About Hardy Coffee
For 15 years, Hardy Coffee has been a cornerstone of the Omaha community. It started when Autumn and her husband Luke subleased a tiny kitchen and storefront, and just a year and a half later, they bought the place outright.
Now with four locations, they’ve built their reputation by roasting their own coffee beans and serving baked goods prepared fresh every morning. Hardy believes in creating welcoming spaces where you can foster connections and add “rhythm” to your life.
The Challenge: A Loyal Following, But Outdated Systems
Hardy built a loyal following through their long-running membership program that offered a free drink each month, plus 15% off every purchase. Their membership program had grown into something special, but the systems behind it hadn’t kept up.
They had a membership keychain for guests to show their status when ordering, plus a digital punch card app for guests to check off their free drink per month. Hardy started wondering if there was a smoother way to keep track of guests’ rewards, not just from their membership but also with a rewards program.
“We thought about rewards. Could we track them seamlessly across locations? Let you earn points for every visit, whether you’re ordering in-store or online?”
– Autumn Pruitt, Owner of Hardy Coffee
On top of that, peak hours were busy as lines built quickly, especially at the Downtown and Benson locations. Parking was tricky for guests in both neighborhoods, as they are a little off the beaten path. Hardy struggled to take orders quickly during these busy periods, as there was no way for guests to order ahead or browse the menu easily.
“A trip to Hardy felt like a luxury reserved for a leisurely weekend.”
– Autumn Pruitt, Owner of Hardy Coffee
Hardy needed technology that could fix both problems at once: a better membership experience and a smoother visit for every guest.
“But what if technology could help bridge that gap? Could you choose our small business more often if the wait time was more predictable?”
– Autumn Pruitt, Owner of Hardy Coffee
Finding the Right Fit
Hardy started researching their options, and quickly found that what they needed was surprisingly hard to find.
They needed a mobile app that could support both a membership program and a loyalty program in one place. That combination was surprisingly hard to find.
Branding also mattered a lot to them. Hardy was not going to launch something that felt generic or off-brand. The app needed to be fully customizable and truly reflect who they are.
That’s when Hardy discovered Craver — who offered all these features, plus more.
Why Hardy Chose Craver
With Craver, Hardy reimagined their membership into Rewards Plus and launched a brand-new loyalty program, Hardy Rewards, to encourage occasional guests to come more often. Bringing both programs onto the same platform made tracking simple.
They sent over their branding kit, and Craver made sure the app looked and felt unmistakably Hardy.
Hardy unlocked a full feature set by choosing Craver. Push notifications to connect directly with guests, built-in order-ahead for busy mornings, and Square integration to track everything in one place.
The Launch: A Phased Approach That Set Hardy Up for Success
Hardy ended up having one of the most successful app launches, this is how they did it.
Hardy rolled things out in three focused phases to make sure the app worked without internal issues before launching to everyone, and gave time for guests with existing memberships to switch from the punch card app onto their Craver app.
Phase 1: Early Access Testing
In the first month, they invited 30 loyal members to test the app for two weeks and share structured feedback through a Google form. Hardy also asked employees to begin placing their “Daily Free Food & Drink” orders in the app and to submit feedback in a dedicated Slack channel.
“We received some amazing comments that highly influenced the design and functionality of the app.”
– Rob Blackford, Special Projects Manager at Hardy Coffee
Phase 2: Members-Only Launch
Next month, Hardy invited the rest of their members to join and even offered a year’s free membership as a thank you.
“The app itself was functioning really well thanks to all the work we did in phase one and we received a lot of positive feedback!”
– Rob Blackford, Special Projects Manager at Hardy Coffee
Phase 3: Full Launch
Weeks later, they were ready to launch their app to everyone.
They hung pickup signs, stocked up on printer tape, and launched with social posts and emails ready to go.
“It was honestly so dreamy for our ‘public launch’ to really just be the start of public promotion and to have our app hitting on all cylinders as traffic increased!”
– Rob Blackford, Special Projects Manager at Hardy Coffee
The Results
By the time Hardy opened the app to the public, it didn’t feel like a risky launch. It felt like a natural next step.
Customers could order ahead, skip the line, and earn perks automatically across all four locations. Since the team had already tested and refined the app behind the scenes, the in-store experience was smooth even as order volume increased.
“Our customers were thrilled with both the convenience of the new app and the perks of the new Rewards program. Thanks to our previous phases, our baristas were trained up and handled the new scale of orders with ease.”
– Rob Blackford, Special Projects Manager at Hardy Coffee
Sign-ups surged on launch day and continued at a strong, sustained pace in the months that followed.
Hardy’s app now holds a strong 4.9-star rating on the App Store.
Their app feels like a true extension of their brand and is simple for guests to navigate.
Hardy’s story isn’t unique to them — it’s a blueprint. If you’re managing multiple locations, juggling a patchwork of loyalty tools, or watching guests walk out during a long lunch rush, there’s a better way. See what a branded app could look like for your coffee shop with Craver.
