Checker Records coffee journeys by Brew Crew

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Local coffee shop Checker Records gives Volume Salon’s Kim Holtz the boost she needs to start her mornings right. The beloved hybrid record and coffee store, winner of the Hillsdale Daily News’ People’s Choice Award four years in a row, hooked Holtz on coffee.

Holtz did not acquire the taste for coffee until eight years ago when she started ordering coffee drinks from Checker Records with just half an espresso shot. She has since worked her way up to four in what is now her drink of choice, the king-sized Teddy Bear.

Holtz’s long-standing love for the record store’s coffee is what prompted its owners, John and Robin Spiteri, to start an official delivery service.

“I used to stop in in the morning, and then we decided to call one day,” Holtz said. “I don’t know if it was like a joke, or what, but we asked them if they could deliver.”

And they did.

For about three years, John, Robin, or one of their employees would deliver coffee to the salon across town.

“We just started walking them down there,” John Spiteri said. “If it was bad weather, we might drive.”

Finally, five years ago, Checker Records “lettered up” a van for a delivery service titled “The Brew Crew.”  They deliver nearly every day to the women who open at the salon, and sometimes Volume’s customers will tack on orders as well. The shop recently added sandwiches to its menu, so the ladies at Volume will sometimes follow their morning order with one for lunch.

The Brew Crew will deliver anywhere within city limits for a $2 delivery fee, in addition to providing air pots for business meetings or formal functions. It has also served at graduation parties and even a few weddings that wanted to offer non-alcoholic beverages.

Spiteri estimates that the delivery service has increased the shop’s business by about 25 percent.

The Brew Crew is likely one of the many reasons Checker Records has been voted Hillsdale’s best coffee shop by the readers of the Hillsdale Daily News four years in a row.

“It means nothing, but it’s kind of cool. It’s the readers of the Daily News, so you figure it’s the county,” he said.

He and his family dubbed the Brew Crew van “the hamster mobile,” drawing from the 2010 Kia commercial.