Something wonderful happens with coffee

For Chuck Kennedy coffee is not just a drink — it is something wonderful that happens; it is part of the Pacific Northwest coffee experience; it is a bond he and his employees share with customers every day.

Combining his love of coffee (which his sister first introduced him to) with a keen eye for entrepreneurial opportunity (encouraged by a former boss), Kennedy owns and operates Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters in Lacey. 

“I started the business with a mobile espresso van that I built in 1991,” he said, “and my brother worked running the van for me while I worked my corporate job.” 

Once the business began to support both men, Kennedy build a second van and left his job. 

Success began to grow.

Kennedy opened an expresso drive-thru in 1994, and then started roasting for the two vans and the drive-thru in 1996. 

“I opened my first cafe shortly after that. In 2001, I purchased the old Dairy Queen in Lacey and converted it into a café,” he continued.  “In 2005, I put an addition on the cafe and incorporated the roasting into the building.”

Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters roasts premium international gourmet coffees, specializing in on-site roasting using a state-of-the-art Diedrich IR-12 roaster with computerized profile controls.

“I can tell within a tenth of a degree what the temperature is inside the roaster,” Kennedy pointed out. 

He added that he and his son, Grant, roast approximately 250 pounds of coffee a day. The business also provides fresh roasted wholesale coffee to many espresso shops throughout the South Puget Sound region.

The business is Lacey’s only full service coffee company, also offering a free internet café, and both breakfast and lunch daily.

“The baristas here and I love the interaction with the customers,” Kennedy said. “I was in sales in my prior career, so interacting with customers comes naturally to me.”

He added that Olympic Crest Coffee Roasters offers custom labeled coffee for organizations to sell as a fundraiser. Also provided are customized order forms that an organization can use to collect orders. Since the organization takes orders, there is no up-front cost to conduct the fundraiser, which provides a profit to the organization.

“What gets me up in the morning is providing a great product and service to my community,” concluded Kennedy. “Please stop by, we would love to meet you.”

And that’s when something wonderful happens with fresh roasted coffee.