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Rock City Coffee Roasters is a micro-roastery in Rockland, Maine, a small coastal town about 90 miles north of Portland. It evolved from Second Read Books & Coffee, which began life as the first coffeehouse/bookstore in Maine in 1992, and eventually became Rock City Cafe. In 1992, Rockland was a down-on-its-luck town with boarded up storefronts and a marginalized fishing industry. The new coffeehouse/bookstore quickly became a leader in the renaissance of Rockland’s downtown: a meeting place, a performance space, a place to eat and to drink great coffee, as well as buy books. Today Second Read has evolved into Rock City Cafe and is still in the heart of the historic district and is the hub of the town.
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The establishment of Rock City Coffee Roasters in 1999 was a natural outgrowth of the business. Owners Susanne Ward and Patrick Reilley bought a beautiful small brick building just south of the historic district and began roasting, using a traditional drum roaster.
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For several years Rock City Coffee Roasters operated happily in its location, roasting coffee for its own small coffee bar and for the mothership Rock City Cafe, as well as for an increasing number of wholesale accounts. As the business grew, the area around the Roastery changed. In addition to some new faces in the neighborhood, a five-story hotel is being built next door to the Roastery. It is set to open in early 2016. With concerns about the smell of roasting coffee and the smoke released from our stack, we have no choice but to change the way we roast.
A Change Is Needed
Watching Rockland redefine itself has been a joy in so many ways. Unfortunately, the changes have made it impossible for us to continue roasting on a traditional drum roaster.
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Even though our present roaster is adequate for our needs, we have only one solution that will allow us to move forward and still be a player in downtown Rockland.
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That’s why we’re reaching out to the community, our friends, and families to help us raise money to purchase a new roaster that will eliminate 100% of the smoke, chaff, and odor from our production.
The Loring Smart Roaster
The Loring Smart Roaster is a 15-kilo closed-system air roaster that uses a single burner to roast the beans while simultaneously incinerating the smoke and chaff that traditional roasters release into the atmosphere. Although an afterburner can reduce the amount of output, it uses up to 400% more gas than just roasting alone and does not completely destroy the smell and smoke from the process. The Loring Smart Roaster is the greenest roaster on the market and uses 30% less energy than a traditional drum roaster, while exhausting only clean hot air.
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Not only will the Loring help us become a more eco-friendly operation, it also consistently roasts an excellent cup of coffee and will allow us to replicate our existing signature roasts.
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The new technology provided by the Loring Smart Roaster is the only option that completely solves our problem, allowing us to remain in the downtown neighborhood and keep on good terms with our neighbors and City. However, it is an expensive option. The roaster suitable for our business is $79,000. Shipping from the West Coast manufacturer will cost approximately $3500. We will need to make structural changes to the building to accommodate the new roaster, and we’ll need to be closed for several days. This brings our total investment up to $100,000. We have saved $20,000 towards it. But we need your support—our loyal customers and friends and anyone else who thinks this is a worthwhile cause—to help us reach our target goal of $80,000 so we can continue to roast fine coffee in our town.
Changes in the Rock City Family
After the death of her partner in 2010, owner Susanne Ward began developing a plan to ready the business for her eventual retirement. Her primary goal has been to keep the Roastery and the Cafe in the hands of the staff, who have made the business so vital to our town. With the help of the Cooperative Development Institute, we are making that a reality by transitioning from a single-owner corporation to an employee-owned co-op of more than 20 people. The purchase of a new roaster is the first hurdle this young co-op faces. We hope you will help support this transition by donating to our campaign to buy the Loring Smart Roaster. And please pass the information along to your family and friends.
Thanks very much from all of us at Rock City.
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*Video and photos by Jesse Stuart, music by Dave Butler and Christian Willey.