Largest coffee roaster in Eastern WA finishing $1 million Richland project

Something is brewing in north Richland, and Hanford commuters are going to have a new place to swing by for a cuppa while heading to work.

Roscoe’s Coffee drive-thru will be opening just down the street from Horn Rapids RV Resort off Highway 240 and around the corner from White Bluffs Brewing.

But it’s more than a new coffee spot, it’s part of a $1 million expansion for a family that’s been behind the scenes of Tri-Cities coffee servers for 23 years.

“We are known as wine country, and we have a lot of breweries. But we are the largest roaster in Eastern Washington. I don’t think there is another our size,” said Chris Roskelley, co-owner of the Treasure Valley Coffee Company of the Columbia Basin.

His father, John Roskelley started the wholesale coffee and supply distributor business in 1997 through the Boise-based company, and owns the rights to the Treasure Valley name in the Northwest.

His sons Paul and Chris joined their dad within a year, turning it into a family venture.

The Roskelley brothers expanded with Columbia Basin Roasters in 2012 and took the helm following their dad’s retirement. Their wives Angel and Debbie also have joined the company and oversee financial and office duties.

“A lot of people don’t know who we are,” Chris Roskelley said. “We buy the same beans from same plantations that specialty coffee roasters do.”

This year, they moved their operation from east Kennewick to the new 20,000-square-foot warehouse at the Horn Rapids Business Center in Richland.

The family now hopes to be better known in the community with the opening of Roscoe Coffee — that comes from a childhood nickname that stuck.

“The coffee shop will be a nice way to get our name out there,” he said.

New warehouse

The $1 million project to open the new warehouse and coffee shop has been a labor of love with company employees and family members doing the construction themselves.

Work on the warehouse began in late 2019, but then a snowstorm hit the region, putting the company behind by nearly six weeks.

When the business completed its move earlier this year, it gained 15,000 more square feet than its previous location.

And they planned to open their drive-thru coffee outlet next to the warehouse by spring. But the COVID pandemic hit, and everything shut down.

Treasure Valley has been exclusively wholesale and has gone from roasting about 3,000 pounds of coffee a week before the pandemic to about 2,000 pounds.

It provides coffee to other retail outlets such as hotels, restaurants, convenience stores and other offices. It also sells coffeemakers, water systems and other supplies, such as napkins and cups to those same places that shut down or cut coffee service.

Roskelley still is confident that the bean business will pick back up as the economy reopens. They expect to open Roscoe’s by December.

“The coffee shop will do just fine right now, and just go up from there once people start traveling again,” Roskelley said.

Coffee shop

Treasure Valley has 15 roasts from green coffee beans that are purchased from growing regions all over the world and distributed on 12 delivery routes throughout the Northwest.

If operating at full capacity, their roaster can push out 10,000 pounds of coffee beans each week.

Roscoe’s will showcase all the Treasure Valley roasts and will regularly rotate through about half the styles each day when they brew.

He explained that most people who buy coffee drinks, identify the brand with the shop they buy it from. Roskelley says that in reality, the coffee beans themselves are often not roasted in-house but come from specialty roasters like Treasure Valley.

The company is excited to venture into the retail business and show a true taste of the coffee distributed all over Tri-Cities that customers may have been overlooking.

While Roscoe’s will have a few some tables and chairs, the shop largely will cater to drive-thru and walk-in to-go customers.

In addition to coffee drinks and bulk beans, Roscoe’s will offer food items like bagels, pastries and sandwiches — and plenty of coffee-related merchandise including humorous coffee signs created by Treasure Valley Coffee’s own sign shop.

If you know of a retailer, restaurant, coffee shop or other business that is opening, closing, expanding, remodeling or changing its focus, send an email to reporter Allison Stormo at astormo@tricityherald.com.

This story was originally published October 2, 2020 at 5:00 AM.