Snowy Owl Coffee Roasters
Designers | Manuel Ainzuain; Shayna Ferullo (owners)
Location | Sandwich, MA, USA
Launch date | July 21, 2021
Our location in Sandwich, MA, was born of the need for a bigger roaster. We opened our first location in Brewster, MA, and due to limited space and a limited budget, we purchased a 5 kilo roaster. Operating in a seasonal economy meant that when we, alongside our wholesale partners, operated at full capacity in the summer months (June-September). Within a few yers, we had outgrown our 5 Kilo Diedrich roaster and had to turn down partnerships that we would have otherwise wanted to pursue due to limited capacity.
In 2019, we started looking at new spaces where we could put a bigger roaster. Industrial garages were an option, but we felt strongly that we needed to continue to roast in front of the public eye in order to accomplish our mission: building community by connecting customers with the coffee supply chain. We found the space in Sandwich in August of 2019 and were excited about the opportunity to open a cafe in the new community as well as move our production operations into a more comfortable and accommodating space. We began working on financing in late 2019. We had yet to sign the lease when the pandemic hit in 2020 and rode out what was a long and uncertain few months. By the end of the summer - August 2020 - we felt we were back in a position to start this project, so we signed the lease and began planning the build out.
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Sandwich is a community that is not too far from our Brewster and Chatham operations. Sandwich is 30 miles closer to Boston and significantly more populated than (what we refer to as) the lower Cape, further down the peninsula. We knew that some people in Sandwich had visited our other locations, but we wanted to create something totally different, unique to the space we were building out, and more rooted in displaying our ultimate end goal - 100% directly sourced and traded coffee.
Our initial design entailed a seating experience for customers that was centered around the roasting and the quality control area, but it involved less wide pathways, where customers could meander into quieter areas of the building for their enjoyment. The pandemic forced us to rethink this idea. We created one entrance and one exit and a direct, linear pathway to ordering, picking up food + drinks to go, and exiting the space. We put transparent glass windows from the quality control room and sound-diminishing, transparent doors by the roaster so customers could still witness the roasting and cupping processes without interrupting the work of our employees. This new design also allowed us to create employee spaces in the back where private conversations and quietness can be enjoyed away from the hustle of the cafe.
Our goal has always been to expose as much of our “behind-the-scenes” work to the public to spur deeper questions, conversations, the opportunity for education, and ultimately, a deeper sense of connection to coffee. We feel accomplished in this goal and feel that we are offering a very comfortable, inviting, and supportive space for both our employees and our guests.
