Hawthorne Coffee Roasters

What Hawthorne Coffee Roasters does

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters (legal entity Barrel Proof Coffee Roasters, LLC) is a privately held, founder-owned specialty coffee roaster and café founded in 2013 and operating from a single ~7,000 sq ft location at 4177 S Howell Ave on Milwaukee's south side. The company roasts and sells single-origin coffees (El Salvador, Colombia Gran Galope, Guatemala Quetzal) and a house espresso blend called Revival Espresso, alongside a signature Barrel Conditioned Coffee program in which green coffee ages 28 days in spent bourbon barrels sourced from J. Henry & Sons, Heaven Hill, and Willett distilleries to develop non-alcoholic barrel-derived flavor profiles. Beyond roasted coffee, the in-shop café offers a full bar and cocktail menu, baked goods, grab-and-go breakfast sandwiches, and seasonal patio seating, with orders placed at the counter or via QR codes at tables.

The business operates a hybrid DTC and retail model. Direct revenue streams include in-shop beverage and food sales, an e-commerce storefront at hawthornecoffeeroasters.com/shop selling whole bean, ground, cold brew, gift boxes, and merchandise, curbside pickup and local delivery via hawthornetogo.com, physical gift cards ($10-$100) processed through Square, and event space rental for private parties that leverages the venue's full bar, stage, sound equipment, and on-site catering through partner Hawthorne Kitchen. Pricing on coffee begins around $20/lb, and the customer base is overwhelmingly local Milwaukee consumers and event hosters, with no disclosed B2B or wholesale accounts.

The underlying technology stack is deliberately light: a Squarespace-hosted website, Square for payments and gift cards, and a craft barrel-conditioning production process that is the company's principal point of differentiation. The firm operates with 1-10 employees, has no external institutional funding, no parent company, and is not pursuing geographic expansion beyond its single Milwaukee venue. Distribution is domestic US only per Terms & Conditions.

Name

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters

Legal name

Barrel Proof Coffee Roasters, LLC

Website

https://hawthornecoffeeroasters.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2013

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters is a privately held specialty coffee roaster and single-location café in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, founded in 2013. It serves local consumers with single-origin and barrel-conditioned coffees, café food and cocktails, and rents its 7,000 sq ft venue for private events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Specialty Coffee Roastery & Café

NAICS

Coffee and Tea Manufacturing (31192)

SIC

Beverages (2080)

akta.pro primary industry

Coffee Roasters with Cafe (Roastery Cafes) (THAFADAE)

akta.pro secondary industries

Coffee Roasting & Grinding (AFAFADAB), Specialty Coffee & Tea Retail (Beans, Leaves, Accessories) (CRAHAGAI), Specialty Coffee Shops (Single-Origin, Third-Wave) (THAFADAA)

Keywords

• Specialty coffee roasting
• Coffee shop services
• Barrel conditioned coffee
• Event space rental
• Online coffee retail

Headquarters

HQ city

Milwaukee

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Supply Chain, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Retail Coffee Shop Sales: In-person sales of freshly roasted coffee beverages, food items, and full bar service including cocktails, beer and wine at their Milwaukee location.
2. Online Coffee Sales: Direct-to-consumer online sales of roasted coffee beans in various weights (1 lb, 5 lb) and grinds, along with merchandise and gift boxes shipped to customers.
3. Gift Cards: Gift cards available in denominations of $10, $20, $30, $50, and $100, redeemable only at the physical shop location. Cards are mailed via USPS.
4. Event Space Rental: Approximately 7,000 square feet of space in a former bowling alley available for private parties and events, with full bar service, food catering through Hawthorne Kitchen, stage and sound equipment, and WiFi speakers.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters is a Milwaukee-based specialty coffee roaster and café that sources, roasts, and serves single-origin and blended coffees (including a proprietary barrel-conditioned coffee aged 28 days in spent bourbon barrels) from its retail shop at 4177 S Howell Ave. The company sells roasted whole bean and ground coffee, cold brew, merchandise, and gift boxes via its online shop; operates a full-service café with a bar and cocktail menu; and rents approximately 7,000 square feet of event space for private parties and functions.

Product overview

Hawthorne Coffee Roasters operates as a single-location specialty coffee roaster and café in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The company offers a portfolio of whole bean and ground coffees for retail sale (online and in-shop), including single-origin offerings from Guatemala, Colombia, El Salvador, and a proprietary house espresso blend called Revival Espresso. A differentiating offering is the Barrel Conditioned Coffee program, where unroasted coffee ages 28 days in spent bourbon barrels. The business also operates a full café with food and cocktails, sells gift cards, and rents its 7,000 sq ft event space for private parties. The product portfolio centers on direct-to-consumer coffee sales with supporting retail café services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Revival Espresso

Named customers1 record

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• J. Henry & Sons DistillerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides spent bourbon barrels for Hawthorne Coffee Roasters' barrel conditioned coffee program. Coffee is aged 28 days in these barrels to absorb flavor and aromatic characteristics without alcohol content.
• Heaven Hill DistillerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSupplies spent bourbon barrels for the barrel conditioned coffee program, enabling unique flavor profiles in the coffee products.
• Willett DistillerycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerProvides bourbon barrels for the barrel conditioned coffee aging process, contributing to the distinctive taste profiles of select coffee offerings.
• Hawthorne KitchencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFood catering partner for events held at the Hawthorne Coffee Roasters space rental program, offering food options alongside full bar service for private parties and functions.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Ruby Coffee Roasters: Wisconsin-based specialty roaster focused on single-origin and blend coffees sold wholesale and direct-to-consumer. Comparable in roasting craft, premium positioning, and regional scale.
• Colectivo Coffee: Milwaukee-based specialty coffee roaster and cafe operator with multiple locations across the city and broader Midwest. Directly comparable as a regional roaster-cafe hybrid serving a similar customer base in the same geography.
• Kickapoo Coffee: Wisconsin-based specialty roaster operating cafes and wholesale with strong single-origin sourcing. Comparable as a regional third-wave roaster with cafe operations and DTC channels.
• Stone Creek Coffee: Milwaukee-founded specialty roaster with cafes and wholesale distribution across the Midwest. Operates the same roaster-cafe model with similar third-wave positioning and target customer.
• Anodyne Coffee Roasting Co. Milwaukee-based third-wave roaster with cafes, wholesale accounts, and event space. Highly comparable in product mix, cafe-bar service, and Midwestern specialty coffee positioning.

Emerging players

• Verve Coffee Roasters: Specialty roaster with cafes in California and Japan and DTC e-commerce. Comparable as a craft-driven roaster-cafe with similar premium positioning, though operating in different geographies.

Broad incumbents

• Counter Culture Coffee: Specialty coffee roaster with training centers, wholesale, and sustainability focus. Comparable as a roaster with similar sourcing ethos and B2B/wholesale channels serving cafes.
• Blue Bottle Coffee: National specialty roaster and cafe operator with DTC e-commerce and a broad cafe footprint. Comparable as an incumbent in single-origin and specialty cafe service, with much larger distribution.
• Stumptown Coffee Roasters: Established national third-wave roaster with cafes, wholesale, and DTC. Comparable as a broader incumbent in the specialty roaster-cafe category, though at significantly larger scale.
• La Colombe Coffee Roasters: National specialty roaster operating cafes, draft latte, and DTC. Comparable as a roaster-cafe hybrid with branded retail products and broader distribution.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/HawthorneCoffeeCo
• Instagraminstagram.com/hawthornecoffee
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hawthorne-coffee-roasters

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Hawthorne Coffee Roasters