On-Site Child Care Helps Secures Staff Loyalty at Red Rooster Coffee

In 2010, in Floyd County, Virginia, Haden Polseno-Hensley and Rose McCutchan created Red Rooster Coffee with the simple idea of roasting their own coffee for their small, family-owned shop. But as word of their exquisitely roasted beans spread, demand rose and Red Rooster grew into a team of nearly 50 people, roasting coffee not only for the cafe but for robust wholesale and subscription sales. Alongside the thriving business came growing families. As parents themselves, Polseno-Henlsey and McCutchan clearly understood the barriers to finding accessible, affordable childcare in the area. They knew that finding a way to offer childcare was critical to upholding their company values and fulfilling their goal to make Red Rooster an economic and social anchor in their rural community.

Red Rooster created an on-site childcare solution called "Yellow Hen" in 2018. They had the space, so Red Rooster’s owners opted to keep their childcare on site. Recognizing their expertise was in coffee, not childcare, and that they would need more than a single provider, Polseno-Hensley identified a local educator who would become the director of the childcare center, overseeing the licensing, hiring, day-to-day management, and providing the necessary expertise in early childhood education. The Red Rooster team took care of the space, leveraging 1,000 square feet within their operations building. Today, Yellow Hen employs six part-time educators who provide care from 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. for 16 to 18 children on varying schedules. The center cares for children ages six weeks to five years old during the school year and expands to care for kids up to 10 years old during the summer.

~7-13 months