Jed is the bodacious barista at the Starbucks on the corner of Elm and Park Streets in New Canaan. He personifies Starbucks’ mission statement: “To nurture and inspire the human spirit – one person, one cup, one neighborhood at a time.”
Jed is the guy with the giant smile, whirling around behind the counter making drinks, and greeting absolutely everyone who comes through the door with an enthusiastic ‘good morning’! He seems to know the name of almost every customer, can serve up their desired drink from memory, and has some specific pithy how-do-you-do for what seems like most of those who pass through. He is noticeably fit, and has a visage and hairstyle that makes him somehow look more like Michelangelo’s Moses than just another person you know. He is always a bright light – and always on!
“The funny thing is… I’m actually an introvert! When I’m here, I become someone who I hardly even recognize, a person who doesn’t really exist outside of this counter,” Jed reveals. “There’s some kind of energy that happens when I’m here.” And though it seems to all the customers that the energy in the room is Jed, for him there’s an energy that he gets from working alongside the team, always moving, and in a place where he can have quick and happy interactions all day long. Jed calls them “seconds-long friendships”, and says, “They’re just the right length for me! I mean – don’t get me wrong – I get invitations to holiday dinners and parties all the time, and someone even brought me Thanksgiving Dinner last year, which made my whole day. And there are some people that I’ve really gotten to know over the years. I’ve gotten to watch babies grow into teenagers and go off to college, and there are these two young moms that are best friends who I’ve known since they were best friends in middle school, and now I give little fake coffees to their two little boys. I do treasure those connections. …But there’s also this beauty in having the counter as this physical barrier where most of these relationships stay within these four walls – and are always in this orbit of happy.”
Happiness is a choice!Jed Johnson
“I wake up every morning and decide that it’s going to be a good day!” Jed declares. “I got divorced in 2008 and decided I was going to reset my life and become the best version of myself that I possibly could… and I’ve been working on that ever since. …I started working here at Starbucks around the same time. I didn’t take this job for the money, that’s for sure,” Jed laughs, “but I enjoyed doing this, and found a place where I could finally be happy while at work.”
Jed grew up in Norwalk but attended Darien public schools because his mother was a teacher in the Darien school system. “I’ve experienced a little bit of everything in my life and I know all kinds of people…but I’m definitely really comfortable with the kind of customer that’s coming into the New Canaan store,” Jed measures. “I’ve realized that people want consistency, and that most people here – where everyone is an expert on something – want expertise as well…so I became an expert on coffee. I’m comfortable providing valuable insight to people that are coming in and looking for it!”
Jed is frenetic. He’s constantly moving and gesticulating, and he talks fast. “The thing is, I taste a lot of coffee – so I know what I’m talking about. And I love coffee. But I can’t drink a ton of coffee because I’m a naturally really energetic person,” Jed sarcastically understates the reality. “I’d be off the walls if I had too much caffeine! …I usually drink an espresso in the morning and then a cup of decaf later on, and then it’s matcha after that for me. Matcha is my favorite drink, and I’ve turned a lot of people onto it who can’t deal with all of the caffeine in a typical coffee drink.”
Although Jed’s shift at Starbucks starts around 9 a.m. most mornings…Jed starts his day at 2 or 3 a.m. each pre-dawn! “I think one of the foundations to being happy is being healthy, and I’m a bit of a health nut, and I’m really extreme in everything that I do,” Jed says succinctly. “So I’ve kind of become obsessed with all of the ways that I can make myself better. I wake up between 2 and 3 a.m. and I have a lot to do…and the mornings are my time! I’m an amateur stock trader and trade purely on analytics, so I do a lot of work on that when I can really focus…and I’ve done pretty well!”
Quite open about his idiosyncrasies, Jed continues, “I’m type O blood and I think it’s really important to eat based on your body…and mine requires a lot of meat and protein. My day starts with a plain hotdog and sauerkraut for the probiotics, and over the course of the rest of the morning, between multiple workouts and an ice cold shower – as I’m influenced by Wim Hof – I’ll typically also eat some beef jerky, muscle clams, sashimi style tilapia, and whatever other proteins I can find.”
“I crave routine, and I need my body to always be moving. I love working-out and fitness in general. And I’m a minimalist,” Jed describes. “I got rid of my car because I like simplicity. And about five years ago, when I was preparing to do some mountain climbing, I started rucking – which means carrying a heavy rucksack. Now, I carry a 70-80 lb backpack and wear 8 lb ankle weights for my mile-and-a-half walk to the Stamford train station to catch the 8:16 to New Canaan each morning.” Jed has completed the Grand Canyon Rim-To-Rim hike, has climbed Mt. Washington, and says he’s “...never more than 3 months of stepped-up training away from being ready to go on any big climb.”
Peculiarly, Jed has chosen not to pursue the New Canaan store manager role or any other managerial role at Starbucks. “Like I said, for me the fun is making people’s day…not managing the people and the problems. I like what I do!”
Each barista at Starbucks is called a ‘Partner’, and the Founder and former CEO Howard Schultz has famously encouraged each barista to act like an entrepreneur, and to be Starbucks’ only public relations and marketing campaign. …With anyone who’s got Jed Johnson working for them, that’s a winning strategy!
It says “Next Station To Heaven” on the sign at the New Canaan Train Station, and Jed is mixing matcha at Starbucks across the street. …Someday, Jed might just get the job of barista serving-up coffee at the ‘Pearly Gates’!
As featured in the January/February 2025 issue of Bedford & New Canaan Magazine