Why Local? Part Two

Disclaimer: The owners of Red Rooster are not perfect. We sometimes shop at large corporate entities for the sake of ease and accessibility. But we try not to.

Whether we like it or not, a lot of us judge our quality of life based on how much money we have or, in the very least, the kinds of things we are able to buy. Despite the old adage that money can’t buy happiness, or love, we still want the green stuff. Plus, it’s naive to think that people stuck in poverty wouldn’t be happier if a bunch of money came out of the faucet one morning. (Nevermind the fact that sociologists have run study after study that shows that happiness tops off at about 75 grand and can’t increase no matter how many billions you accrue. The median income is $52,000 so these studies don’t help a fat lot of us.)

Still, I think our quality of life can be improved through some choices that only cosmetically involve money. It is old fashioned, (and maybe someday it will be cool enough to be called “retro”) but I like the sense of comaraderie and inclusion that comes from walking into a restaurant or place of business and being called by name, knowing the owner’s name, knowing their kids. The same feeling extends towards producers, including the beer & wine I drink, the vegetables & meat I eat, and, of course, my coffee. (The classic cinematic scene of an urbanite being welcomed at his favorite watering hole and ushered to his regular table – this is not a myth reserved for the movies.)

This means enough to me that I try to put my money where my mouth is. I’ve heard enough comments about the costs of local producers and restauranteurs to know that price is a consideration for even the most die-hard locavore. But quality ingredients, organic ingredients, & Fair Trade ingredients can often (but not always) come with high costs. (A common sentiment I’ve heard is folks who say they hope so-and-so succeeds, but their prices are too high. To me, this is like giving moral support to a child stuck in a busy intersection. But I digress.)

So what do I get out of (sometimes) spending a little more money on locally produced goods. Does it improve my life knowing that I used to play pool at Margie’s house and I watched the Dodgers beat the A’s in her basement back in ’88? What do I gain from knowing Katherine Chantal’s kids for most of my life? Or from knowing that Haden & Kathy Dulaney of Highland Beef used to live right down the road from Benjie & his family? Or that Jon & Katie Roberts of Dogtown were two of the first people I met when I moved back to Floyd? Or that Brett Nichols of Shooting Creek Farm Brewery and Five Penny Farm lives right across the road from my parents and I can stop in on him any time to get beer or vegetables? Or that Woody Crenshaw of the Country Store gave me my second job out of college? That the artists in 16Hands were practically my surrogate parents? Or that Kerry Underwood at Oddfellas still treats Rose like family though she hasn’t worked there in over a year? The answer is, clearly, that I gain a huge sense of community and that yes, indeed, very much, it improves my life to be able to spend my money on people who I know on a first name basis, who are a part of my life, and who make up this town we call home.

Spending your money locally is also one of the most powerful votes you will ever cast in your life. For more on stuffing the ballot box, check in next week.

 

Why Local? Part One

For the next few posts, I’ll be giving my own personal appeal for folks to buy local this holiday season (and every season.) I can’t quite explain the personal satisfaction and sense of community I get when a local customer comes into my store, but sufficed to say, my business depends on it as do the businesses of my family. I’ll begin this series with a disclaimer: My wife and I are by no means perfect. We occasionally shop at Target. We often shop at Food Lion. All we can say is that we care and we make a concerted effort to buy locally, to tip well, and to support the causes we believe in. Sometimes we fail.

I think everyone, even the most well-intention person, probably has lots of little reasons for buying things at chain stores or at shopping malls. The main reason, I believe, is the illusion of cost savings. There are two methods by which a large corporation will attempt to trick its customers into thinking they are saving money.

The first is by offering a cheap product, one that is probably made overseas by wage-slaves and will likely break within the year. While these products might be relatively inexpensive in the moment, they take a toll on the environment (shipping, waste, factories) and they take a toll on our national economy (lower GDP, lower wages, lower employment), meaning a cheap product actually hurts your wallet in the long run. Food products can be especially damaging to the national economy and to people’s finances since the agri-business model has led to job loss and the promotion of “cheap” (corn or soy bean infused) foods has led to a health crisis of huge magnitude, driving up costs for care and insurance. This model applies to that “cheap” coffee you buy at Food Lion or Krogers as well. Unless labeled otherwise, the coffee is inevitably sprayed with pesticides and picked by machines or underpaid laborers, affecting the planet, the country of origin, and your own health.

