trowel

Broadway Roasting Company

4012 Washington–one block north of Broadway Cafe in the old Westport Fire Station 19

In 1998 we started roasting coffee for ourselves in the back of the Cafe. Within weeks, a friend wanted to use our coffee in his Snack Shop, and Broadway Roasting Co. began delivering coffee all over Kansas City.

Maneuvering 150 lb sacks of coffee through a line of customers, up two steps, through the Cafe and back to the roasting area worked out well for five years. It came to the point that we were setting 5 lb bags on Cafe tables at night for deliveries the next day. We needed a little more space, so in 2003, we moved the roaster one block east to 301 Westport Road.

We love talking about coffee, discussing what it tastes like, dreaming about where it comes from, so serving drinks at the roasting spot was a necessity. By 2007, we were roasting seven days a week. The wooden floors would creak and bounce under the weight of thousands of pounds of green coffee rolling in.

A larger roaster would be nice, maybe a pallet jack, and a garage door. Staying in Westport and being within walking distance of the Cafe were priorities when we were looking for that forever home.

As luck would have it, the 1930’s era Westport Fire Station 19 was empty.

With the move to the Fire Station in 2008, we were able to attain our organic certification through OCIA.

The original red IR12 Diedrich roaster now sits next to our custom built blue IR40 Diedrich roaster. You can get a drink, or buy a bag of fresh roasted coffee from the barista up front.

If you wander back to the roasting area with a curious look, we’ll tell you about the current coffees from our friends’ farms between batches.