Caffe Ladro

What Caffe Ladro does

Caffe Ladro, legally operating as Ladro Roasting, is a Seattle-based coffee roaster and neighborhood cafe chain founded in 1994 by Jack on Upper Queen Anne in Seattle. The company operates 15 cafes across the Seattle metropolitan area, spanning Seattle neighborhoods (Queen Anne, Capitol Hill, Downtown, Ballard, West Seattle, South Lake Union, Ravenna) and East Side suburbs (Bellevue, Kirkland, Bothell, Issaquah, Edmonds, Lynnwood). Since 2011, the company has run its own roasting operation (Ladro Roasting), enabling vertical integration from green coffee sourcing through retail sale. The product portfolio centers on four signature blends (Ladro Blend, Queen Anne, Fremont, Diablo), seasonal single-origin microlots, a decaf option, and the Coffee for Good charitable series. Sourcing relationships include direct farm partnerships with Costa Rican producers Hacienda Sonora and Cafetalera Zamorana, and ancillary brands like Miir for drinkware.

Revenue is generated across five primary streams: retail coffee sales through cafes and e-commerce, a flexible-frequency subscription service, B2B wholesale (coffee, tea, syrup, equipment, barista training), catering (in-store pickup and EZ Cater delivery for coffee and baked goods), and merchandise (drinkware, apparel, brewing equipment, gift cards). Online gift certificates and physical Coffee Cards support the in-store and online purchase experiences. Go-to-market is primarily direct-to-consumer, with adjacent B2B channels through wholesale and corporate catering. The wholesale program offers full-service support including technical training for businesses.

The company maintains a localized brand identity built around ethically sourced coffee, in-house roasting, and community engagement through the Coffee for Good initiative (launched July 2025), which donates $3 per bag of a designated blend to rotating nonprofit partners. Marketing channels emphasize email newsletter acquisition (20% off first order), community partnerships, and content marketing. Ownership is private and founder-held (Jack). No institutional investment, parent company, or M&A activity is disclosed. Operations run on Shopify for e-commerce and Joe Coffee for order-ahead functionality.

Name

Caffe Ladro

Legal name

Ladro Roasting

Website

https://caffeladro.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Caffe Ladro is a Seattle-based coffee roaster founded in 1994 that operates 15 neighborhood cafes across the Seattle metro area, complemented by in-house roasting, e-commerce, subscription, wholesale, and catering services for individual consumers and local businesses.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Retail & Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192), Snack and Nonalcoholic Beverage Bars (722515)

SIC

Beverages (2080), Retail-Eating & Drinking Places (5810), Bakery Products (2050)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Independent Neighborhood Cafes (THAFADAC), Cafe-Bakeries (Coffee + Pastry Focus) (THAFADAG), Coffee, Espresso & Tea Appliances Retail (CRACADAC)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Neighborhood cafe chain
• Coffee subscription service
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Coffee catering services

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices16 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Sales: Sale of freshly roasted coffee beans and espresso drinks through 15 cafe locations and online store. Includes whole bean coffee, ground coffee, single-origin microlots, and signature blends.
2. Coffee Subscription: Recurring subscription service delivering coffee on a scheduled basis (weekly, bi-weekly, monthly, etc.) with skip/pause functionality.
3. Wholesale Coffee: B2B wholesale supply of coffee, tea, syrup, filters, and barista training to businesses including cafes, restaurants, and offices.
4. Catering Services: Corporate and event catering including brewed coffee in various quantities (12 cups, 2.5 gallon cambros for 38 cups, 5 gallon cambros for 76 cups), pastries, quiches, muffins, cookies, and baked goods. Delivered via in-store pickup or EZ Cater.
5. Merchandise: Sale of branded merchandise including apparel, mugs, travel cups, tote bags, and brewing equipment accessories.
6. Gift Cards and Certificates: Online gift certificates (digital) and physical Coffee Cards for in-store purchases at brick-and-mortar locations.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Caffe Ladro operates 15 neighborhood cafés in Seattle serving espresso beverages, brewed coffee, and fresh-baked pastries, alongside an in-house Ladro Roasting facility (since 2011) that produces signature blends and single-origin coffees. The company sells roasted coffee directly to consumers via e-commerce and subscription, supplies wholesale accounts to businesses, and offers catering services for events.

