Coffalo
Specialty Food Artisan
About
Much like the history of our treasured American Buffalo, our story is one of resilience. When Chris James was laid off from his job in 2020 due to Covid-19, he turned adversity and his 10-year coffee roasting hobby into a career. This small, in-home, locally owned coffee roaster focuses on great coffee and outstanding customer service. All of his coffee is roasted with hot air. He doesn't use natural gas or LP in our roasting process. The result is clean, delicious and safe coffee. He currently offers coffee for sale through his website with free delivery to select areas in the Des Moines metro. On occasion, he can be seen in his signature orange shirt and helmet delivering coffee via bicycle. Coffalo can now be purchased in eight Hy-Vees across the West Des Moines area, including Grimes, Waukee and Ames.
Programs and Partners
Location
Rochester, NY
Manager
My father gifted me my first roaster tens years ago. It was a small, hot-air roaster which I mainly used for my own personal benefit. Before Covid, I was the Director of Operations for the Principal Financial buildings in downtown Des Moines. There I operated their three cafes and catering program. When corporate America began shutting down, I was responsible for laying off fifty of my co-workers, me being one of the last ones "off the ship". After spending a couple of weeks not really knowing how to provide for my family, I began selling off personal possessions on Facebook Marketplace. With that money, I purchased a website, a roaster (roasts up to 1Ib an hour) and a bag of raw coffee beans. It was when I began delivery bags of coffee by bicycle that the business really started to take off. I can still be seen on the bike trails of Des Moines delivery coffee with my trusty companion, Bugsy. Over the past year I invested in a much larger hot-air roaster (60Ibs an hour). Two years after my lay-off, Coffalo Coffee can now be found in eight Hy-Vees across the West Des Moines area including Waukee, Grimes and Ames. I have also been operating a tent at the Ames Main Street Farmers Market. It is here where I serve pour-overs of hot coffee, percolated coffee, cold brew and selling bags of Coffalo Coffee. The Ames Farmers Market has given me the experience needed to operate on a much larger scale such as the Des Moines Winter Market.
I encourage you to visit my website for more details.
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