La Crema Coffee opened in the 1980s as Queen City Coffee, before being renamed by a previous owner. In May 2020, Victor Kidd and his son Lane bought La Crema and added it to their roster. The name “La Crema” translates to “the cream,” as in “the cream of the crop.” To Kidd, this is more than just a slogan. It’s a motto.
“We are committed to providing the finest quality roasted-on-demand coffees available on the market today, with outstanding customer service,” he said.
La Crema Coffee Company is located at 9085 Sutton Place in Hamilton. It is open from 7:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. from Monday through Friday, and closed on Saturdays and Sundays.
La Crema’s offerings are numerous with more than 65 flavored coffees and several single-origin coffees, as well as K-cups filled with coffee, hot chocolate and other powdered drinks. La Crema also custom-labels bagged and K-cup coffees for several other businesses across the USA, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. This level of customization, Kidd said, is one of the many things that sets La Crema apart from competitors.
The first Kidd Coffee store opened in downtown Mason in 1999, and the company began franchising throughout the Cincinnati area in 2003. Victor Kidd’s path to coffee dynasty ownership is a long and varied one that includes ministry and mayordom.
“Because I was uncomfortable receiving a salary from the church, I looked for a business that could support my family financially, keep me connected to the community and allow the flexibility to engage in other ministries,” Kidd said. “I never dreamed the little coffee shop would evolve into what it has become.”
After Kidd was elected mayor in 2015, his son took over the business and opened several shops in downtown Cincinnati. Kidd Coffee purchased La Crema after Kidd termed out of politics.
He said the company is faith-based and operates “with love and respect for God, our fellow human beings and our community.”
“We treat our employees with kindness and generosity, which translates into a quality workforce producing high-quality products,” Kidd said. “Since we have decades of experience in the retail business, we have a frontline understanding of the end user, which informs and influences everything we do in every aspect of our businesses.”
The Kidd Coffee empire already had franchised stores, but it now offers what Kidd calls “funchises.” A “funchise” is like a franchise, but instead of being a brick-and-mortar store, it is entirely online, with all the flexibility that entails.
“We design and set up their webstore along with Amazon and social media presence; and we include six months of online marketing. Furthermore, we do all the heavy lifting in that we order, roast, package, private label and ship for the funchisee,” he said. “All the funchisee is required to do is manage their website, which may be done from anywhere in the world where there is internet access.”
The world is constantly changing, and despite the challenges of social media and e-commerce, La Crema and the Kidd Coffee empire have embraced it.
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