Local boutique coffee roaster Rising Star Coffee Roasters is expanding. Currently the shop has two locations, one in Little Italy and one in the Firehouse in Ohio City, where its roasting operation is currently located.
Come March though, the roasting operation will move to a now-vacant former meat company building at 3617 Walton, between Fulton and W. 38th Street. All the beans for wholesale and online clients and both cafes will be roasted there, and they’ll be able to offer wholesale clients coffee accessories as well.
Rising Star is also planning a specialized retail location within the space, which it’s calling a “coffee lab.” pace. “We are calling it a coffee lab,” says Rising Star general manager Robert Stockham. “We want to use this retail location to try out new brewing methods, recipes and equipment,” says general manager Robert Stockham. “There will be things at the lab before we roll them out to the existing cafes. We want to make our coffee lab a destination location. We will offer tours, cupping events, training classes and more.”
The coffee lab should be open sometime this summer.