Husband and wife team, Brice and Teagan Sturmer, have been putting their skill sets together to create a new business focused on sustainability and transparency. Transparency, Brice says, “Has its roots in honesty and integrity.” Teagan, an artist and social media marketer, and Brice, an award-winning coffee roaster and green coffee broker, are the founders of the soon-to-open Velodrome Coffee Company in Marquette.
“We will share as much about the coffee we source as possible,” Brice says. “We only buy coffee from single farms that we either know personally or have a trusted friend who works with said farmer directly.” No small task—Brice has visited three countries already to connect with coffee farmers.
“We can then provide so much incredible information, not just about the nerdy details of coffee, but also about the families who grew it and who they are.”
Right now, Brice and Teagan are working on building out the space that Velodrome Coffee Company will soon call home (follow their progress online). “Marquette is an awesome place. We see it as an undiscovered microcosm of rich ideas and diverse culture,” Brice says. “The people here care about wholesome goods and knowing where their food comes from.”
It seems an all-too-perfect spot for the young artistic couple to end up. Teagan attended NMU and grew up a short distance from Marquette in Channing. Brice is from a hard-working town in northern Wisconsin and grew up on the Wisconsin/Michigan border, always maintaining his love for the outdoors.
And that is where the name comes in. “Personally, cycling is not just a fossil-free transportation, it’s also a great way to be more in touch with your city. That’s why we also plan to deliver all in-town orders and subscriptions by bike,” Brice says. “You begin to notice and appreciate every bend in the road or winding descent. So in all, biking just makes me a better human. It helps me focus on the now and enjoy all the little things that make up a day, a season, a life.
“A velodrome is a bike racing discipline where racers zoom around a steeply banked wooden track on stripped-down fixed-gear bikes without brakes. Our motto is ‘Fast. Simple. Fresh.’ Coffee should be just as velodrome bike racing is: incredibly fast and simple.”
In order for Brice and Teagan to live up to that motto they will have to overcome the hurdle of slow specialized coffee. “It’s going to start with some of the equipment we bring in. Proper brewing is certainly important, however, we are going to rely a little more on modern advancements in the equipment available to increase service times and consistency. From there, it really depends on staff execution. Prior experience won’t be considered as much as personality and work ethic.”
Something Brice and Teagan pride themselves on. “We believe our specialty coffee industry is stagnating on bringing more consumers into the market, we want to do whatever we can to make our product as approachable as possible.”
The Sturmers hope to have a soft opening in August, with a grand opening coming later this fall. Check out Velodrome’s online coffee marketplace until then.
For more information about Velodrome Coffee Company, email brice@velodromecoffeecompany.com.
