as the wedding planning industry but doors kept closing. Her heart had always leaned toward service and her taste buds toward coffee, so God opened a door– or rather a coffee shop.
When the concept of a coffee shop began to turn into a reality, McKaley was recruited by her father, Marty Bryan. Fresh out of college, the uncertainty of it all loomed before her, not knowing if the coffee shop or her place in the industry was going to work out.
“In the beginning, right when I first started out, I honestly didn't know what to expect. But I think it worked out,” McKaley laughs. “Luckily, God had a plan,” she says. God put two loves together: serving others and coffee.
As the business grew, the solution turned out to be simple: “just learning as much as I could, being a sponge and taking it all in. Just being focused on the present.” Living in the moment is part of the everyday for McKaley and her team. And truly, being present for those 5 minutes of chatting as a client pulls through the drive-thru makes all the difference. McKaley sums it up in a reminder that she gives her employees: “We're in the life-changing industry. These people are seeing us daily.” Getting to know customers on a personal level by building friendships and partnerships is what makes a career in hospitality so rewarding.
Whether Marty B’s Coffee is the first stop a couple makes driving from the hospital with their new baby, or a visitor's first time in Bartonville, or a customer’s daily stop for coffee, the ability to meet people in their every day, even in the mundane, is so regular and so impactful it really does put coffee in the business of changing lives. Not to mention the Brown Sugar Cinnamon Latte. Definitely life-changing.
Working alongside Marty at the coffee shop and the ice cream shop has given McKaley a newfound insight into Marty’s passion for service, forging a bond crafted over coffee beans and waffle cones. As someone who is family-oriented, McKaley explains, working with family just seems to make everything better. Afterall, the most important part of her job is the people she is surrounded by, McKaley says, from her father to her staff to her clients. “We have amazing employees,” McKaley gushes. “They have impacted my life to such a greater good.”
The quality of people alongside McKaley comes from the faith that is rooted deep in the heart of the coffee shop. As a Christian based company, they don't want anyone to be surprised when they see how important their faith is in their everyday life. “[We] walk with God on our shoulders,” says McKaley. It doesn't usually look like preaching the gospel across the counter, but simply letting the presence of Jesus come across in each interaction and word. It’s about being faithful to love on customers.