The Roastery, at 16th Street and McDowell Road, will help develop and grow the local wholesale coffee industry (submitted photo).
The Roastery at 1618 E. McDowell Road is now open. The new spot is just minutes away from the first coffee concept by founder and coffee connoisseur Mike Funk, of Firecreek Coffee Company, which opened in the mid-1990s and supplies wholesale coffee to grocery stores, cafes and other businesses throughout the state. The Phoenix Roastery serves as an additional facility to complement the Roastery in Flagstaff as well as a café and training center.
“We are excited to be open and ready to help support the coffee industry in Phoenix,” said Funk. “The Roastery is a state-of-the-art facility that was built to help develop and grow the local wholesale coffee industry. We are now roasting for customers and have the equipment and experience to offer first-class training based on my nearly 30 years of helping people get started in the coffee industry.”
Funk adds that having two roasteries will also allow the company to lessen its carbon footprint. In addition to roasting and serving local coffee, Funk believes strongly in the local food movement. The Phoenix Roastery is accredited by the Specialty Coffee Association and boasts a training facility to educate baristas. Menu items are currently being added to the café portion of The Roastery.
In the mid-1990s, Funk moved to Phoenix to open Café Tech at 5th Street and McDowell Road, and in the early 2000s, he was at the forefront of third wave coffee, a superior, high-quality coffee that is scored like grapes in the wine industry.
In 2008, Funk started Firecreek Coffee Company with his flagship café in the heart of downtown Flagstaff. He then began supplying AJ’s Fine Foods and Whole Foods with his specialty coffee, which is currently available for consumer purchase. Currently, he owns and operates four Firecreek Coffee Company locations around the state including a coffee café that opened in the Arcadia neighborhood in 2021.
For more, visit www.firecreekcoffee.com.
