Nick Ambeliotis knows what it takes to turn a small business into a national brand.
Born from a deep-rooted appreciation for fine foods, Nick founded Mediterra Cafe to satisfy his longtime passion and to provide a warm and inviting gathering space for Pittsburgh natives and visitors alike.
Mediterra is a wholesale production facility for artisan bread whose customers include Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s, and the Ritz Carlton. Nick opened his first cafe location in June of 2018 with the mission of serving high-quality coffee, pastries, breakfast, and lunch, in addition to hard-to-find cheeses, charcuterie, and more. They’ve since grown to three locations but remained a family-owned and operated business.
Spiritual Guidance
Advice from spiritual elders has played an important part in Nick’s business journey. It was during an elder consultation at his church that he first decided to open a bakery, specifically with a mission-driven lens. Mediterra gives away hundreds of loaves of bread every day. Their facility in Arizona also makes extra bread to be transported to families in need in Mexico.
All three cafe locations have grown to incredible financial success, averaging $1,000/ft in sales per day–but for Nick, faith always comes first. His primary goal is always to be a good steward of the wealth the company generates, which means giving back as much as possible and sharing the company with his family.
Building an Industry-Leading Brand
If you want to build an industry-leading company, Nick says three main factors contributed to Mediterra’s success. The first was Nick’s willingness to learn from experts in the field. He spent years gaining practical experience working for his father’s retail business and later for specialty food importers, learning the ins and outs of the industry.
Second, you need to understand your market. What do people want? At Mediterra, Nick was intentional about choosing cafe locations in neighborhoods with high foot traffic and disposable income; Mediterra sells handmade artisan bread, which means they need customers who appreciate premium products. They also started with a well-rounded list of product options to better understand which items were most popular.
Lastly, it’s critical to hire the right people. For his service team, Nick prefers artistic types who are engaging and truly love talking to customers all day. No matter what role you’re filling, it’s important to hire people who take pride in their work.
On the backend, Nick provides specific instructions to make sure the work is done to a high standard, but ultimately he lets his employees do their own thing–micromanaging doesn’t help anyone. The result is that several of his employees have moved just to follow their jobs at new Mediterra locations.
Running a Family Business
Mediterra Cafe is a true family affair. Both of Nick’s sons are involved, as well as his daughter-in-law. Everyone has a part to play but they respect each other’s roles. At family gatherings, they follow an unspoken rule to limit business talk as much as possible.
Nick says the key to working well with his children has been to remember that they’re not children anymore–they’re adults, and he hired them to do a job they’re good at. It’s better to let them learn their own way of doing things.
Second or third-generation entrepreneurs act differently from first-generation founders–and that’s okay. Your company will benefit from new ideas that each generation brings.
Enjoy this episode with founder Nick Ambeliotis…
Quotes

“As many revenue sources as you can have, as long as they’re good and you research them, you’ll do well.”
“We’re a faith-based family, everything we do centers around Christ.”
“You know if something is right or not based on how easy the door opens. If something doesn’t open quickly, I just walk away because it’s probably not meant to be.”
“If you really pay attention in life there are miracles that happen every single day.”
“The only way someone’s going to learn is if they fail.”
“There’s a lot of sorrow in the world and a lot of people who are really suffering. So it’s always been our mission: what can we do to help? We’ve never lost sight of that mission.”
“I told someone when I started, they asked me, ‘Why are you doing bread?’ And I said because good bread crosses every socioeconomic group. It doesn’t matter if you’re a billionaire or you’re living on the street, when you eat good bread you’re going to know it.”
“If you feel you’re Christ-based, you’re going to be shown the direction.”
“I’m not worried about gaining wealth as long as you’re a good steward of it.”
“I want to leave the industry better than I found it.”
“You can’t listen to God and what he has to say if you’re in all the noise.”
Links mentioned in this episode:

Podcast Resources
Mediterra website: https://www.mediterracafe.com/our-vision
Connect with Nick on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nick-ambeliotis-10a69a18/
Follow Mediterra on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mediterracafe/

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