Once on the shelf, the products are marked down by the company, which is the second phase of the illusion of cost savings. Large companies operate with what is called a loss-leader, marking down the price of one product in order to entice customers into the store and spend their money on other products with a much higher mark-up. Most of us would like to think of ourselves as savvy enough shoppers to avoid being swayed by such tactics, but if it didn’t work, they wouldn’t do it.

The question I try to ask of myself is whether my quality of life is really improved by the money I save shopping at corporate chain stores. Most of the time, the answer is no. For the reasons why, check out my next blog post.

Places to purchase/enjoy our fine products.

 If you don’t see your local health food store or specialty food shop below, make sure to ask them to carry our coffee!

Red Rooster Coffee Roaster – Our roastery and our retail store are in one convenient location, right beside the Farmers Market on Locust Street in downtown Floyd.

The BlackWater Loft – Just upstairs from the Red Rooster Coffee Roaster headquarters, the Loft has terrific homemade baked goods, plus unique and fabulous specialty drinks. They brew our coffee exclusively and they sell it by the bag when we’re closed.

The Republic of Floyd Emporium – Floyd’s favorite curmudgeon is peddling his own Republic of Floyd blend, “The People’s Choice.” It is delicious, of course. And the label has a nice rendition of one of our favorite local families, the Roberts of Dogtown Pizza fame.

The Harvest Moon – Pick up your groceries, your Sweetwater Bread, your tofu, sesame sticks, local organic veggies, asian fare, and soaps, lots of soaps. You health nut! Now treat yourself and grab a bag of Fair Trade Organic Red Rooster Coffee while you’re there.

Chateau Morissette – Nothing says autumn on the Parkway like lunch at Chateau Morissette. (I’m working on my advertising jargon, can you tell?) Still, a wine tasting, lunch, or dinner at their incredibly nice spot really is a great time. Have a cup of their special blend and if you love it, which you will, grab a bag for yourself. They’re now selling 12oz bags of Our Dog Black Coffee blend.

The Isaacs Restaurant, Roanoke – At Isaacs, they believe in doing thing by hand, which we can appreciate. They make almost all of their ingredients themselves, down to the juice and syrups behind the bar. Since they don’t have a coffee roaster, we take care of that part for them. Have a cup or purchase a bag of the exclusive Isaacs’ Blend today!

Sweet Providence Farm – These folks run the nicest little farm grocery in Floyd and they are kind enough to carry our coffee. If you’re coming from Roanoke, do yourself a favor and stop in for some of their fresh pressed apple cider. Wow.

Greens Garage – Yes, it’s really green. And the folks who run it (Good Food for Good People) do a ton for local food producers. We’re thrilled to have them carrying our coffee (it’s the only place you can buy one pound bags besides our retail store) and we’re thrilled to be a part of the tradition of food producers in Floyd.

Tuggles Gap Restaurant - A great place to stop off the parkway for breakfast or something with a southwest flare. If you’re on a motorcycle, you’ll find yourself in good company. Look behind the counter for bags of our great coffee.

Poor Farmers Market, Meadows of Dan – If you’re in the mood for a ginger beer, a biscuit, and a nice relaxing sit on the porch, stop off here. Don’t forget to pick up a bag of our coffee.

Floyd Country Store – To celebrate Friday night at the Floyd Country Store, we developed the Jumpin’ Jamboree blend. After you’ve finished dancing at the Friday Night Jamboree or stuffed yourself with hand-dipped ice cream, head over to the coffee counter and pick up a bag of the one of a kind Jumpin’ Jamboree blend.

Lucie Monroe’s Coffee Shop – These folks live and breath specialty coffee and we think they’re pretty keen. If you’re in Christiansburg, do yourself a favor and stop in for a pour-over of our coffee. They serve our exclusive Lucie’s Blend, developed by the staff at Lucie Monroe’s. Plus they sell Lucie’s Blend by the bag.

Oddfellas Cantina – The good folks down at Oddfellas Cantina have been our pals for quite some time. We love what they do, sourcing local food and cooking it up right. The curry chicken salad is, as the French say, Le Bomb. Most days you can get a cup of the delicious blend we made for them.

Dogtown Roadhouse – On late nights and special events Dogtown carries a couple of carafes of our tasty coffees. So if you’re up late, enjoying the music, and ready to wind down the evening, why not have a cup? Plus, the designated driver’s got to have some fun, too.

