Our Final Roast

Nearly two years ago we started on a journey.

A journey that has broadened everything we knew about coffee, people, business, branding, and marketing.  A journey that has bridged gaps between people and helped both us and you learn more about handcrafted coffee and food.  And a journey that proved that specialty coffee can not only survive but can certainly thrive in Stephenville: something we previously thought impossible before doing it ourselves.

For almost everyone, the New Year is a time of reflection: a time to look at the past, evaluate, then project into the future, and understand more about who you are.  Over the past year, we sold over 1,000 bags of coffee, and we couldn’t have done it without all of you: our friends, family, and fans.  We’ve strived to maintain the best quality, customer service, and environment for all of our supporters and feel that we’ve done well in that.  Hopefully you feel much the same.

When we embarked on this endeavor, we knew what it would take: time, money, more time, sacrifice, and a LOT of work.  We knew we weren’t immune to the growing pains of small business and for the most part, we feel that we handled those growing pains and challenges quite well.  Sure, there were some rough patches.  Many of you remember the time we had to step away from our business in April of this year, and some of that was very well due to the business itself.  Just when it seemed like we were throwing in the towel, you rallied behind us, stuck by us, and kept both us and our business moving.  We recovered, you stood by, and we continued to thrive in Ciclismo.

There are so many of you who stood by us and made this possible… Far too many to name, but there are a few special people who come to mind:

1. When we started, Barefoot Market was our home and Scott Belding recognized the potential in our business and gave us an opportunity to set up our first market days.

2. On a whim one day, we wandered into Two Clay Birds and almost instantly a friendship was formed with the Stahnkes.  Kevin and Holly Stahnke opened us up to a new market and a perfect place for our product and offered a great place for market days and new friendships to be born.

3. One day a few years ago, during a torrential downpour, a man and his wife moved their entire world into an apartment adjacent to ours on Sloan Street.  Seemingly only days later, another lifetime friendship was born with Jahmicah and Heather Dawes, and a little over a year later SlimPickins Outfitters became one of our biggest proponents and best wholesale customers.

4. Thanks to Josh Allen and The Allen Firm.  Our biggest office coffee client!  Y’all helped so much to establish our office coffee program and support all things local.

5. Another shoutout goes to John Baxter, Lacretia Price, and all of the Baxter Chemical team as well as David Kincannon State Farm for supporting our office coffee subscription program through to the very end.  Thank you!

Of course, there are too many of you to thank but each one of you deserves a personal thank you for supporting what we have done over the past year.

But as you know, a thriving business, demand for your product beyond your wildest dreams, and overall business success doesn’t lead to happiness.  We knew that going in.  We knew what it would take: time, money, more time, sacrifice, and a LOT of work.  We decided when we began that we would give Ciclismo one calendar year at which point we would reevaluate our stance in the business and where it fell into our personal lives and how it affected our time and relationships.  That day came on a Sunday (November 5th to be exact following the Stephenville Farmers Market).  Exactly one year to the weekend of our first market day at Barefoot Market, we made the subtle, solemn decision to cease all roasting operations of Ciclismo Coffee Roasters.

Our decision was not made entirely in vain, but with many factors considered: you were most certainly one of them.  The time, physical space in our home, and desire for something greater has led us to this decision, and it is with solemn, yet relieved hearts that we close this chapter of our lives.

We will continue to serve your coffee needs through the end of January on a very limited basis.  We have already suspended our subscription and office coffee programs, and online sales will cease soon.  We will continue to stock up our retail partners at SlimPickins Outfitters and Barefoot Market through the end of the month as green coffee supplies are available.  We hope by the time this is published that all of our accounts have been rectified, but if there is anything you need or feel needs to be corrected, you can always contact us!

We can’t thank you enough for all of your support and for what you’ve done to allow us to succeed in this city as well as the surrounding area.  None of this would be possible without you, the city of Stephenville, and the growing desire for handcrafted, quality foods in this area.

You may be asking, “What’s next for y’all?”  A very valid question!  We honestly don’t know.  We will be entertaining any and all offers for purchase of our brand; however, the equipment, green coffee, packaging, etc. has already been spoken for and agreed for and we’ll be making those transitions during the month.  As for us, we’ll likely spend more time with one another, sit in stillness and quietness, ride bikes, take our Basset Hound, Droopy, for more walks, and play with CEO Smokey Joe.  And of course, we’ll continue our search for a perfect cup of coffee.

We wish all of you the best in your endeavors and from the bottom of our hearts thank you for all that you’ve done and all you’ll continue to do for handcrafted food and coffee in Stephenville!

All the best,

Seth & Ashley Newsome