Hiawatha Brewing business at Roasters Coffee House depends on patrons working nearby, retirees

HIAWATHA - The early-morning rush is over, but Roasters Coffee House isn't quiet. Individual patrons and small groups grab spots in booths along the wall, while a group of regulars occupies the room's large central table.

'We have a group of regulars at our big table here that show up every day,” manager Michelle Folkers said. 'They kind of start about 7 a.m. and they filter in about 9:30 and they're here until 10:30 or 11.

'It's pretty good day when they all show up. We know what they want, we know their names, where they work, the retired ones.”

After 14 years in its storefront in a commercial development on Hiawatha's northeast end, Roasters has become a go-to coffee break spot for those working nearby. Folkers is gratified those big-table regulars tend to linger, and not just on weekdays.

'It is a little tougher because we're not in a residential zone,” she said. 'It's great Monday through Friday. We really do a wonderful business because the businesses around here just bring everybody in. Otherwise, on the weekends it's these guys.”

Folkers started working at Roasters in late 2006, just as landlord Armstrong Development bought the business from founder Mike Pierce, who opened the coffee shop in January 2003.

'They decided to take over the business because they liked it,” Folkers said. 'I took over management, eventually. I've been here since they took over.”

Before that, Folkers was a dental assistant for 15 years.

'But I just really latched onto the coffee world, and I love it,” she said. 'The people, the connections - and I really like coffee. I love roasting it. It's a little bit of a science but a little bit of an art, too.”

That makes for early mornings. Folkers starts roasting coffee beans before the 6 a.m. opening.

'It gets a little harder to roast as we get busier,” she said.

Roasters has a staff of about nine employees, including a few part-timers.

'We just try to get to know our people,” Folkers said. 'We have someone in the morning who knows just about everybody's name.

'We have a couple of employees who have been here a long time. My daughter works here, too. She knows (customers) by their drinks.”

Good, fresh beans are the key to a good cup, Folkers said.

'We've always ordered from the same company,” she said. 'It's out of Minneapolis. They only get it from the top 10 percent (bean quality) of the world.”

Folkers also roasts for the Roasters at NewBo City Market. That location shares a name but is independently owned, by Amanda Steines.

Folkers manages shipments to keep beans as fresh as possible.

'We never keep coffee past three weeks,” Folkers said. 'We just throw it away, if there's any left over. But usually we sell it (before three weeks).

'Our coffee is fresh, so it is stronger. When you get it at a store it's been sitting and it's usually lost flavor.”

Roasters-branded beans are sold at the Hiawatha shop, but maintaining freshness makes wider distribution difficult. Folkers said she's considered offering beans through other retailers, but so far has decided against it.

Roasters does ship beans to some regular customers who winter in the South.

Folkers follows developments and offerings at Starbucks, the field's big hitter.

'They started the craze,” she said. 'I'm really glad they did. We kind of perfected it. We kind of set the bar, as far as quality coffee is concerned, a little higher.”

Folkers has seen trends come and go in her time in the business.

'There was a craze for ultralight roasting for a while that's not quite there anymore,” she said. 'People want more of a roasted flavor than a grassy or light roast. It kind of goes back and forth.”

Larger changes cost an entire customer segment.

'We used to get a lot of high schoolers,” Folkers said. 'They'd come in and play games. We don't get as much of that - they're all online kids now.”

But Folkers expects its reputation among those who work nearby, and that rotating table of regulars, to keep brewing business for Roasters.

'We'd like to bring in more people and get more popular and get more coffee out there,” she said. 'But right now it's about freshness and who we have here right now.”

l Know a business that has been in operation for more than a year that would make an intriguing 'My Biz”? Contact michaelchevy.castranova@thegazette.com.

AT A GLANCE

l Manager: Michelle Folkers

l Business: Roasters Coffee House

l Address: 1059 N Center Point Rd., Hiawatha

l Phone: (319) 393-6001

l website: http://roasterscoffeehouse.com/