Annie Kay’s - Browsing the whole foods store for your biodegradable soaps and your trail mix? Why not pick up a bag of Red Rooster while you’re at it? Plus, they’ve got the exclusive Blacksburg Backdraft FireFighter’s Blend.

Eats - Crunchy, wholesome, downtown Blacksburg. Eats Natural Foods carries several of our whole bean single origin coffees as well as a couple of our signature blends.

Coffee Depot – Delectable homemade baked goods, a relaxed atmosphere, great service. And now Red Rooster Coffee’s Depot Blend on tap and by the bag. Stop by for a full bodied, rich cup with notes of ripe fruit, syrupy texture and light chocolate finish.

Natasha’s Market Cafe – Exquisite food prepared by the unparalleled Natasha Shishkevish and now perfectly complimented by a cup of Red Rooster Fair Trade Organic coffee. Enjoy the terrific array of local art on the walls while you indulge in one of Natasha’s signature desserts and a hot cup of the best coffee around.

Hotels and B&Bs in Floyd- Looking for a place to stay in Floyd. These fine establishments serve our Fair Trade Organic coffee: Hotel Floyd, Ambrosia Farm, Little River B&B, Miracle Farm, The Cottage on Main, Lawson House.

New Coffee & New Hours & New Merch

Based on popular demand, roughly estimated by the number of people pulling on the locked door, Red Rooster will now be open Thursdays 12-5, as well as Fridays 12-8, Saturdays 9-5 and Sundays 12-5.
We cupped some Nicaragua Segovia and some East Timor coffees this weekend and we were pleasantly surprised by both of them. The Nicaragua has similar characteristics to the Costa Rica Tarrazu with distinctly less body. The stronger notes of fruit (apricot, maybe) and the caramel finish make this coffee a good one for people looking for a medium, easy to drink coffee. Less bright than the Mexican Chiapas, less aromatic than the Guatemala Huehuetenango, but still brisk, complex, and tasty.

The East Timor was thicker – a stiff cup of jo – with plenty of south Pacific earthiness but, surprisingly, way less brightness than the Papua New Guinea and less syrupy mouth-feel than the Sumatra. The aroma of honey had me hooked from the get-go and there was a nice presence of fresh cut wood that was rich but not overpowering. Fans of any South Pacific or Island coffee should find the Timor a welcome addition to the Red Rooster list.
In other news, we’ve got a great new electric burr grinder from Bodum, which is a bright Red Rooster red,

plus some milk frothers for those who want to make lattes at home, and some stove-top espresso makers – perfect with the Old Crow Espresso.

Let me plant the seed for a holiday gift: A bag of Old Crow Espresso, a stove top espresso maker, and two handblown Assam espresso shot glasses. Throw in a burr grinder for the super coffee enthusiast. They’ll be forever indebted to you.

 

My Summer Vacation

I know. Since Floyd Fest, I’ve really been lax on writing new blog posts and now I’m so far behind I don’t know where to start. I’ve decided to hit the high points and get this blog back up to speed. Below is the bullet point break down of the highlights from the past 2 months, in no particular chronology.

• Rose and I got married! This isn’t really business related, except that we own the business together. But it is probably the most important thing that’s ever happened to me, so it gets top billing.
• Rose and I went on a week long honeymoon to Maine and the business did not die. It didn’t exactly thrive but…
• For the Harvest Festival, we decorated the roaster to look like a Rooster. The upshot of this is that my wife is really creative. She left for 3 hours and came back with a full rooster tail, beak, crown, waddle, and eyes. We clearly should have won. We also supplied the coffee for the SustainFloyd Market Breakfast, which was a big success.
• We’ve started selling Red Rooster Coffee in Roanoke. If you’re hankering for a cup of great coffee, stop by Meze or Isaac’s and have a cup. Also, if you’re in the mood, you can by a 12oz bag at Meze. We like the folks at these restaurants – nice people who appreciate good coffee and like to buy from the little guy. Plus, when we make deliveries we get to walk around the Roanoke market and load up on vegetables.
• We launched our first fundraising effort “Clean Pelican Coffee” to raise money for the Gulf Oil Spill Fund of the Greater New Orleans Foundation. If you’re wondering what you can do to help those worst affected by the spill, go on our Etsy site and drop a $20 on Clean Pelican. You get a great Fair Trade Organic coffee, plus you also help those in need. It’s all part of our attempt to stay true to our motto “Coffee with a conscience.”
• We got a new computer, which might not mean a lot to you unless you’ve had to stand there waiting for our old computer to boot up so we could ring you up.
• Rose and I met a new coffee roaster in Deer Isle, Maine – Mellisa Rafferty and her partner Megan are starting “44 North” coffee this fall and we wish them all the luck!
• Remember Floyd Fest? Barely? Well, I thought I’d hit you with some numbers. You may remember that we brewed our delicious fresh roasted coffee and gave it away backstage. Turns out we gave away 3,200 cups of coffee! Those folks backstage could really put it away.  Plus we got great compliments from Old Crow Medicine Show and Grace Potter. We couldn’t have done it without our incredible staff – Grace, Mariekan, Mac, Jim, Paris, Vanessa, Mary. Plus all four partners worked basically around the clock, manning the backstage and the booth. We sold plenty of coffee and gave even more away – and who knows, maybe next year you’ll be able to buy the brewed version out front. Thanks Floyd Fest & Across the Way.

