What Lighthouse Roasters does

Lighthouse Roasters is a Seattle-based, small-batch artisan coffee roaster and café founded in 1993 by Ed Leebrick and operating from a single retail location in the Fremont neighborhood. The company roasts on a vintage 1952 Gothot cast-iron drum roaster and is staffed by approximately 15 professionals with a combined 250+ years of coffee industry experience, several of whom have held multi-decade tenures. Its product portfolio includes roasted whole-bean and ground coffees, a 10%-discounted recurring subscription program, gift cards, brewing equipment, branded merchandise, and published educational content such as a written espresso guide.

The business is distributed across multiple channels: in-café retail, direct-to-consumer e-commerce built on Shopify, B2B wholesale to other cafés and restaurants, and a subscription tier designed to convert one-time buyers into recurring customers. Operational partners include TricorBraun Flex for post-consumer recycled (PCR) packaging and Washington Wild, a conservation nonprofit supported through a recurring charitable giving program. Sustainability and community positioning are deliberate differentiators layered onto a traditional craft-roasting core.

Revenue is generated primarily through retail café sales, DTC coffee shipments, subscription billings, and wholesale volumes; secondary streams come from equipment, merchandise, gift cards, and educational content. The company operates as a privately held, founder-influenced business with no disclosed outside funding, no acquisition history, and no publicly reported financials.

Name

Lighthouse Roasters

Legal name

Lighthouse Roasters

Website

https://lighthouseroasters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1993

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Lighthouse Roasters is a Seattle-based small-batch artisan coffee roaster and single-location café founded in 1993, serving direct-to-consumer shoppers, subscribers, and wholesale foodservice accounts with craft-roasted coffee, brewing gear, and educational content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roasting

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB), Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Coffee subscription service
• Wholesale coffee supply
• Single origin coffee
• Small batch roasting

Headquarters

HQ city

Seattle

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer sales of whole bean and ground coffee through e-commerce website and physical café. Includes house blends, single origins, and seasonal offerings. Prices range from $20-$24 for 12oz bags and 10% savings on 5lb bags.
2. Coffee Subscriptions: Recurring subscription model with 10% discount. Customers choose coffee type, quantity (12oz or 80oz bags), and delivery frequency (1-6 week intervals). No time commitment - cancel anytime. Freshly roasted 6 days a week.
3. Gift Subscriptions: Gift subscriptions available for 3, 6, 9, or 12 shipments at $75 minimum. Recipient chooses their coffee, schedule, and details.
4. Gift Cards: Digital and physical gift cards in denominations of $25, $50, $75, $100, $200, $300, and $500. Usable for online shopping or in-store purchases.
5. Wholesale Coffee: B2B wholesale to cafés, restaurants, bars, offices, and creative spaces. Includes wholesale pricing, brewing support, and guidance for businesses wanting to elevate their coffee program.
6. Merchandise: Branded merchandise including ceramic mugs ($15), brew gear accessories (AeroPress Go $49.95, Hario V60 products).
7. Educational Content: Sale of 'Lighthouse Roasters Guide to Making Espresso' book ($19.95) written by Craig Holt with brewing guides.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lighthouse Roasters is a Seattle-based specialty coffee roaster and café that sources green coffee, hand-roasts small batches on a vintage 1952 Gothot cast-iron drum roaster, and sells coffee through retail (café and e-commerce), subscriptions, wholesale supply, gift cards, branded mugs, brew gear, and an espresso education book. The company also supports community causes such as the Washington Wild nonprofit through product partnerships.

