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

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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

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

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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.

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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.