Now, I’m sure a lot more happened but that’s all I can remember this morning. Keep an eye out for our new private label at Chateau Morissette, plus if you’re in the DC area, look for Marathon Coffee Race Day Blend.

 

Private Labels & Gifts

I didn’t know this, but it turns out that corporate Christmas gifts are a pretty big business. So far we’ve taken a couple of orders from local companies, as well as from a great web company called “Kickstarter” (if you haven’t seen it, you really have to visit their site – so far they’ve dispersed something like 20 million dollars in funds just for creative projects). Our design and printing method allows us to be very flexible, so we can develop a private label or a gift label in a matter of days and print any number our client wants, from 10 to 1,000 and beyond. I think this really sets us apart from other companies because our final product really looks like it belongs to the client, and it often includes original artwork.
This is the same method we use for our private labels – if you’re in town, you’ve probably seen our labels at the Floyd Country Store and the Republic of Floyd. It occurred to me recently (well, my friend Anna Pratt really helped with the idea) that we could do this same system with individuals. You may have noticed the photo on our Facebook page of the Rose & Haden Wedding Blend – a rendering of a drawing done by local artist Emily Williamson. Now what if we applied that same idea to anyone who wanted a coffee bag with their face (or anything else) on it? It seems like a pretty good Christmas gift, right? For a couple hundred bucks, you could have a gift for 25 people. Well, it’s just a thought.

FrankenRoaster and other excitement

A month ago we were feeling a little under prepared for our first foray into the world of festival vending. While we knew we had a superior product and could deliver on flavor, and we knew that our packaging would be bright, colorful, and professional, we still had no booth and we had a distinct lack of products to sell. Now, with just a few short days remaining until the grand experiment begins, our vendor booth has coalesced into something remarkable.

All four business partners have been furiously toiling away at making this an experience to remember, both for us and our customers. Benjie has of course been hard at work in his shop creating the new sign and a system of collapse-able shelves and tables for inside the booth. How does he do it?

Becky has been working with our web designers to make sure our site is live and prettified and professional for all those folks who will be introduced to us at Floyd Fest. Just a few more days, folks, and this address will send you to our virtual storefront!

Rose has been developing our Old Crow Espresso and pulling together the work schedule for the 4, yes 4, locations we will be running this coming week. Of course, Rose’s main focus has been on making sure that the Floyd Fest backstage coffee booth is impeccably run and maintained.

And I have been putting my feet up and relaxing. Ha!

Besides roasting about 200lbs of coffee this week, pulling together our new bags and shirts, preparing the backstage coffee and writing the web content while filling wholesale orders and presenting our coffee at the Taste of Floyd at the JAX, Dad and I managed to finish the FrankenRoaster before he left for Italy. My brother, Paris, has been practicing on the machine since his arrival home from California. His girlfriend, Vanessa, is an accomplished seamstress and we have put her to work creating the most amazing handbags out of our jute coffee bags. Here’s just a few of the great new products we’ve developed over the past few weeks:

Handmade rooster mugs by Hona

Handmade hand bags by Vanessa

Handmade wood turned coffee scoops by Nick Cook

T-shirts screen printed by Jeff Kimball

Breakfast trays by Benjie

3 new blends, including Old Crow Espresso, the Funky Chicken, and Broken Grounds, the Floyd Fest 2010 blend.

floyd fest label 3

and all kinds of great Red Rooster stuff. Come see us at Floyd Fest, check out the portable roaster, and take home an exclusive blend.

