In 2007 we lived on the beautiful landscape of Whidbey Island, Washington as a US Navy family. We had been there since 2004, and discovered not only beautiful places and wonderful people, but this amazing delight called Specialty Coffee. It was love at first sip! Once we had gone from town to town drinking from their roadside barista stands, or their cafe featuring the locally roasted java, it became a wonderful reason to take a day trip and ride the fantastic ferries around the Puget Sound to all the neat spots along the coast. Pure delight! After exploring Seattle and the coffee culture that was so vibrant there, it spurred a dream within in us to explore coffee origins and start a micro-roaster once Jeremy retired from the service.
Fast forward to February of 2012, and when all was a whirlwind around us, a wonderful opportunity to purchase a roaster with all the makings of a small micro-roaster operation was in front of us. Our new found friend Debbie Ritter, whose late husband Floyd, a Vietnam Vet, had worked in the coffee roasting industry for decades. He was an engineer that helped build operations large and small all over the country. Debbie had Floyd's five pound commercial roaster he had constructed for sale. She was finally ready to let this piece of Floyd move on. Debbie was gracious and loving, recognizing the dream within our hearts and sold us all that her husband had that could get us started. This is a friendship that is so dear to us. We are forever grateful to her. We love you Miss Debbie!
So as you can imagine, we thought this transaction was either the smartest or the dumbest thing we will ever do. Looking back, with no place to put the roaster, putting all of our savings into the equipment, having four little girls in the financial place we were at, probably seemed so foolish to others around us. Ok, extremely foolish and a touch of crazy! However, we knew that this risk would also enable us to give back to organizations like The Lone Survivor Foundation, whose program has helped Jeremy, other service members and their families.
Once Jeremy was retired in late 2013, we moved all six of us back to a wonderful little town near where I grew up called Cheney, Kansas. We began roasting coffee out of the garage shop and taking it to the local Farmer's Markets in Wichita, Kansas in the Spring of 2014. The response was so wonderful from customers and the community, that Chamber of Commerce members in Cheney put us in contact with our now landlord for our Main Street location. As of October 2014, Aviator Artisan Coffee Roasters a physical brick and mortar location! Our little shop includes wholesale coffee production, specialty coffee and beverage carryout, along with some delicious baked goods!
We are so appreciative of our family, friends, and customers for supporting this dream and adventure that we are prayerfully moving forward with. It is so exciting for Jeremy and I to have our nest of six in a wonderful, supportive community that is embracing our family and our business. Truly, we are grateful to all of you.
Blessings to you and yours,
Bridget