By JUSTIN PORRECA
Contributing Writer
He’s a trainer, he’s a head barista, he’s a coffee connoisseur, and he works at Tierra Coffee Roasters. Ron Grieco, 26, has a true love for the coffee world
and Tierra. This February marked Grieco’s second year with the rising business. Working roughly 40 hours a week (6 to 8 hours a day), Grieco not only manages the Madison Avenue shop, but he is also the head barista and trainer.
He works side-by-side with co-workers to provide customers of this Pine Hills shop with coffee, lattes, paninis, and muffins to get their days going. Even with the daily task of serving both asa head barista and trainer, Grieco said the most rewarding aspect of his job is the customers.
In addition to his managerial duties, Grieco is a part of the Capital Region Coffee Collective, a group in which fellow roasters and baristas from the Albany and Troy region test coffee and further their skills as roasters.
Grieco also participated in the second annual Barista Albany competition.
“I’m always testing coffee. Always,” Grieco said. Although his responsibilities can be time consuming (opening shop on Wednesdays and Thursdays and closing on weekends), he still loves the work. “The job takes up a lot of my time,” said Grieco, about his busy schedule.
Grieco, the fourth of five children, grew up in Petersburg in Rensselaer County and has lived in Albany for the last eight years. He graduated from Berlin High School in 2005, and attended Hudson Valley Community College in the fall of 2008. Initially he planned to earn his degree to become a registered nurse, but things didn’t go the way he expected. He spent two years completing his nursing prerequisites, and then left school in the fall of 2010. He might return to college but remains undecided, as he doesn’t want to be “saddled with debt, with a degree [he] can’t use.”
Grieco has been working more than half his life. He took his first job teaching snowboarding at Jiminy Peak when he was 14, and worked there through his four years in high school. Grieco then ventured into the food business and made burritos for a year at Bombers Burrito Bar on Lark Street. Later, Grieco worked at Equal Vision Records screen printing shirts, sold vacuums by appointment, and eventually drove a Mister Softee ice cream truck in Arbor Hill. All during this period, Grieco traveled considerably, but not in the typical manner. He calls that part of his life “professional homelessness.” Grieco hitchhiked all around the country: he lived under a bridge in New York City, passed through Ohio and Pennsylvania, and even toured with a band called Trophy Scars in Florida.
He joined the Tierra team in February 2012, and immediately began climbing the ranks. It only took him three months to climb from barista to general manager of the Madison Ave. store. Grieco was initially brought to Tierra Coffee Roasters by friendship, as he knew a few workers there well, and decided to join them. “I didn’t know it would turn into a career,” said Grieco, who just celebrated his two-year anniversary of employment at Tierra.
During his time at Tierra, Grieco has earned the respect and admiration from his co-workers and managers from other coffee shops. “Ron is very caring and understanding, and is always willing to listen and help,” said Lis George, a co-worker of Grieco’s at Tierra. Luen Proft, general manager of Lucas Confectionary in Troy, was a former colleague of Grieco who also spoke highly of him.
“He knows a lot about coffee and he tries to learn as much as he can to better the coffee business and industry,” said Proft, on Grieco’s performance. “[He’s] truly passionate about coffee. You can see it when he talks about it.” And, he is “one of the nicest people you will meet and if you ask him for anything he will gladly give it you,” Proft continued.
When Grieco isn’t serving customers at Tierra he’s hanging out with friends and making music, which is a large part of his life. Grieco’s favorite genre of music is punk, but he does not have a particular favorite band. He has been playing the drums since he was 11 years old, and although he is not a studio musician, he has made a vinyl record with one of his friends.
On his plans for the Grieco mentioned that he thought about starting his own shop, and has savings set aside just in case he does venture into the business.
For now though, Grieco he is satisfied with his work at Tierra, saying, “I love the customers here. I really, really do,” Grieco said. “They make the job, honestly.”
