Missing the perks, retired soldiers open coffee business

ANDREW C. MARTEL
The Fayetteville Observer

ABERDEEN, N.C. - One of the perks of being in the Special Forces is the coffee.

Former Sgt. 1st Class Mike Birky remembers the espressos he enjoyed in Bangkok cafes while he was in the 1st Group of the elite Army unit. Retired Sgt. Maj. Ron Baldwin can't even pick a favorite cup among the hundreds he drank during missions in Colombia, Honduras and Ecuador.

Birky and Baldwin didn't want to give up those rich and exotic flavors when they retired in 2003.

So they opened Cactus Creek Gourmet Coffee Roasters in July 2004. The business is run out of a storefront on Poplar Street in downtown Aberdeen. Their wives, Joan Baldwin and Tammy Birky, round out the business partnership.

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