FOOD

FROM THE GROUND UP

An ordinary West Virginian couple started a successful coffee shop with only self-education.

BY ALEXIS MCCURDY | PHOTOS BY ANDREW JOHNSON

It was a hot summer day in 2016 in Pomeroy, Ohio. Larry and Candice Hess were enjoying a three-day blues fest in the river town. The Hesses regularly enjoyed lunch and dinner in the city, but never breakfast. They thought about how great it would be for Pomeroy to have a quaint coffee and breakfast house, where residents and visitors could sit back and relax.

Larry, an instructional designer at Ohio University, and Candice, an employee at an orthodontist office, were living regular lives in New Haven, West Virginia, only a 15-minute drive from Pomeroy. Idly waiting for a coffee shop to arrive in Pomeroy didn’t sit well with them. The Hesses thought they didn’t have the time, or the money to start a small business, but after drafting a business plan on paper, they started to think otherwise.

Larry suggested they sell their house to cover start-up costs. They took a proposal to the bank to see if they could gain extra financing with the backing of those funds. The bank then eagerly agreed to finance their project.

“By selling our house, we made ourselves homeless in that process,” Larry says. “The only way was to live in the place where we created the business.”

With that, the Hesses plunged into the coffee world to create a business that would show rapid success. They started learning about the coffee industry lingo, customs and trends through YouTube, and bought an espresso machine to start experimenting with drinks at home.

Of course, no education is complete through a few YouTube videos. Larry and Candice traveled around the country to visit different coffee shops in Chicago, New York, St. Petersburg, Florida, Ohio, Kentucky and other states. They talked to shop-owners to get inspiration for their menus and gain advice on their start-up project. In all parts of the country, Larry and Candice found an abundance of support.

“It really is this awesome community of people that will talk shop any time, with anybody that’s interested in it,” Larry says.

During this year and a half process, in addition to traveling, Larry and Candice also had their hands full with renovating the building that would soon become their new house and business. The place, 102 W. Main St. in Pomeroy, didn’t seem too appealing at first. The building, built in the 1900s, had been through many phases and was most recently an abandoned law office. The downstairs carpet filled the place with an unsavory musk from years of being repeatedly soaked and dried due to the common Pomeroy floods. The upstairs, which would become the Hesses’ home, was in complete disrepair. “The funny thing is, the first time we saw the building we walked out and we were like, ‘Nope, that’s not the one,’” Larry says. Larry and Candice continued to look at 10 to 15 other buildings, but eventually decided to give the first another try. They invited two of their friends, who were both coffee enthusiasts and skilled in large-scale renovation, to look at the place. They began to strip down the building to showcase the nuanced details, exposing the original 1900s wood ceiling and charming brick.

“As we opened up our eyes to what could possibly work, and with the help of vision boards on Pinterest, we started to see what could actually be done,” Larry says.

The future shop owners ran into some unexpected difficulties and expenses, such as getting state-certified plumbers, electricians, mandated designers and architects. Nevertheless, they kept their spirits afloat.

Everything started to come together. Finally, it was opening day. River Roasters was serving up a traditional, Italian coffee menu with delectable treats and eats, including freshly made cronuts, quiches, robust salads, paninis and flavorful soups.

Unexpectedly, though not altogether unpleasantly, River Roasters ran out of everything halfway through the first day. Larry and Candice had to close early to go buy more equipment and adjust their resources to such high demand.

“Normally, you’re fighting to prove your brand during the first three years,” Larry says. “But we had the opposite problem, where we just had so many people that wanted to give it a shot and support us.”

River Roasters started opening day with only four employees, but by the end of the first week, it was staffed at 16. For its second week of business, they needed to be better prepared, which meant getting employees up to date on their specialty coffee knowledge.

“Customer education is a big thing for us,” Larry says. “So, we had to teach our employees that stuff as well. Being able to talk about where the coffee comes from, where the vendors come from, what fair trade means, what organic means.”

Within time, River Roasters was in the swing of things. The business has seen an immense amount of success in such a short amount of time, their famous oatmeal cream pies are even being demanded to be shipped all the way to North Carolina.

River Roasters uses local products as often as possible, getting their coffee from Ridge Runners, based in Athens, as well as sourcing tea from local Herbal Sage Tea Co., a vendor only a block away from the business. Herbal Sage Tea Co. and River Roasters even collaborated to produce a custom chai blend for the shop. All menu items are made in-house and incorporate fresh produce from the farmers’ market during the summer.

But this is only the beginning for River Roasters. Larry and Candice are excited to grow and see what comes next.

“We don’t ever let ourselves get too comfortable,” Candice says. “We’re constantly trying to innovate, make things better and faster. So, things are always changing here.”

The Hesses recently joined the Specialty Coffee Association, a global network of entrepreneurs in the coffee business who provide a point of contact in the business as well as in-depth training.

Larry and Candice won the 2019 Entrepreneurs of the Year award for the Meigs County Chamber.

The goal now is to get as many people as possible to know about River Roasters.

“We would just love for the world to know about this little coffee shop in Pomeroy, Ohio,” Larry says. Candice agrees.

“We just want people to know that this little river town is here, and it’s special,” she adds. b