Zetty McKay

Published 5:00 pm Thursday, July 31, 2008

Zetty McKay’s coffee shop is tucked away along the river side of Pier 39, invisible not only from the road, but from the front of the building. There are no incidental customers.

“Sometimes when I’m driving here, over the bridge, I think it’s amazing that I have any customers at all,” says McKay.

Serving superb coffee with a smile in a welcoming everyone-knows-everyone atmosphere, she has fulfilled a dream that had been with her since childhood: to own a successful business.

“I think I’ve always had such an entrepreneurial mind,” says McKay. As a little girl she used to set up a (real) concession stand at the Netel Grange during dances and held various other (pretend) businesses.

But after graduating from Astoria High School, she took a detour into a different field. McKay majored in journalism at the University of Oregon and worked her way up to being an anchor and reporter in television news in Eugene.

“I got to the top of my game there, and it was time to move on to a bigger city if I wanted to stay in that field,” says McKay. Undecided about her next step she found her hometown calling her back. Yet while working at KMUN and KAST radio stations in Astoria, “My entrepreneurial mind was just going crazy.”

When the idea of running a coffee shop inside Pier 39 floated into her mind 2 ½ years ago, she jumped on it.

“It’s been such a learning experience,” says McKay without a hint of dread in her voice. “I think if I can make this work, I can make anything work.”

For McKay, making it work includes being a good boss.

“We’ve all had bosses who are difficult to work for,” she says. She likes to treat her employees “really well” and hopes to teach them more than just how to make coffee. “My employees are very important to me and it feels really good to help guide people in a positive way.”

McKay likes to help her fellow coffee girls develop work and communication skills that will serve them in their lives and her in the shop.

“Being away from the foot traffic, I have to work very hard on the quality and customer service,” says McKay. “It’s kind of neat because I get to exceed people’s expectations all the time.”

With her new business and the excitement of pursuing her dream, McKay wasn’t looking for more adventure.

“If you would have asked me a year and a half ago, I would have probably told you that getting married would be way far off somewhere in the distant future,” says McKay.

But then she met Chris Nemlowill, owner of the Fort George Brewery and Public House. Now she’s not only married, but mother of a baby girl, Amelia.

“It’s challenging being a mother in the business, because I have all these ideas but then I quickly get pulled down to earth,” says McKay. When Amelia is hungry, the world has to wait, while McKay cherishes the little nursing noises and wonders, “What am I thinking? I can just take care of her.”

“Coming into work and doing business is such a pleasure, but now I have to think a little bit more seriously about my bottom line, and how I’m spending my time,” says McKay.

Her husband shares in caring for Amelia he works nights, she works days and he shares her passion for entrepreneurship.

What draws McKay to business is the creative aspect of it. “My husband is exactly the same way,” she says. “That was our attraction to each other.”

“We’ve been married for over a year, and we still talk about business all the time.” Future entrepreneurial dreams involve staying in the coffee business, but “I wouldn’t mind dabbling in a little bit of real estate investment,” says McKay. “I think Astoria definitely needs more housing for regular working folks. So I see opportunity there.”

Besides the Coffee Girl and motherhood, McKay has little time for anything else. “I think I’m sleep deprived right now,” she says.

After a life-changing year, McKay may be tired, but the sun shines every day in the one-bedroom apartment she shares with her new family. “A lot has changed in a little amount of time. But I’m super happy,” she says. “I wouldn’t want things to be any different right now.”