For 10 years, Red Hot Roasters has called the Irish Hill neighborhood home.
But by early 2017, the local coffee company plans to expand its residency, with a new shop and roasting facility opening in the Butcher Block development at the edge of Butchertown and NuLu.
The addition is a major move for the retro-themed roastery, which has slowly expanded its wholesaling business into several grocery chains statewide – including Whole Foods, Valu Market and Kroger – all while continuing to serve customers from its Lexington Road drive-thru.
But it’s a move that makes sense, said owner Sondra Powell, who explained that the space in the up-in-coming neighborhood will allow the company to expand its operations, add an indoor seating area and jibe off the other businesses involved in the development, including Hi-Five Doughnuts and Pho Ba Luu.
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“It’ll be kind of this community and neighborhood feel that’s really attractive to us,” Powell said. “We don’t have that now because it’s just a drive-thru. It’s on a commuter route, so it’s not a place where people are lingering.”
Powell said she and her brother, Jason, who co-owns the company, have built a strong following at their Irish Hill location since opening in 2006, and they plan to keep the drive-thru open for customers who want to swing by on their way to work.
The new location will not initially have a drive-thru, but Powell said one could be added in the future.
Before that, though, the building at 1007 E. Main St. has to be completely renovated to fit the roastery’s needs, including installing a set of double doors and creating space for more than one roaster.
Developer Andy Blieden, who owns nine properties in the Butcher Block development, is handling the construction, and Powell said the building should be ready to lease by at least February.
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Inside, the location will include seating for about 15 people, with more room to serve food items from Wiltshire Pantry and Ehrler’s Ice Cream.
Outside, additional seating will be available in a communal courtyard, located within the square of buildings that make up the development along Main, Wenzel and Washington streets.
“Outside seating is really what sold me on it,” Powell said. “It will have a good-sized covered patio in the back that we can use more than one season. … We’re kind of collecting all these vintage gliders and retro furniture like you see on granny’s front porch. It’ll be a comfortable Southern porch feel.”
The new Red Hot Roasters location will follow a string of local coffee shops that have opened in 2016, including sites in Germantown, the Highlands and Valley Station.
Even more are to come. A quarter-mile from the Butchertown site, Quills Coffee plans to open its new roastery by the end of the year, and on Grinstead Drive, a coffee industry veteran is currently forming his own shop.
“I feel like there’s room for everyone,” Powell said. “Everyone’s doing something a little bit different.”
Reach reporter Bailey Loosemore at 502-582-4646 or bloosemore@courier-journal.com.
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