Product overview

Lighthouse Roasters is a Seattle-based specialty coffee roaster operating since 1993, offering a portfolio of 15+ coffee products centered around house blends and single-origin coffees. The core product lineup includes signature blends like the Lighthouse Blend, Roaster's Choice, Espresso Blend, and French Roast, alongside seasonal single origins sourced from Ethiopia, Kenya, Indonesia, Guatemala, Colombia, and Timor. The company provides coffee subscription services with 10% savings and gift subscription options for gifting. Brewing equipment accessories including AeroPress Go and Hario V60 products are available alongside branded merchandise such as ceramic mugs. The company also offers wholesale coffee solutions for businesses and a guide book on making espresso.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Lighthouse Blend Signature blended coffee roasted and sold in 12oz, 1lb, 2lb, and 5lb sizes for home brewing and foodservice use.
• Roaster's Choice Coffee blend chosen by the roasting team, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Espresso Blend Blend formulated for espresso preparation, sold in multiple bag sizes for home and café use.
• French Roast Dark-roast coffee sold in 12oz, 1lb, 2lb, and 5lb sizes.
• French Sumatra Single-origin dark-roast coffee from Sumatra, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Decaf Blend Decaffeinated blend coffee processed using the Swiss Water Process, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Sumatra Kerinci Gunung Tujuh Single-origin coffee from the Kerinci Gunung Tujuh region of Sumatra, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Kenya AA Single-origin AA-grade coffee from Kenya, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Natural Processed Ethiopia Yirgacheffe 1 Idido Naturally processed single-origin coffee from the Idido area of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Ethiopia Yirgacheffe Washed Chelchele Washed-process single-origin coffee from the Chelchele area of Yirgacheffe, Ethiopia, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Mocha-Java Classic Mocha-Java blend coffee, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Captain Bert's Breakfast Blend Breakfast-style blended coffee, sold in multiple bag sizes.
• Washington Wild Specialty blend sold in partnership with the Washington Wild nonprofit, with $1 from each bag donated to support Washington state wilderness protection.
• Coffee Subscription Recurring subscription delivering roasted coffee at the customer's chosen cadence, with a 10% discount and free shipping on orders over $50.
• Gift Subscription Subscription packaged as a gift, allowing customers to send recurring coffee deliveries to another recipient.
• Wholesale Coffee Supply B2B wholesale coffee supply to cafés, restaurants, bars, offices, and creative spaces, with dedicated ordering, wholesale pricing, and brewing support and guidance.
• Gift Card Physical or digital gift card redeemable in the Lighthouse Roasters online store.
• Lighthouse Roasters Guide to Making Espresso Book by Craig Holt explaining how to prepare espresso at home using Lighthouse Roasters coffees and equipment.
• AeroPress Go Portable AeroPress Go travel coffee press sold through the Lighthouse Roasters store as brew gear.
• Ceramic Logo Mug Branded ceramic mug featuring the Lighthouse Roasters logo, sold as merchandise.
• Lighthouse Roaster's Building Mug Branded mug featuring an illustration of the Lighthouse Roasters building, sold as merchandise.
• Hario V60 Paper Filter 01 Hario V60 size 01 paper coffee filters sold through the Lighthouse Roasters store as brew gear.
• Hario V60 Paper Filter 02 Hario V60 size 02 paper coffee filters sold through the Lighthouse Roasters store as brew gear.
• Hario V60 Plastic Coffee Dripper 01 Hario V60 size 01 plastic pour-over coffee dripper sold through the Lighthouse Roasters store as brew gear.

Quantifiable outcome

• 478+ customer reviews with overwhelmingly positive feedback
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Washington WildcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLighthouse Roasters partners with Washington Wild, a Seattle-based nonprofit working to protect and restore wild lands and waters across Washington State. For every bag of Washington Wild blend sold, Lighthouse donates $2.00 to the nonprofit. This partnership supports grassroots advocacy, education, and civic engagement for environmental conservation.
• ShopifycoreTechnology or IntegrationE-commerce platform powering the Lighthouse Roasters website and online store. Shopify enables product listings, shopping cart, customer accounts, subscription management, and payment processing.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Portland-born third-wave specialty roaster selling direct-to-consumer subscriptions, wholesale to cafes/restaurants, and operating branded cafes — same craft positioning and multi-channel distribution.
• Espresso Vivace: Seattle specialty coffee roaster and roastery cafe founded by David Schomer, recognized for espresso craft and small-batch roasting — comparable founder-led specialty cafe model in the same home market.
• Heart Coffee Roasters: Portland specialty roaster operating roastery cafes and selling DTC — comparable small-batch craft model with similar cafe-plus-subscription structure.
• Intelligentsia Coffee: Chicago-based third-wave specialty roaster with DTC, wholesale, and branded cafes — directly comparable third-wave positioning and direct-to-wholesale channel mix.
• Caffe Vita Coffee Roasting: Seattle-based specialty coffee roaster founded in 1995 operating roastery cafes, wholesale, and DTC e-commerce with single-origin and blend offerings — the closest analog to Lighthouse by city, vintage, and channel mix.
• Counter Culture Coffee: Durham-based specialty roaster focused on sustainability, single-origin transparency, and training/wholesale accounts — directly comparable craft roaster with B2B/wholesale emphasis and sustainability messaging.
• Ritual Coffee Roasters: San Francisco-based specialty roaster with roastery cafes, wholesale, and DTC subscriptions — comparable multi-channel third-wave craft roaster with direct cafe operations.
• Verve Coffee Roasters: Santa Cruz-origin specialty roaster with roastery cafes, subscription DTC, and wholesale — closely matches the Lighthouse profile of craft roasting plus cafe retail plus subscription.

Broad incumbents

• Blue Bottle Coffee: Larger third-wave specialty coffee operator with broad DTC, cafe, and wholesale footprint (Nestlé-owned) — overlaps with Lighthouse on craft positioning, subscription, and cafe channels but at materially greater scale.
• Peet's Coffee: Established specialty coffee roaster with DTC subscriptions, grocery, and cafe presence — competes in the same premium roasted-bean category with broader geographic and capital resources.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/LighthouseRoas1
• Facebookfacebook.com/120876374595050
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lighthouse-roasters

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

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 Lighthouse Roasters