Product overview

Caffe Ladro is a Seattle-based coffee company founded in 1994, operating 15 café locations across the Seattle area. The product portfolio centers on four signature coffee blends—Ladro Blend (signature espresso), Queen Anne (light roast), Fremont (medium roast), and Diablo (dark roast)—supplemented by seasonal single-origin micro-lots and a decaf option. The Coffee for Good series integrates charitable giving, donating $3 per bag to rotating nonprofit partners. Additional offerings include coffee subscriptions with flexible delivery scheduling, full-service catering (fresh brewed coffee in various volumes plus baked goods), premium brewing equipment (AeroPress, Chemex, Hario), branded drinkware and merchandise, gift certificates/cards, and a wholesale program for businesses. The company operates its own roasting facility (Ladro Roasting, launched 2011) to ensure quality control from sourcing through delivery.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Coffee For Good: A community impact initiative launched July 1, 2025, where $3 from every bag sold of a special blend is donated to local nonprofit partners. Past partners include NWIRP, TRACTION/Project Open Arms, Deaf Spotlight, KUOW, Cascade PBS, Food Lifeline, and Washington Wild.

Products and services

• Ladro Blend (Signature Espresso Roast) Signature house espresso roast coffee, sold as whole bean or ground for retail café customers, online shoppers, and wholesale accounts.
• Queen Anne Blend Named after a Seattle neighborhood, this signature blend is sold through cafés, online, and wholesale.
• Fremont Blend Seattle-neighborhood-named signature blend offered across retail, online, and wholesale channels.
• Diablo Blend Signature dark-style blend sold through cafés, e-commerce, and wholesale.
• Ladro Decaf Decaffeinated signature roast sold in cafés, online, and wholesale for decaf drinkers.
• Ladro Classic Blend Box Multi-bag sampler box of signature blends packaged for gifting or variety tasting, sold online and in cafés.
• Coffee for Good Series Limited-edition community-driven coffee series supporting charitable causes, sold online and in cafés.
• Single Origin Coffees Single-origin roasted coffees from specific producing countries (e.g., Tanzania, Costa Rica), available seasonally online and in cafés.
• Coffee Subscription Service Recurring subscription delivering freshly roasted Caffe Ladro coffee on a chosen cadence (weekly/bi-weekly/monthly) to subscribers' homes.
• Catering Services Coffee and pastry catering for corporate and private events, available via in-store pickup and the EZ Cater platform.
• Baked Goods & Pastries Fresh-baked pastries and baked goods served in Caffe Ladro cafés and available through catering.
• Brewing Equipment Coffee brewing equipment and accessories sold online and in cafés for home brewing customers.
• Drinkware & Accessories Coffee-related drinkware and accessories (e.g., mugs, tumblers) sold online and in cafés.
• Apparel & Merchandise Branded apparel and merchandise sold online and in cafés for fans of the Caffe Ladro brand.
• Online Gift Certificate Digital gift certificate usable for online store purchases, sent via email to recipients.
• Ladro Coffee Card (Physical Gift Card) Reloadable physical stored-value gift card usable for in-café purchases across all Caffe Ladro locations.
• Wholesale Coffee Program B2B wholesale supply of Caffe Ladro roasted coffee, equipment, and support to offices, restaurants, hotels, and other businesses.

