RICHMOND, Va. –Ironclad Coffee, who roasts locally in Scott’s Addition, has announced their fresh roasted coffee will be available in The Urban Farmhouse Market & Café.
Ironclad, which roasts specialty-grade coffees in small batches, will now provide their coffee to all six locations of The Urban Farmhouse.
Ironclad began roasting about six months ago at 2904 W. Moore St., in a 1,100-square-foot former print shop just off North Boulevard near Bow Tie Cinemas.
The storefront is for production, and does not do walk-up coffee by the cup sales.
The company sells its beans online and at farmers markets, and has always planned to add wholesale accounts with grocers and restaurants.
They will provide a proprietary house blend served exclusively at The Urban Farmhouse; created to appeal to a wide spectrum of coffee drinkers.
Also being roasted and served are espresso blends (in both regular and decaf), single-origin coffees rotating on a seasonal basis, and a blend for iced coffee.
“One advantage of serving locally roasted coffee is the convenient access to the knowledge and expertise of the people sourcing and roasting your coffee,” said Ironclad founder, Ryan O’Rourke.
O’Rourke emphasizes an approach that gives equal attention to both quality and approachability for anyone and everyone.
“We don’t ever want anyone — anywhere and at any time — to feel intimidated by coffee. We see no need for pretentiousness in coffee. It’s something that should be fun. Coffee should be a comfort beverage, and we believe you can roast, brew, and drink magnificent coffee while enjoying a bit of levity.”
O’Rourke and his wife Kelly launched the business.
For Ryan, 37, Ironclad is an outgrowth of a family business and his being a self-described coffee nerd.
His coffee education came from his parents, who owned two coffee houses in Tennessee where he helped out after graduating from University of South Florida, according to a Richmond BizSense report. While in Ireland working for an Irish cultural website, he found good coffee was hard to come by and started roasting beans at home one pound at a time.
