Coffee company perks up in Panhandle

When the owners of Arizona-based Mark Ferrari Specialty Coffees wanted to expand their operation and purchase a warehouse and roasting facility, they decided to look beyond the Phoenix suburbs.

Owners Mark Ferrari and Mike Piva settled on a location more than 1,000 miles away — in Oshkosh, Neb.

Piva grew up in the area and thought the central U.S. location would be convenient for shipping their product across the country. And the price of real estate in Oshkosh was significantly less than in Phoenix, he said.

Ferrari, a “big city kid,” initially was skeptical of the idea, Piva said. But a visit to the town changed his mind.

Piva said they spent $100,000 refitting a building that once housed a John Deere plant.

The 5,000-square-foot facility opened on the main street in the town of 700 residents in Nebraska’s Panhandle in August 2007.

Since then, more than 250,000 pounds of coffee has been produced there.

Ferrari’s family owns a coffee plantation in Kona, Hawaii, and he worked in the family business, Hawaiian Mountain Gold, before launching his venture with Piva.

The pair initially partnered with the intent of expanding the Hawaiian Mountain Gold brand to new markets in the United States and Canada. They have since expanded to produce about a dozen styles of coffees that are mostly blends of beans from different regions of the world, Piva said.

They ship their products to large department stores and coffee retailers as well as to individuals in the United States and Canada. All of the company’s mail orders are processed in Oshkosh, where the business has seven employees, all of whom are local residents.

Last November, the business opened a retail coffee shop in a corner of the roastery. Customers can watch the production process for their favorite brew while sipping a cup of it.

The shop also serves breakfast and lunch.

Piva said the company is pleased with its decision to relocate part of the business in Oshkosh, but he said it makes for a long commute to the corporate office, which still is in Arizona.

The pair recently purchased another building and vacant lot in Oshkosh where they plan to open a cafe and drive-through.

Contact the writer:

444-1085, stefanie.monge@owh.com