Meet Patrick Maloney of Blue Fire Coffee Roasters

Today we’d like to introduce you to Patrick Maloney.

Patrick, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
The moment of inspiration for me came on a 1979 business trip to Cleveland, Ohio with my late dad. I was 13 years old (I drank my first cup of coffee with him on that trip). I had watched my dad turn a life of working really hard for others into working even harder for himself. I remember thinking how cool it was that even though he never seemed to sleep, he never had to answer to a boss.

He was in charge of that part of his life. I suppose this image always stuck with me…that I’m just the son of a one-time Bethlehem, Pennsylvania gas station attendant made good, who believes in the simple idea to just “outwork anyone in business and do it with passion…and success is bound to happen.” More specifically to coffee, I have been in the specialty industry for 14 years – the first twelve (12) of it working for others. My journey is the quintessential American story.

I worked my way up from a part-time delivery driver to apprentice roaster, and then to one of two full-time roasters in that first company. Four years into that experience, I was hired to run the coffee division for another company, and from 2009 to late 2015 I built out two roasting facilities and worked all aspects of specialty coffee operations for both retail and wholesale business.

Like many entrepreneurs, I had an epiphany one night that I could never get where I wanted to in life with the people I was working for – both financially and because of their value system – and so I wrote out a business plan to launch my own company. That plan was cemented during the last meal with my father in 2011 at Downyflake Donuts on Nantucket Island. I promised him that morning I would do whatever it took to make my dream a reality. He didn’t live to see it but I know he’s watching me work just like he did and he’s proud.

Has it been a smooth road?
I laughed when I read this question! Business ownership is the EXACT opposite of smooth. It is the ultimate roller coaster ride. Every day. It is not for everyone, certainly not for the faint of heart. You also need to have a little crazy in you, and not be afraid of risks. I chose to take the biggest risk of my life at age 49, married with two kids, at a time when most are pondering the last 15 years to retirement, not jumping over a business cliff.

Many of the challenges are financially based simply on the fact that it takes a long long time to go from a life of living in fear-inducing debt to approaching true profitability. I’m in the midst of that process now. Let’s just say fellow entrepreneurs told me “be prepared to lose more sleep than you get for quite awhile..” But that’s fine with me because I’m a night owl! The other struggle is finding a balance between being “married to my business” 24/7 and staying fully present in my personal life.

So far I have been able to run Blue Fire and have quality time with my family – but it’s never going to be like it used to be where I could “clock out” on a Friday on someone else’s dime and not think about the place until Monday. Those days are over. For good. But it is worth it because as an owner I’m not beholden to the whims and expectations of any of the bosses I had to answer to in the past. You can’t put a price tag on that freedom.

We’d love to hear more about your business.
It’s hard not to sound canned in answering the question “who we are” but put simply Blue Fire Coffee Roasters is a family-owned specialty coffee micro-roaster, whose mission is to produce the best possible coffee for folks to enjoy every day, from all walks of life, wherever we sell it.

We specialize in focusing on the coffee itself, its high-quality and consistency, while not getting distracted by what I call all the ‘3rd wave’ coffee toys and fads that exist in the marketplace. In short, I seek to roast coffee to its greatest potential, letting the coffee tell me – as the roastmaster – what it wants to do, rather than trying to make the coffee do something I want it to do. My original coffee mentor – who now works for Blue Fire – taught me this idea. (Between the two in us we have over 50 years of specialty coffee).

I don’t feel like I HAVE to acquire all the fancy roasting software programs or a ton of accessories to roast an awesome product. Of course, they have their place….but I trust my long-time importers (most reputable in the business) to provide me with the best green coffee I can source, and then I use all the experience I have acquired through the years to create something special.

What sets us apart from others boils down to our tagline: “Coffee is our craft. People are our business.” ™
Coffee is what we DO, but people ARE the life of our business. I believe in adding value to our customers with not only great coffee but most importantly a feeling of complete trust/peace of mind for them in all we do as their vendor. This way, they have nothing to worry about day-to-day – ever – with the coffee side of their business. Making a sale is pretty important but making a difference matters even more to me as an owner.

What I am most proud of (so far) is that I built a business from the ground up, with the invaluable support from my lovely wife and kids, with zero accounts the day I opened, into now having a diverse set of clients two years later with a brand that is gaining traction the old-fashioned way, door-to-door, word of mouth.

Is our city a good place to do what you do?
Not too long ago there was a general consensus in our industry that Boston was “late to the specialty coffee party” as compared to so many other urban settings in America. Bu this has changed dramatically in the last few years, mostly in retail. I believe there are a LOT more opportunities to sell great coffee in places most might not try to go. I am excited at the challenge to bring even more great coffee to New England with my brand.

If someone were starting out today I would tell them to go for it – but not necessarily the route of a traditional coffee shop in downtown Boston. The competitive landscape is real – as is the ubiquitous presence of Dunkin Donuts. There are lots of ways to make a living in specialty coffee, not just with latte art in a retail shop.

The only thing I would like to see Boston do more is to focus less on famous chains (of any type) and not buy into the idea that “bigger or famous is better” because most often it is not. There are lots of entrepreneurs out there trying to carve their own path against the behemoths and we should support that endeavor with all we have.

Contact Info:

• Address: 4D Rosenfeld Drive Hopedale, MA 01747
• Website: www.bluefirecoffee.com
• Phone: 508 478 3473
• Email: patrick@bluefirecoffee.com
• Instagram: bluefirecoffeeroasters
• Facebook: Blue Fire Coffee Roasters
• Twitter: Blue Fire Coffee

Image Credit:
Lauren Chiarello Photography

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