New location doubles opportunity for Chicago-based roasters
Passion House Coffee Roasters (PHCR) and Veteran Roasters, two Chicago-based small-batch coffee roasters, will move to a newly redeveloped space in order to expand their operations.
As continued partners, PHCR and Veteran Roasters will become the first tenants in the the redeveloped warehouse located at 328 N Albany Avenue in Chicago, with 7,500 square-feet of operational space set to open June 2019.
The new location provides PHCR and Veteran Roasters with increased space for team expansion, additional storage and packing space for green coffee and supplies. The companies also have plans for upgrades to large-scale roasting equipment which formalizes and creates efficiencies in the production process.
The move coincides with rapid growth from both companies. PHCR doubled sales in the last year and is expanding to national wholesale accounts with the Logan Square café and the current West Town warehouse.
Veteran Roasters, which recently celebrated two years of operation, is also located in the West Town warehouse. The veteran-owned and operated coffee company has grown quickly with a 350% increase in yearly sales and build out of its full-time military veteran team. Both companies plan to expand their full-time salaried teams by the end of 2019 and will continue onsite operations during the transition.
“At Passion House, we’re focused on sourcing, roasting, brewing and serving the best quality small-batch coffees,” sais Joshua Millman, founder and owner of Passion House Coffee Roasters. “With the new location and continued partnership with Veteran Roasters, we’re excited to now scale operationally while staying true to our DNA of consistent quality, exceptional innovation and meticulous design in our offerings.”
Following the rise of craft coffee in recent years, Veteran Roasters connected with PCHR in 2017 to partner on the mission of hiring and training of homeless and at-risk military veterans in the coffee industry.
“We began Veteran Roasters with a single goal: do what we can to give homeless and at-risk veterans a place to work and regain their lives,” said Branden Marty, partner at Veteran Roasters. “With the support of our partner, Passion House Coffee Roasters, we can not only find and roast some of the world’s best coffee beans but further our mission of positively impacting the daily lives of our military veterans in the Chicago community.”
About Passion House Coffee Roasters
Passion House Coffee Roasters’ goal is to produce nuanced, complex, and clean coffee while cultivating relationships with the farms. These relationships are rooted in understanding, knowledge, skill, service and mutual respect. The small-batch coffee company searches for the best coffees available at any given time and sets its expectations extremely high. To learn more about Passion House Coffee Roasters visit https://www.passionhousecoffee.com/
About Veteran Roasters
Veteran Roasters Coffee was established to end homelessness and chronic unemployment in the veteran community, by providing growth, skillsets and opportunities in the emerging coffee industry. Veteran Roasters teamed up with Passion House Coffee Roasters to roast great coffee and hire, train and pay a living wage to support veteran employees with housing, child care and daily living expenses. Partnerships with companies, such as Passion House, allows Veteran Roasters to find and roast some of the best coffee beans from all around the world while hiring more veterans in need of an opportunity. Every bag and cup of coffee and can of cold brew sold helps Veteran Roasters hire more homeless and at-risk veterans in Chicago. To learn more about Veteran Roasters visit www.veteranroasters.com
