Ohio roaster nabs gov’t funding for product expansion
Posted: Jan 07, 2010
Turning to a bank for a business loan? That’s so pre-recession.
In November, it was reported that Townshend’s Tea in Portland, Ore., was opening a kombucha-making factory, financed in part by a loan from grocer Whole Foods. Top Shelf Coffee, located in Warren, Ohio, has now taken bankless lending to another level, securing $95,000 in funding from the city of Warren to help pay for a packaging project.
The roaster is using the municipal mula to further build out its line of National Basketball Association-branded coffees. Top Shelf has an agreement with the hoops league to put team graphics on its bags of Colombian Supremo Blend Gourmet coffee, and the borrowed cash has allowed the roaster to buy necessary equipment and help pay fees required by the league for the right to use additional team logos.
What’s more, the city—which is ostensibly trying to help boost a business in an area where many others have struggled recently—handed over the money interest-free, and Top Shelf has not yet been asked to repay the loans. Other specialty coffee players looking for money at a time when credit is tight can learn a good lesson from Top Shelf and Townshend’s recent moves: When looking for financing, you may want to think outside the bank.
—Dan Leif
