Love of coffee led him to roast his own beans

GREGORY J. GILLIGAN
TIMES-DISPATCH COLUMNIST

David Blanchard is passionate about coffee. But the quality of coffee in Richmond frustrated him. So the stockbroker persuaded his wife, Kelly, to sell her sport utility vehicle in 2004 so he could buy an industrial-size coffee roaster that he had researched for two years. "I've beendrinking coffee since I was 5, so freshness is really important for me," he said.

In January 2005, the couple began roasting coffee in his father's garage to sell mail-order.

They got lucky a few months later after a meeting with a vice president at Ukrop's Super Markets Inc. Blanchard's coffee beans landed at the chain's Joe's Market.

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