Calico Jack Coffee Roastery to open in Mentor - Cleveland.com
MENTOR, Ohio—In 2018, Chris and Charisse Barbian, and their nephew Austin, bought a popcorn machine at Goodwill. They modified it to reach higher temperatures and used it to roast coffee. The new hobby was a distraction for Chris, a mechanical engineer, who was undergoing chemo/radiation treatment for cancer.
Chris, 54 has beat three Stage 4 cancers -- throat, lung and osteosarcoma -- and has been cancer-free since Fall 2020.“ He found that roasting on our popcorn popper was grounding and could be used as a much-needed distraction from the hard treatments,” says Austin. “We started giving the coffee we were roasting on the popcorn machine to our family and friends.”
The positive response surprised them, and the hobby grew into Calico Jack Coffee Roastery.
Soon after, a family friend gifted them a coffee roaster. So, Chris studied coffee roasting to learn the science and processes. That led to three varieties of roasts, an online e-commerce site and a table at the Willoughby Farmers Market.
Today Calico Jack offers 12 blends/roasts using beans grown in various countries. Soon they will be supplying their own shop as well as long-time customers CLE Juice Box and several grocery stores.
On June 9, the company is launching it first storefront Calico Jack Coffee Roastery at 8595 Mentor Avenue, Mentor (next to CLE Juice Box). They’re taking over the former Lakeshore Coffee Company, which was operated by a friend who is stepping away for personal reasons.
The Lakeshore Coffee Company will continue to operate a store in Andover, Ohio.
The exterior is currently getting a fresh coat of paint to match the black, white, and orange color scheme from the company’s’ branding. Think calico cat colors.
They have plans to extend the deck to increase outdoor seating. And the interior space is getting a refresh.
The shop is different from most because coffee is roasted onsite.
“There are many reasons why being both a roastery and cafe is important to us,” says Austin. “The number one reason is the freshness of the coffee.” “After the coffee gets roasted, the coffee has to ‘de-gas’ over 24 to 48 hours because the beans are still giving off carbon dioxide from the roasting and cooling process,” he explains. “There is a sweet spot right after de-gassing where the coffee is at peak quality.”
“The best part of having a roastery in the same building is that we will always be serving our coffee at that peak freshness and quality,” he notes.
The shop will feature monthly roasts and offer specialty drinks, smoothies, matcha, and teas. And they plan to offer classes about coffee roasting.
Chris hopes the business will give back to the cancer community for research and development to beat the life changing disease.