September 2011
Sunrise Coffee brewing great things Roasting specialty coffee on the peninsula for 25 years
Luncheon Speakers Jefferson County Chamber of Commerce luncheon meetings are held at the Port Townsend Elks Lodge, 555 Otto St., at noon each Monday, federal holidays excluded. Everyone is welcome!
Sept. 5 – Happy Labor Day! No meeting Sept. 12 - Tom Stone
The President of the Port Ludlow Village Council discusses the council’s role and what it represents to the county.
Sept. 19 - Jill Andrews
Certified Folder distributes brochures and other publications and media on the Washington State ferries. Andrews will discuss marketing and brochure design for a tourism based market. Sponsor Peninsula Credit Union
Sept. 26 - Jerry Thuotte
The brains and the brawn behind the The Port Townsend Aero Museum talks about why the building is more than an airplane museum. We “inspire the future while preserving the past” through a unique youth education program.
You may not know this but Sunrise Coffee has been roasting in “The Port of Port Townsend” since 1985, over 25 years. For the last 13, Sue Ohlson has been Sunrise’s owner and “master roaster.” If the wind is right you can follow the aromatic plume of roasting coffee beans right from the Visitor Information Center, across Sim’s Way and a hundred yards or so into The Port’s main entrance down 10th Street and discover one of Port Townsend’s best kept secrets. “We all follow the plume to Sue’s shop every morning and try out whatever beans she’s roasting that day,” says shipwright Brian Wentzel, a Freyja Boatworks owner. “Her wonderful smile, positive energy and fabulous gourmet coffee keeps us going throughout the day. Every three or four months we all show up and load and stack into her shop all of this green coffee from around the world. It’s a lot of fun and we get free coffee.” “I love being here in the “Port,” Ohlson says. “My neighbors are the shipwrights, the welders, the metal workers, marine designers and the boat builders that work here. When I need help with my shipments or the repair and maintenance of my equipment these guys are here for me and I love them all.” And this tall, long haired woman, often dusted with fresh ground specialty coffee, is much loved by her neighbors. An Illinois native, Ohlson moved to Port Townsend in 1995 and at one time held down three jobs - delivering fl owers for Holly’s Fine Flowers, helping out at Jim Sherwood’s veterinary clinic and running her own Sue’s Speedy Weeding service. She was driving a bus for Jefferson Transit when she shook hands with former Sunrise owner Christopher John and bought the business with roasting time and coffee beans. The rest is history.
Sue Ohlson is Sunrise’s owner and “master roaster.” She shook hands with former Sunrise owner Christopher John and bought the business with roasting time and coffee beans. In 2008, she commissioned local artist Max Grover to design her logo and brand with seven original paintings of her most popular roasts. Max Grover is now working on some new paintings and new labels are in the works. Also in the near future is a brand new website designed by Frank DePalma and his team at Totera Web Systems. Sunrise Coffee’s wholesale accounts stretch from Port Townsend to Forks. “We’re in the Port Towsend Co-op,
the two QFC’s, Sunny Farms, and many restaurants and shops all over the region. My coffee can compete with any found on the other side of Puget Sound and beyond,” she says. “To know my coffee is to love my coffee and I’m grateful to my loyal clients who have kept me going all these years. I love this place and this community has given me much to be thankful for,” Sue says, “and I want my fresh, local, organic coffee to be a part of everyone’s Sunrise.”