Midwest

FairWave Acquires Milwaukee’s Fiddleheads Coffee

FairWave Specialty Coffee Collective has acquired Wisconsin roaster-retailer Fiddleheads Coffee, adding another Midwest brand to its portfolio of specialty coffee companies. Financial terms were not disclosed. Based in Thiensville, Wisconsin,...

2026.01.06

acquisitionsAnodyne Coffee RoastersBlack and White Coffee RoastersBusiness OperationsCeremony Coffee RoastersCorporateCraft/OperationsFairwave Coffee CollectiveFairWave Specialty Coffee CollectiveFiddleheads CoffeeGreat Range CapitalIndustryMacroMarketingMessenger CoffeeMicroMidwestMilwaukeeRay MarcyRetailRoastingSpyhouse Coffee RoastersThe RoasterieUnited StatesUp Coffee RoastersWisconsinコーヒー

2025 Year in Review: 10 New Coffee Shops in the Midwest

The Midwest showed up in 2025 with new coffee shops blending menu inventiveness and creative programming with earnest and sincere service. The openings in this list include roasters expanding into...

2025.12.23

2025 Year in ReviewColumnsMidwestRetailコーヒー

Coffee From Burundi Finds a Welcoming Home in Detroit at Soko by Baobab Fare

Former asylum seekers turned restaurateurs are extending a Burundi-to-Detroit pipeline of food, culture and coffee through Soko by Baobab Fare. Hamissi Mamba and his wife, Nadia Nijimbere, arrived in...

2025.12.17

Baobab FareBurundiBusiness OperationsCongoCraft/OperationsDetroitFreedom House DetroitHamissi MambaJames Beard AwardsKirundo ProvinceMarketingMicroMidwestNadia NijimbereNew CenterrestaurantsRetailRoastingSabbath Coffee RoastersSoko by Baobab Fareコーヒー

Fable Roasters Comes to Life in St. Cloud, Minnesota

St. Cloud, Minnesota-based Kinder Coffee Lab spun off its roasting operation into a standalone company earlier this year under the name Fable Roasters, with a new production roastery now...

2025.12.16

Business OperationsCraft/OperationsDaniel BinsfeldFable RoastersGuytano MagnoKinder Coffee LabMarketingMicroMidwestMinnesotaOpeningsRetailRoastingRock Creek CoffeehouseRyan SchoepfSauk RapidsSt. CloudTaylor Feeroコーヒー

Silverbird Roasting Touches Down with First Cafe in Minneapolis

Landing in the Kingfield neighborhood of south Minneapolis is the first brick-and-mortar cafe of the champion-piloted roasting company Silverbird Roasting. Coffees roasted by 2016 U.S. Coffee Roasting Champion and...

2025.12.03

Business OperationsCafe ImportsCaitlin QuerioCraft/OperationsKingfieldMarketingMicroMidwestMinneapolisMinnesotaOpeningsRetailRoastingSilverbird Coffee and MoreSilverbird RoastingSpyhouse Coffee RoastersTony QuerioTraboccaVikings and Goddessesコーヒー

Business Operations

Louisville’s Heine Bros Coffee Names Jessica Lord CEO

Heine Bros Coffee has promoted longtime finance and operations leader Jessica Lord to chief executive officer, marking a generational leadership shift at the Louisville-based specialty coffee chain. Lord joined...

2025.11.21

Business OperationsCorporateCraft/OperationsGary HeineHeine BrothersIndustryJessica LordKentuckyLouisvilleMacroMicroMidwestMike MaysOmni Louisville HotelPeopleRetailRoastingSouth/SouthwestunionizationUnited Statesコーヒー

Louisville’s Heine Bros Coffee Names Jessica Lord CEO

Heine Bros Coffee has promoted longtime finance and operations leader Jessica Lord to chief executive officer, marking a generational leadership shift at the Louisville-based specialty coffee chain. Lord joined...

2025.11.21

Business OperationsCorporateCraft/OperationsGary HeineHeine BrothersIndustryJessica LordKentuckyLouisvilleMacroMicroMidwestMike MaysOmni Louisville HotelPeopleRetailRoastingSouth/SouthwestunionizationUnited Statesコーヒー

Kansas City Roaster-Retailer Prefix Coffee Shutting Down All Locations

Prefix Coffee, a Kansas City-area specialty coffee chain that once operated multiple cafes connected to International House of Prayer–Kansas City (IHOPKC) facilities, is closing all locations. The shutdown comes almost...

2025.11.04

Business OperationsCraft/OperationsInternational House of Prayer Kansas CityJouby Bean LLCKansas Citylawsuitslegal issuesMicroMidwestMike BickleMissouriPrefix CoffeeRetailRoastingSouth/Southwestコーヒー

Washed Up Coffee Makes a Multiroaster Splash in Detroit

A fresh cafe called Washed Up Coffee is now open in Detroit’s West Village neighborhood, offering scratch-made drinks and a constantly updated selection of roasters and coffees. Industry veterans Emily...

2025.11.03

Amélie BoulangerBusiness Operationscafe designcafésDessert Oasis Coffee RoastersDetroitEmily PotterLa Fonda StreetMetric CoffeeMichiganMidwestnewsOpeningsPanther CoffeeReAnimator CoffeeRetailValor CoffeeWashed Up Coffeeコーヒー

Wonderstate Coffee Questions Norms through Profit-Sharing Program

While coffee roasters and retailers everywhere are feeling financial strains, a new profit-sharing program from Viroqua, Wisconsin-based Wonderstate Coffee appears to have produced favorable returns all around, boosting financial health...

2025.10.30

Barista NewsBusiness OperationsCaleb NicholesCraft/Operationsemployee benefitsMacroMadisonMarketingMicroMidwestprofit sharingRetailRoastingSustainabilityViroquaWisconsinWonderstate Coffeeコーヒー