2010s
As third wave coffee fully made it’s way in from the coasts, Boston Stoker made it’s own transition as Henry Dean officially took over as CEO in 2015, joined by his sister Laura Dean as CFO. The new generation of Deans meant the full realization of third wave coffee for the company.
“We had been doing direct trade for a number of years, but didn’t want to really market it until our community efforts were in place for those farmers,” Henry said. “We’d previously been working with charities, but some had folded and the more we looked at it the more we realized that we could directly provide the assistance needed in these communities.”
These international relationships weren’t the only ones being developed as Henry began making more connections with the coffee scene in Columbus, Ohio through helping his friend Mike Habte open Upper Cup Coffee roasters. Getting together with the other roasters and shop owners from the city, an inclusive community soon lead to inviting Boston Stoker in and even helping make the connections that lead to the first Boston Stoker shop in the city.
“Columbus has always been very welcoming to us, even helping to fight for us to have a presence at city-centric events early on,” Henry said. “It’s a great community of working together to help build a larger scene for the city as a whole.”
With the new shop opened in Columbus and consolidating of shops in the greater Dayton region, the focus for Boston Stoker shifted to growing wholesale operations and making their carefully sought after beans available to a larger market.