https://www.freshcup.com/fanning-the-flame/

Neil Suthar wanted more control over his coffee program. He wasn’t unhappy with the coffees he had from a couple of local roasters. And his shop, Foundation Grounds, had experienced plenty of success as a neighborhood anchor in the thriving St. Louis suburb of Maplewood, Missouri, both before and since he took ownership in 2016.

Still, he wanted that ownership to extend further. When presented with the opportunity to begin roasting for Foundation Grounds—without purchasing either a roaster or a place to use it—he couldn’t pass it up.

In October 2017, Suthar was approached by Collin Bay, co-owner of First Crack Coffee, a St. Louis-based Proaster distributor that had recently opened its doors to local roasters to share time on its machines.

“We were inspired by the ability to have direct ownership of the sourcing and roasting process, and to be able to provide our customers a unique product that is specific to our coffee program,” says Suthar. He decided to give it a shot, and Foundation Grounds has maintained its own coffee brand ever since.

Suthar is just one of many in North America to make this leap in recent years, and First Crack is but one of the companies making it possible for shops like his to take roasting into their own hands.

read full article: https://www.freshcup.com/fanning-the-flame/