If “There’s no place like home” was a coffee flavor, it would be served by Thread Coffee Roasters, who are opening their first standalone and long-term home in the Greenmount West neighborhood.
They are hosting a grand opening on Saturday, Feb. 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with special coffee tastings, tours of the roastery, and conversation with the people determined to make your coffee a great experience.
After 11 years of operating out of several different buildings, the new roastery has a training lab where they plan to host public events like “Home Brewing and Coffee Science,” “Dialing In Espresso,” and “Latte Art” classes. There will also be tastings, tours, team-building, and private events.
Thread was founded in 2012 by Casey McKeel and friends as a collectively owned business, or co-operative business, roasting Fair-Trade coffee. It is a women, queer, and employee-owned company. Over the years, the company has prioritized uplifting the most marginalized workers in the coffee industry.
It’s a BCorp, which involves certification of “verified social and environmental performance, impact on workers and customers, its public transparency.” It’s also a Women’s Business Enterprise National Council (WBENC) certified business.
At their new location, they’ll host events at which coffee enthusiasts and the community can learn about the “art and science of coffee,” including different brewing methods, flavors, and sustainable practices. These hands-on events align with Thread’s goals of making coffee education accessible and enjoyable for everyone.
“We are thrilled to open our new roastery and share our passion for coffee with the community,” said Holly Kent-Payne, Head Roaster and Co-Owner of Thread Coffee Roasters. “This space is more than just a roastery; it’s the manifestation of all of our dreams come true.”
Kent-Payne is one of two worker-owners of Thread. Nani Ferreira-Mathews is the other, and Nate Klock is a provisional member who will become a full owner in May 2024.
“Returning to Greenmount West has been a bit of a homecoming – we operated a cafe and roastery out of Open Works between 2017-2020. During that time, we gathered a loyal and loving customer base in this neighborhood,” Ferreira-Mathew told Baltimore Fishbowl in an email. “I just ran into an old customer of ours who told me their daughter has been busy re-creating our Compost Cookies (an end of the week cookie that had bits of leftover chocolate chips, pretzels, and potato chips), after enjoying them so much at our cafe – which we closed due to the pandemic in 2020. We were on North Ave for a few years too – so this neighborhood feels like home.”
While they are focused on scaling up as a wholesale coffee provider, they’re also focused on the community surrounding their new building and looking forward to hosting all kinds of special events.
“We love Baltimore’s vibrant culinary, food, coffee, arts, and literary communities. We donate our coffee byproducts to the Farm Alliance and are planning an upcoming event with them,” Ferreira-Mathew said. “This year is really all about reconnection. The sleepy pandemic years softened the grip on some of our most valued relationships. This new space allows us to welcome our communities back into a physical space and to reinforce those bonds.”
Threads Coffee Roasters is located at 1812 Greenmount Ave., Suite 102, Baltimore, MD. The grand opening event takes place on Saturday, Feb. 3 from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
“Hosting an open house is not about showing off — it’s about showing up — for the community we’re in and for everyone that has made our business possible,” said Ferreira-Mathews.
