David_Kilper
Dubuque Coffee Company is like a stealth submarine, quietly taking over coffee aficionados’ taste buds, one cupping at a time. Although you might not have heard of Dubuque, the likelihood that you’ve tasted it in an area restaurant is high and getting higher by the day thanks to word of mouth. You might also have driven near the company on Hanley Industrial Court but had no idea thousands of pounds of coffee are roasted there weekly because the catalytic oxidizer on site scrubs the air of any tell-tale aroma.
Celebrating its first year anniversary on April 1, Dubuque is owned by Charles Dubuque (right), a longtime employee (30 plus years) of Ronnoco Coffee. When Ronnoco was sold to a private equity firm after 31 years of family ownership, Dubuque “knew there were going to be a lot of changes and felt it was a good time to explore doing [his] own thing.”
After two and a half years of research, developing a business plan, raising capital, looking for the right space, designing the production facilities, ordering the equipment, and finding the right people—many of whom were also looking to leave Ronnoco—Dubuque Coffee was born.
Primarily a wholesale operation, Dubuque services about 250 customers in roughly 22 states. What sets the company apart, Dubuque shared in a recent interview, is “the quality of the equipment and the after-the-sale knowledge our team has.” And, of course, the coffee itself.
Every Thursday night for a year leading up to the company’s debut, Dubuque met with several other stakeholders, including Barry Jarrett, the director of coffee development and head roaster, challenging themselves with blind cuppings to ensure they would produce the best blends. By the end of the year, eight blends were ready (they now have 16 blends total). Dubuque likened the process to that before a restaurant opens: “It’s no different than a chef writing a menu and doing all the test recipes.”
Among Dubuque’s 16 employees are a couple of dedicated salespeople, but he spends a good portion of his time calling on potential customers, whom he approaches with the following: “I know you’re happy with what you’re doing, but I’d love to get your opinion of my coffee. Would it be okay if I brought those out?”
Yes, it’s usually okay, and Dubuque arrives with a few blends similar in profile to what they’re currently serving. And then the chef or GM participates in a blind tasting or cupping. According to Dubuque, 100 percent of the time so far, the potential customer has chosen his brand over what they were using.
If those numbers aren’t convincing enough that Dubuque’s products are exceptional, perhaps this is: after drinking Dubuque coffee at a restaurant or retirement community or country club, a customer will walk into the facility, sometimes traveling far distances, wondering how he or she can buy the coffee. Dubuque’s office is right across from the front door, so he’s often the one who sends the customer home with a bag of beans.
Although he never intended to sell retail—and still has no plans to be in grocery stores—Dubuque said, “We can’t not sell coffee to people who come through the door. Coffee is an emotional product that people are attached to, and if they find a really good coffee, they’ll go out of their way to get it.” Adjusting his business plan a bit, then, Dubuque recently launched a web store for retail.
When asked who his customers are, Dubuque was initially reluctant to name names, saying that he didn’t want to leave anyone out. Since the company’s Facebook page includes a number of his customers, it’s easy to put a list together—a list that is as diverse as it is long, from high-volume pancake houses to the toniest of country clubs.
Of his range of customers, Dubuque explained, “You have to be kind of a chameleon because one minute I might be talking to the general manager at St. Louis Country Club and the next minute I’m on Kingshighway at Uncle Bill’s and the next minute I’m at Mercy Hospital.” Other customers include Annie Gunn’s, The Pasta House, Bartolino’s, SqWires, Big Cedar Lodge in The Ozarks, Scape American Bistro, The Block, LoRusso’s, Five Star Burgers, Tratteria Marcella, Slinger’s in Fenton, a whole host of country clubs, and Sugarfire Smoke House, which serves Dubuque’s custom-blended iced teas.
During the interview, Dubuque led the way through the company’s three distinct spaces. First up was the office space, which Dubuque compared to a winery or brewery: “This is a product we want people to experience; we want them to come in and see how the coffee’s being roasted—smell it, taste it.” Next was the cupping room—part kitchen, part art studio, and part quality control lab. The largest space, naturally, was the roastery, which houses a gas-drum Diedrich roaster from Idaho.
Evident throughout the tour, as Dubuque introduced employees, was a feeling of family, as they talked about their kids and dogs and former careers; one roaster, a former high school teacher, marveled about his new gig: “We’re getting paid to drink coffee! Paid!”
“I’m just a huge believer in hiring really great people, providing tons of gentle but effective encouragement, and, really, the sky’s the limit,” Dubuque said. It’s not surprising that he referenced Danny Meyer’s Setting the Table—the hospitality bible—and Peter Drucker’s famous tagline “culture eats strategy for breakfast” since he values both his employees and providing the best customer service possible.
The roastery showcased the scope of Dubuque’s current production, with the roasting area housing plenty of room for at least one additional roaster in the future. The storage space also held a small cement mixer (who knew?) for blending coffees and teas, and, again, plenty of shelf space for current and future products. A couple of times, Dubuque apologized for the dust (non-existent to this clean-freak’s naked eye) and explained why he prefers women running the warehouse: “women are smarter than guys, they multitask better, and their attention to detail is better.”
Dubuque’s description of his customers could as easily be applied to his business philosophy, prioritizing quality first, relationships second, service third, and price last. For someone who does virtually no advertising, he has clearly figured out the secret to success—a seemingly simple recipe that eludes most: “If you have great people—and we do—and a great product, you’re going to be successful.”
Dubuque Coffee Co.
1007 Hanley Industrial
314-227-6680