Quantifiable outcome

• 228 bags sold, $684 raised for KUOW (March-April 2026)
• +2 more outcomes

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• TRACTION - Project Open ArmsminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 July 2026May-June 2026 Coffee for Good partnership supporting TRACTION's Project Open Arms, which provides safety and stability for relocated individuals. Donated $3 from each Coffee for Good blend sold, raising $390 from 130 bags. Also provided coffee catering for two Transplant Supper Table gatherings.
• KUOWminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 7 May 2026Coffee for Good partnership with KUOW (Seattle's NPR member station) during March and April 2026. Caffe Ladro sold 228 units of Coffee for Good blend, raising $684 for the station. Additionally donated coffee beans as thank-you gift for spring membership drive listeners pledging $25 monthly support.
• Cascade PBSminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 March 2026January-February 2026 partnership. Donated $3 per bag of co-branded Coffee for Good Blend sold. Also gifted sample sizes and provided catering for Thankuary donor celebration event.
• Food LifelineminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 16 January 2026November-December 2025 holiday season partnership. $3 from each Coffee for Good seasonal coffee and Classic Blend Box sold went to Food Lifeline. Cafes also hosted in-store food drives. Ongoing coffee donations to food banks.
• Deaf SpotlightminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 November 2025Fall 2025 partnership supporting Deaf, DeafBlind, DeafDisabled, and Hard of Hearing artists in theater, film, and visual arts. Hosted Fall Craft Event and featured ASL video series teaching coffee shop signs.
• Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2025Inaugural Coffee for Good campaign (July 1, 2025) partnering with NWIRP, a nonprofit defending and advancing immigrant and refugee rights in Washington State. Sold limited-edition Coffee for Good 12oz bags with $3 per unit donated.
• Washington WildminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCurrent Coffee for Good partner. $3 from every bag of Washington Wild Coffee for Good Series sold is donated directly to Washington Wild, which protects Washington's wild lands and waterways since 1979.
• EZ CaterminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorThird-party catering delivery partner. Catering orders can be delivered via ezcater.com for event catering.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the caffeladro.com online store. Handles payment processing, order management, and customer account functionality.
• Beecher's Handmade CheeseminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLocal Seattle artisan cheese supplier used for Bacon Beecher's Scone catering item. Features Beecher's Flagship cheese and hardwood-smoked bacon.
• Hacienda SonoraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosta Rican coffee farm (Guillermo Guarda family, 3 generations) supplying Costa Rica Hacienda Sonora-Sarchimor microlot. Farm direct relationship featuring sustainable practices including Pelton Wheel hydroelectric system.
• Cafetalera ZamoranaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCosta Rican coffee producer (Don Jorge Zamora Soto, 3rd generation) supplying Costa Rica Zamorana natural process coffee. Ladro's founder Jack visited origin in Costa Rica to establish direct connection.
• MiirminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerClimate Neutral, B Corp partner supplying Miir All Day Straw Cups. 1% of Miir sales donated to environmental causes. Ladro resells Miir branded insulated cups.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Espresso Vivace: Long-established Seattle specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator. Comparable neighborhood-cafe footprint and specialty/espresso positioning in the same Seattle market.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Specialty coffee roaster with retail cafes, wholesale, and DTC. Comparable vertically-integrated premium roastery-cafe model with direct-trade sourcing and subscription offerings.
• Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty roaster with regional training centers and wholesale distribution. Comparable ethically-sourced, education-driven model with cafe-adjacent retail presence.
• Victrola Coffee Roasters: Seattle-based roaster with multiple cafes and wholesale operations. Competes head-to-head in the same Seattle neighborhood trade areas with a similar multi-channel specialty coffee offering.
• Lighthouse Roasters: Fremont/Seattle-based micro-roaster operating a flagship cafe with strong third-wave positioning. Comparable small-batch roasting and cafe-retail integration model in the Seattle market.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Portland-origin specialty roaster operating cafes plus DTC subscriptions and wholesale, now under Starbucks ownership. Closest comparable in roastery-cafe-retail model and direct-trade sourcing approach.
• Caffe Vita: Seattle-based independent coffee roaster with its own cafes, wholesale, and DTC operations. Highly comparable vertically-integrated roastery-cafe model serving the same Seattle metro consumer with similar ethically-sourced positioning.

Emerging players

• Joe Coffee Company: NYC-based specialty roaster and cafe operator with subscription platform; Ladro's cafes actually run on Joe Coffee's order-ahead software, indicating direct operational integration. Comparable DTC subscription + cafe + catering model.
• Onyx Coffee Lab: Award-winning specialty roaster with competition-grade positioning and selective retail presence. Comparable premium single-origin and blend portfolio targeting discerning specialty consumers.

Broad incumbents

• Blue Bottle Coffee: Larger specialty roaster-cafe operator (now Nestle-owned) with cafes in multiple U.S. markets. Demonstrates the scale trajectory of the roastery-cafe model but operates in multiple geographies and at materially higher scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LadroRoasting
• Facebookfacebook.com/LadroRoasting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Caffe Ladro