Stauf’s Coffee Roasters’ Victorian Village location on Neil Avenue. Credit: Christian Harsa | Asst. Photo Editor
What started as a quaint 800-square-foot business equipped with a small roaster and a basic espresso machine has grown into a collection of six well-known and well-loved coffee shops around the Columbus area.
Stauf’s Coffee Roasters, established in 1988 by Tom Griesemer, was voted best coffee by Lantern readers this year. The first micro-roaster in Columbus, Stauf’s has had more than 30 years to build a reputation in the Columbus community, roasting its beans fresh every few days and serving each cup of joe or homemade pastry with a genuine smile.
Mark Swanson, president of Stauf’s Coffee Roasters, said the company emphasizes excellent customer service above most other factors. He said being nice to store patrons is an aspect that likely helps Stauf’s receive recognition from customers.
“I would walk across the street for an inferior cup of coffee if the service is better,” Swanson said. “I really think when people are spending their hard-earned money — heck, and in these times everyone’s going through a collective crisis, which is really difficult — it’s really important for us to be kind to each other.”
Sarah Sack, general manager at the Stauf’s Victorian Village location, said Stauf’s is likely popular because of a bundle of factors including accessibility, pricing and customer service.
“We might be on the cheaper end for specialty coffee,” Sack said. “And I think just close locations, you know, we have a store that’s close to Columbus State and [the Columbus College of Art and Design], and then this location is really close with OSU, within walking distance.”
Despite customer service and accessible locations the company prides itself on, Stauf’s won best coffee because of, well, its coffee. Swanson said customers can expect to receive any coffee-related drink they can think up and that “we do everything.”
In addition to serving a vast collection of drinks, Stauf’s has a medium-sized wholesale business, which sells to larger vendors such as Whole Foods and smaller coffee shops. Swanson said the wholesale side of Stauf’s helped tremendously when COVID-19 hit, despite general sales being down 40 percent.
“With that and our mail order, it kind of helped us keep our heads above water,” Swanson said. “But I will say this, it is our staff and the customers that saved us. I mean, the team did a great job, and our customers responded, and they have been so loyal and amazing.”
Sack said despite bumps in the road, the business fared relatively well during the pandemic. Stauf’s was deemed an “essential business” and was able to keep four of their six locations up and running — the buildings in Grandview, Victorian Village, German Village and North Market are still open, though the experience is more carry-out than dine-in based.
Above all, Swanson said Stauf’s was able to stay afloat because of team prioritization and subsequent community support.
“Everything had to start with our little three-legged stool, which is the staff, the customer, then revenue,” Swanson said. “So if the team is taken care of and we care about their health and we care about their work environment, the customer will appreciate that. And hopefully we can still maintain that little sense of community that coffee shops do, even though you can’t sit down and hang out.”
