Haerfest Roasting

While our ownership team can boast of decades of coffee and coffee shop experience at Midnight Oil, in Arkansas, and the Source Cafe in Uganda, sourcing beans from farmers on Mt Elton near Kenya (and even once planted a coffee farm in Africa), we are more than happy to entrust our coffee blending and curation to Toby Foreman and Haerfest coffee as our roasting partners. Toby's resume in the coffee world is truly world class. A certified Q-grader, he has served as a lead instructor and panelist for the Specialty Coffee Association (SCA). Drafted by the Seattle Mariners in 1991, arm trouble led Toby reluctantly to a temporary roasting side job to make ends meet as his pitching arm healed. He never made the big leagues in baseball, but he DID in coffee! Toby has been in coffee for 30+ years, starting in California at the birth of third-wave coffee, roasting coffee with master roasters on classic machines. He's since worked at some of the world's largest coffee companies, traveled the world sourcing beans, and now quietly roasts at his quaint but high tech roasting facility in Davidson, NC. The coolest thing about Toby and Haerfest is that it's a family affair with sons Luke and Reed. Reed is the life of the party, inspiring the Foremans to employ and focus on adults with developmental disabilities. We challenge Haerfest to meet exacting standards, and they do it every time, week to week, ensuring you'll never encounter a bean at Brakeman's more than just a few days old.

Our coffee partners are unique, talented, and serious about quality, and our bakery partners are as well! Chef Ron at the Community Culinary School of Charlotte is a fantastic and inspiring human! Once a harried chef, grinding out a stressful schedule in one of New York City's best restaurants, he threw in the towel on the craziness and opted to SLOW DOWN! He moved to Charlotte and took his talents to CCSC. If you have not been to CCSC, GO! It serves a great lunch and has am amazing mission, providing workforce development and training and job placement assistance for adults who face barriers to long-term successful employment. Their vision is to transform the lives of their students and families and positively impact the Charlotte community. If you have had one of their fresh muffins at our place you'll taste the positive impact!

We want the walls of our shop to reflect the talent we see in our community. So, on any given day, you'll find local artists' work showcased here. Their creativity and talent brightens up our walls with fresh stories and new looks. We are also proud to provide a place for student art from Crestdale Middle School. Check out our back room where the work of artists of the future, and maybe a kid from your block, is proudly on display.