By Kathy Cook Hunter
Kelly Roach, 18, is no stranger to the espresso business. A near lifelong resident of Silverton, she learned the trade at the Kick Start espresso stand when her mother, Rhona Roach, owned it. “That’s where I learned how to memorize what people drink,” the Silverton High School graduate said.
Nowadays, with a dancer’s grace she darts from making sandwiches to operating espresso machine levers at Stomp ’N’ Grounds in the Wolf Building downtown Silverton. She’s known around there for her exceptional ability to remember what her customers usually order.
Testing her, we walked up to the coffee shop counter. Immediately she said, “A hot buttered rum latte today?” She was right on the button.
Is there a trick to it? “No, not really,” Roach said. “I see someone’s face and just remember their drink. I usually memorize something about the face. In the beginning it was hard but now it’s just natural.”
She has no idea how many customers’ favorite drinks she’s stored in her memory, and, no, she doesn’t have a photographic memory.
“She’s smart, and she’s got it together,” vouched Julie Norman, one of her employers at Stomp ’N’ Grounds.
“It’s good customer service,” Roach said. “I want people to know I think they’re important. And I love talking to people in here – it’s the best part of my job.”
Presently Roach’s other occupation is as a Chemeketa Community College student. In her first year at the college, she’s taking prerequisite classes – mostly science – for a two-year degree in dental hygiene. “I’m hoping to take my degree at Chemeketa,” she said, “but if it’s still not available when I’m ready, I’ll commute to Portland Community College.”
She chose a career in dental hygiene “because I really like my teeth. They are a source of pride to me and I always take good care of them,” she said. “Sometimes I brush five times a day.”
A good student, Roach achieved a 3.5 grade point average during high school. She was rewarded with a tuition scholarship to Chemeketa, where she is currently on the dean’s list.
That scholarship made it possible for her to attend college, she said, adding she was speaking from her own experience when she made her senior project at SHS a speech about “poverty in America and how it affects kids in school.” She’s determined to take out no loans for school. “I’m paying it all myself,” Roach said.
Once she earns her hygienist’s degree she intends to stay close to home so she can help her mother bring up the two younger members of the family.
She concentrates, she said, on getting good grades and having a life with her family. “I see them whenever I can,” she said.
For fun she and her friends go dancing in Portland, and she still finds time to take ballet lessons from local teacher Paula McGee.
Roach thinks remembering her customers and their favorite drinks is part of living in a town like Silverton. “When a customer walks in here, it’s a friendly thing to do,” she said. “A small-town thing to do.”
