Market 42 location opens as company continues growth
By EMILY CANNING-DEAN
Special To MedinaCountyLIVE.com
BRUNSWICK – When Doug Cooper founded Goldberry Roasting Company back in 2010, he never dreamed it would turn into the enterprise it is today.
“I actually started roasting coffee in my basement in 2008 as a hobby and then founded Goldberry in 2010,” he said. “It wasn’t my livelihood, but something I was doing on weekends and evenings. I was mainly doing it for family and friends. But it was something I had a passion for. It was sort of like I couldn’t not do it.”
Fast forward 15 years later and Cooper, along with his son Pete, have their own brick and mortar coffee shop in Ashland, partnered with AVI to provide coffee for Oberlin College, have opened a third location at Market 42 in Brunswick and have founded the nonprofit, Coffee Growing Community which supports coffee farming communities in Mexico’s Sierra Norte region through initiatives focused on economic, social and spiritual development.
Doug Cooper makes slight adjustments during the production process at the company’s owned and operated coffee facility. He and son Pete have expanded the company as Goldberry Roasting enters the Medina County market.
Goldberry forms Coffee Growing Community mission program
Coffee Growing Community was formed in 2010, very early in Cooper’s coffee roasting journey. Along with his passion for roasting, Cooper also felt a strong pull to help economically challenged coffee communities. He has traveled to Mexico to form partnerships with members of coffee farming communities and help set them up for success.
“…it made sense to use our expertise to help them grow better coffee…”
“What we thought was that instead of sending them money, it made sense to use our expertise to help them grow better coffee so they could get a higher price in the market and then spread that prosperity to the local economy,” he said. “It seemed like a more sustainable way for the community to thrive.”
Coffee Growing Community raises funds and heads initiatives to provide resources for coffee growing communities such as education, healthcare, social services and church partnerships. They also develop leaders in the coffee communities.
“The organization helps with training and putting some people through college so they can better support their local communities,” Cooper said. “Over the last six months we started a project in Kenya where we are helping a farmer to become more independent by building a washing station which is what they use to process coffee. That way he will be able to process his own coffee and his neighbors’ coffee.”
Pete explained that as part of the “third wave” coffee movement, Goldberry is committed to showcasing the high quality coffee beans harvested from these communities.
“We are careful when roasting these high quality beans so that it highlights the coffee’s natural flavor…”
“It’s a movement where we really see coffee like a form of art,” he said. “We are careful when roasting these high quality beans so that it highlights the coffee’s natural flavor and where the beans are coming from. We want to make sure we have those exact right ratios when brewing.”
Cooper said that anyone who is interested in learning more about the nonprofit can visit coffeegrowingcommunity.org where they will have an opportunity to learn about the work the group does and they can donate directly online.
“We do all our packaging and roasting so our customers get the chance to really see, hear and smell what we are doing,” said Pete Cooper of the company’s small-batch roaster in their Wooster production facility.
Father and son join forces to expand the Goldberry brand
As Cooper’s passion for roasting coffee continued to grow, he moved operations from his basement to a small commercial space. While the building didn’t have room for a retail coffee shop, it allowed him to grow his operations.
“That was probably from 2014 until 2019,” Cooper said. “Then in 2018 was when Pete talked to me about joining me. It was really the right time because I was at the point where I was either going to have to take the risk and dive in full time or give it up altogether. I was able to keep working my other job for a while and bring Pete on full time.”
Pete joined his dad and the pair opened their first retail shop on Claremont Avenue in Ashland in 2019.
“The plan was to continue to be a coffee roaster, but to have enough space for a small pour bar for customers,” Pete said. “After a couple of years, we added espresso and some other things. Now we have a new facility on Franklin Avenue. We have capacity for probably about 90 people and seating for 50 to 60. We do all our packaging and roasting so our customers get the chance to really see, hear and smell what we are doing. We have customers who will come back and take pictures and stand by us to watch us roast and ask questions.”
“We give our customers every opportunity to be knowledgeable and immersed in coffee if they want to be,” Cooper said. “We have cupping classes and tastings when we have new releases of coffee and they can watch how we roast it and learn the origins of the farmers who provide the coffee.”
COVID brings about new partnership opportunity
“We were still pretty new in town at the start of COVID,” Pete said. “Luckily, we were small enough we were able to survive and we were able to continue delivering coffee around town, but 2020 was also the year we had another opportunity to grow.”
In 2020, the Youngstown-based AVI reached out to the Coopers to discuss a new partnership.
“They are a large food service company and they were making a bid for dining services at Oberlin College and they wanted a local roaster that would be willing to partner with them,” Pete said. “Now, we are operating a café in the library at Oberlin College and that has been a huge part of our growth. We employ about 30 students at the café and serve probably 500 to 600 customers a day. That timeline has really helped to push our timeline for growth forward.”
Goldberry’s Brunswick Market 42 location is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. and offers drip coffee selections, specialty drinks, and their custom brands of bagged third wave coffee as well as gift items and packages.
Brunswick marks third location for great Goldberry coffee
While customers enjoy stopping in at the Ashland, Oberlin and now Brunswick location for a classic espresso, cold brew or simple drip coffee, many also enjoy wholesale and ordering subscriptions through Goldberry. For more information visit goldberryroasting.com or follow @goldberrycoffee for menu specials, events and other news.
Goldberry’s Ashland location is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
The Oberlin location is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Brunswick Market 42 location is open seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Goldberry Roasting
History Timeline
- 2008 – Doug starts roasting coffee in the basement of his home.
- 2010 – Goldberry & Coffee Growing Community are founded. Start going to Mexico.
- 2010 – 2018 – Roasting small scale – mostly for family and friends.
- 2018 – Pete joins the company, rents first retail space.
- 2019 – First retail shop opens on Clairmont Avenue, Ashland.
- 2020 – Start partnership with AVI at Oberlin College. Import coffee from Mexico.
- 2024 – Moved to current building on Franklin Avenue, Ashland.
- 2025 – Opened third location at Market 42 in Brunswick.
LIVE Talk: Pete and Doug Cooper Talk Goldberry Roasting third wave coffee
AUDIO FEATURE:
Pete Cooper / Doug Cooper / Emily Canning-Dean
LIVE Talk is an audio feature of the Medina County Time Capsule:
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