When Andy Luck first closed the doors at his coffee shop back in October 2021, it was only announced as a temporary shuttering. But the brick-and-mortar chapter of Luck Bros. Coffee has now officially come to a close.
“For the first year or so, I was very comfortable with the changes needed to conduct business with the pandemic,” explained Luck. “When everything shut down, coffeehouses were considered essential and were permitted to stay open. I left it up to the staff, and nobody wanted to close.”
Luck checked in with the comfort levels of his staff on a weekly basis, and as they persisted through additional challenges like HVAC unit failures and replacements, they managed to tough it out for a year and half before needing a change of pace.
“I’m very proud that we were able to conduct business for so long without any staff being infected,” said Luck. “And I’m very thankful for my staff being diligent and thoughtful about how we all share risks while at work and when not at work. They kept me and my loved ones safe as well as each other.”
Local coffee fans shouldn’t shouldn’t see the closure as bad news though, as both Luck Bros. Coffee and the cafe space itself will continue forward with new directions. Dayton-based Boston Stoker is taking over the brick-and-mortar cafe while Luck Bros. will continue to serve the public through online orders and wholesale coffee roasting accounts.
“I moved roasting out of the coffeehouse back in 2016 and purchased a larger roaster, a sample roaster, and packaging equipment,” explained Luck. “I distribute Luck Bros coffee to local businesses and ship beans ordered on our website. And now that I’m no longer running the retail shop, I’m excited to expand these services even farther.”
In the immediate future, that expansion includes the sourcing of new coffees grown by small farmers around the world — from South America to Africa to Asia.
“I have found importers specializing in representing small farmers using sustainable practices in Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea and have samples to roast this week,” he stated. “I’ve contacted some importers and expect to sample from Yemen, India, Guatemala, and Peru in the coming months.”
While Luck says he has no plans to reopen or relocate Luck Bros into a brick-and-mortar cafe space, he is excited to be working with Boston Stoker to have a bit of retail space in their new cafe devoted to Luck Bros. roasts so that fans can still easily satisfy their craving from the same location.
“I look forward to stopping in for my morning espresso and cappuccino on the side,” he said. “It is on the way to my roasting lab, and I like it better when somebody else makes it.”
For more info, visit www.luckbroscoffee.com.
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