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“In Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, everyone was welcomed and valued.”

Fred Rogers built a world where everyone was welcomed, valued, and invited to share their unique talents. That exact philosophy is why I started Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers.

Every week, I sit down with CEOs, community builders, advocates, and innovators who lead with empathy, moral courage, and care for those around them. Each guest receives a “neighborhood designation” honoring their contribution to human dignity, because we all have a role to play in making our communities stronger.

If you’re looking for inspiring, real-world conversations about human-centered leadership, come join our neighborhood!

🎧 Stream the latest episodes on using the links in my bio

#FindingYourInnerMisterRogers #MoralLeadership #EmpathyInAction #95percentrule #MisterRogers

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The opposite of good design isn’t bad design. It’s lazy….

Small joys… tiny art projects…they’re everywhere when we grab them.

Wanted to spread some Joe Coffee love around the studio, so we electrified two vintage Piaggio Ape’s. One in Yves Klein blue, a color I’ve long been obsessed with. The other in Stuart Semple’s absolute black… a little rolling void serving coffee.

They roam the studio & pop into stages to keep everyone properly juiced.

For me, design is about levels & layers… secret languages, small discoveries.

A cart can simply deliver coffee. Or it can be a historic Piaggio Ape that sparks a memory of a trip to Bangkok. Someone interested in sustainability might appreciate its new electric life. A design nerd might recognize Yves Klein Blue or Stewart Semple’s Absolute Black… and smile at finding them here.

Then there’s Joe Coffee, one of the pioneers of New York’s artisanal coffee culture, making the coffee itself part of the experience.

Everyone discovers a different layer. All of them matter.

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Happy National Coffee Day!

We talk about coffee all day, every day, so we’re not going to pretend this is the one day a year it suddenly matters more. But it is a good excuse to celebrate the people behind it.

There are a lot of hands in a cup before it gets to you. Producers growing and processing coffee, relationships that are built over years, the roasting team in Queens, cafe teams tasting, dialing in and making drinks, and then all the people who come through the doors every day.

That part has always mattered at Joe. The coffee has to be good, obviously, but so does the way people feel around it.

@jcrubinstein and @dhmeyer have known each other for years, and a lot of what Danny wrote about in Setting the Table has been part of the conversation at Joe for a long time. Good hospitality doesn’t need to be complicated. It’s paying attention. It’s caring about the details. It’s making people feel comfortable.

So it feels like a fun coincidence that Danny’s new book, What Could Possibly Go Right?, is out today too.

Happy National Coffee Day, congrats Danny!

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The most scalable thing in hospitality was never the coffee.

This week I am joined by @jcrubinstein, Founder of @joecoffeecompany

I asked Jon about growing Joe Coffee from one storefront in Greenwich Village to 24 cafes. His answer wasn't about beans. It was about people. He said the first things they taught baristas was simple:
-Learn names
-Learn something about the person
-Make them feel like they belong

While that sounds small, over time, it became the whole business.
Because the real product wasn't just coffee, it was the feeling of walking into a place where someone sees you. Where the regular at the bar and the celebrity in the corner get the same warmth. Where hospitality isn't a department, it's the culture.

And maybe that's why Joe lasted. Not because it chased being the hottest thing, but rather it chose to be a place people could return to.

Worth thinking about.

*Show note: at the 34:00 mark of the full episode it became clear my editing skills still need work 🤷🏻‍♂️

🎥 Watch the 60-second snippet below for a preview of our conversation!
🎧 Listen/Watch the full episode now: Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube (Link in comments/bio)!

#FindingYourInnerMrRogers #Leadingwithkindness #95percentrule #buildingculturerootedinpeople #skidmorecolleg

Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/033eXIbnrqXgMP0NCH6eKi?si=d6a2843df22d43d1

Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/finding-your-inner-mister-rogers/id1896569014?i=1000787145819

Amazon: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/8c15875d-2851-4888-8578-cf37360deeb4/episodes/16c939d2-bc90-49ef-b263-fcc808712c4f/finding-your-inner-mister-rogers-jon-rubinstein-the-host

Youtube: https://youtu.be/MfthEpurzSE?si=wIcx0QoNmw6dyQFN

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25 years ago today, Fred Rogers signed off for the final time on PBS.

Long before I launched Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers, I taught my daughters what I call the “95% Rule”, that 95% of the people around us are quietly navigating realities and carrying deep, unseen burdens, and our primary job is to make our neighbors’ lives better every day. Fred Rogers understood that core truth better than anyone. He proved that leading with empathy, listening, and true kindness isn’t soft, it’s transformative.

Carrying that torch forward is the entire heart behind our non-commercial podcast, Finding Your Inner Mister Rogers. I am so grateful for the more than 60 incredible corporate, civic, and community leaders who have joined or will be joining the podcast to prove that Fred’s neighborhood is still very much alive and well. ❤️

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Honestly not sure if our birthday’s today, tomorrow, or yesterday. We opened with a cash drawer and dial-up AOL. Aka nobody was writing anything down.

23 years anyway. Same corner. A lot of regulars.

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New Episode of Extraordinary Joe is out today!

Wherever you download your podcasts. In this week’s episode we talk to @jcrubinstein of @joecoffeecompany and hear from one of the pioneers of the New York specialty coffee scene.

Don’t forget to give us a review.
#coffeeshopowner #coffeeculture #coffeenyc #specialtycoffeeroaster

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Episode 2 of @extraordinaryjoepodcast drops tomorrow!
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Join me and Jonathan Rubinstein @jcrubinstein, founder of Joe Coffee, as we talk about what it really took to build one of New York City’s most iconic coffee brands. The risk, the vision, and what keeps him at it 23 years later!
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Listen on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and watch YouTube. Link in bio.
#ExtraordinaryJoe #joecoffee #nyccoffee #specialtycoffee

oh, and let’s go @nyknicks

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I’m so very grateful to work in the industry I do along some of the greatest people. While we are building different companies, we can coexist and each thrive independently and even help each other out in the process. Hear more of our chat soon!

@jcrubinstein even sent me a listing to what has become one of our best performing locations! Can you guess which @birchcoffee I’m referring to?
Drop your guess below👇👇

And please share with someone you need to convince coffee is better than ice cream, hands down, every time. Unless it’s coffee ice cream.

#coffeeculture #icecreamscoop #insidescoop

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Extraordinary Joe the Podcast, coming soon...

#newpodcast #coffeetalk #extraordinaryjoe

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After nearly 23 years of building Joe with all of you, this feels like a big and meaningful moment. I’m writing with the exciting news that Lee Harrison is stepping into the role of CEO.

Lee started as a barista on opening day at our second cafe at 9 E. 13th Street, which also happened to be his 18th birthday, and has spent over 20 years growing with Joe. He’s worked across cafes, roasting, training, and operations, most recently as COO, helping shape this place in ways that are hard to put into words.

If you’ve been part of Joe at any point, there’s a good chance you’ve felt his impact. He leads with care, honesty, and a real understanding of what this place means to people.

I’m not going anywhere. I’ll be stepping into the role of Head of Growth, focused on what’s next, and I’ll be right alongside Lee as we move forward.

Joe has always been about people and the relationships we build together. That continues.

We’re both really excited for this next chapter.

— Jonathan Rubinstein

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The History of Pro Shop 🤓

Tune in as Jonathan shares the story behind one of our most unique spaces.

The idea was simple: a slow bar, a space to showcase beans from our roasting friends, and a hub where the barista community can find the tools they need to do what they love.

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