Stauf’s Coffee Roasters’ Victorian Village location on Neil Avenue. Credit: Christian Harsa | Special Projects Director
Stauf’s Coffee has shown once again that the proof really is in the cup.
Serving up freshly brewed coffee alongside freshly baked goods, Stauf’s was voted best coffee by readers of The Lantern. Mark Swanson, president of Stauf’s Coffee Roasters, said he is grateful to see the company’s fresh, high-quality and hand-roasted products are being recognized, as well as the people behind them.
“I am most proud of our people,” Swanson said. “Our job is to bring in great coffee, but mostly our experience is nice and the customer feels welcomed and the staff is happy. I think service and hospitality is kind of our number one job, since we know we’re buying high-quality coffee to begin with.”
Swanson said he has many positive memories in the company’s 33-year-old history, including opening various locations around Columbus in up-and-coming neighborhoods.
Stauf’s first opened on 1277 Grandview Ave. in 1988 and has since expanded to six locations. Swanson said the company has made a point of opening locations that are each unique, such as the Neil Avenue location housed in an old church.
“We repurposed a bunch of stuff in there. We took some of the stained glass out to get some more natural light into the space, and then we repurposed it into an art piece,” Swanson said. “When we find a community that has a great neighborhood, we really enjoy being able to go in there and hopefully do a good job for them.”
Stauf’s has a strong relationship with the community, and Swanson said some of his greatest pleasures and favorite memories from 29 years with Stauf’s come from the brand’s involvement in the happiness, and sometimes the future, of its loyal customers.
“We have had so many people meet at Stauf’s,” Swanson said. “We’ve had people get engaged at Stauf’s and then get married where they’ve asked us to supply the coffee for their wedding. It’s been really cool.”
For Tommy Goetz, head roaster at Stauf’s Coffee, some of the most memorable moments for him since he joined the company in 1990 have been overcoming challenging times such as the recession in the early 2000s.
“That was probably the one point that really made me dedicated towards a career with this company, just seeing how you can pull together, almost as family,” Goetz said.
Goetz said getting through the pandemic was a similar experience for Stauf’s, but they have persevered together through uncertain times.
“It was, ‘How can we survive doing something completely different from what we normally do?’ and the solution was to keep producing what we can,” Goetz said. “It made me proud of our staff to see how we adjusted. I couldn’t have been more proud of the teamwork. It solidified why I am here. If I can walk, I’ll probably roast coffee.”
Despite all of the unique memories that come with 33 years of business, both Swanson and Goetz said being voted best coffee by readers of The Lantern means something special to them.
“We all love Ohio State, and it’s a pretty cool honor to have the folks at Ohio State vote for us,” Swanson said.
Goetz, a Columbus native, said the award makes him happy that people recognize what Stauf’s does.
“Bleed scarlet and grey, right?” Goetz said. “It makes me feel good that we’re recognized. OSU is a potpourri of people from all countries and cities and everywhere. To know that we are actually recognized as something that people appreciate and like the best, it’s something that I’m proud of. That’s where ‘the proof is in the cup’ really comes from.”