Beans cooling after FrankenRoast

Portable Roaster, Floyd Fest

This week my father and I will really dig ourselves into the process of building a portable coffee roaster for use at Floyd Fest and beyond. My hope is to create something interesting looking, with enough aesthetic beauty to disguise the fact that it is just a Frankensteined barbecue grill. My dad’s hope is just to make it work – so far he has already talked me out of the wood-fired brick oven roaster (we just don’t have the time to experiment – maybe next year.)

A perfectly good gas BBQ grill... before the destruction!

I know everyone thinks their Dad can fix anything, as if by dint of having children a man is granted the omniscient ability to understand cars, clock radios and hot water heaters. But I kid you not when I say that my father can fix nearly anything. I have seen him take apart and fix almost everything at our house, including cars, tractors, dishwashers, fans, heaters and more.

So far, we have picked a good looking gas fired grill and put it together. Also, we have taken a stainless steel iced tea container and, with the aid of our friendly neighborhood lighting factory, turned it into our roasting drum. Today, Rose and I head to Roanoke to pick up a motor and a fan, for rotating the drum and cooling the coffee, respectively. Soon enough, Benjie will complete an ash box to act as a skirt for the unbecoming bottom of the grill, and with a little luck a local artist will paint our rooster on the grill cover in high temperature red paint.

Then, we will move on to creating a few signature roasts for Floyd Fest. We just got a copy of the art for the Old Crow Blend from Emily Williamson – I think she’s incredibly talented and we’re lucky to have her around. Check it out!Also, our designer, Susan Lau, is hard at work on our signature Floyd Fest Blend and, maybe, the Funky Chicken Blend… for medicinal use only. Too corny?

All in all, we are incredibly excited to be a part of Floyd Fest – the seminal event of the summer here in Southwest Virginia. It gives us a terrific opportunity to tell people from all over the country about our fresh roasted coffee and our socially conscious mission here at RRCR. It also means we get to spend time outdoors amongst friends and associates at the best festival venue imaginable: a truly spectacular event put on by Erika Johnson, Chris Hodges, & company at Across the Way Productions. Thanks ATW!

Y’all Can Cook

Here at Red Rooster Coffee Roaster, we aspire to deliver a high end product, roasting beans from the best origins with the most delicious varietals while practicing sound business and remembering our social responsibility. I think our coffee would go great on this show: http://www.vimeo.com/12399431

Heat

This small space can heat up very quickly. Thursdays have become my main roasting days to ensure the weekend crowds get the freshest coffee possible. And of course Thursdays seem to always end up being the hottest day of the week, so I’m in here sweating while the machine puts off 400 degree temperatures. I don’t really mind though, since I’d rather be hot than not need the roaster running.

I’m thinking of putting a ceiling fan in or even an attic venting fan, which will really pull some heat out of this place but will also be sort of ugly. Maybe it would be a chic, industrial kind of ugly though, instead of just ugly. I would put in an air conditioner but I really want the door open through the summer months to invite people in, so environmentally and efficiency-wise, it’s a no-no. I always imagine that when it comes to temperature there are two sorts of people (plus, I really like to generalize) – those who would rather be hot and take off a layer or those who would rather be cold and put on a layer. I think I’m in the second camp, but I have my limits – say 5 years in Alaska.

In other news, we are very excited to report that you can now find our coffee in a few new locations. The Harvest Moon, Sweet Providence, and Greens Garage are all carrying our origin coffees. Plus, the exclusive Republic of Floyd blend and the exclusive Floyd Country Store 100th Anniversary blend are at their respective stores. And, of course, you can always buy our coffee by the bag upstairs at the wonderful and cozy BlackWater Loft.

Currently you can find our decaf at Natasha’s Market Cafe and we are in the process of fine-tuning the blends for a few other local establishments, which is always a fun process. If you’re from out of town, you can soon enjoy our coffee during your stay at the Hotel Floyd.

And… perhaps the most exciting news to date… Red Rooster Coffee Roaster will be serving coffee backstage at Floyd Fest! Plus, we will be vending our exclusive Floyd Fest blend, in a bag replete with an amazing logo, out amongst the festivities. We can’t wait to see you there!

PS. Need a good Father’s Day gift? How about a Red Rooster travel press, or a hand crank burr grinder, or just a pound of fresh roasted local coffee?