Coffee For A Cause
Coffee For A Cause
Ellicottville Coffee Company sales provide support for Rock Autism, WNYMBA
When owner John Rounds and manager Ty Simic opened Ellicottville Coffee Company in October of 2019, they were eager to bring their many years of experience working with high-quality beans from family-run coffee growers in Central and South America to downtown Ellicottville. Of the many first-year milestones that Rounds and Simic hoped for, growing a new business during a global pandemic was certainly the least expected. However, since Ellicottville Coffee Co. opened its doors at 16 Washington Street, they’ve become a staple downtown and have also raised money and awareness for causes that are important to them and the greater Ellicottville community.
Last April, Ellicottville Coffee Co. announced their new roast to celebrate Autism Awareness/Acceptance Month, and ever since, their Rock Autism Roast Coffee has been a customer favorite. A portion of the profits from this roast support Rock Autism, the non-profit organization founded by Max Muscato and dedicated to supporting the autism community by making contributions to music and arts programs serving youth and adults living on the autism spectrum.
Rounds developed the roast from hand-picked, organic, nitro packed Peruvian coffee beans. He believes creating a roast that supports the western New York-based organization is an important way to support local families who are part of the autism community. Simic pointed out the synergistic effect of multiple businesses and organizations supporting a cause, as Ellicottville Brewing Company also crafted a brew, Sonnyboi, that supports Rock Autism. “Rock Autism is a great organization, with a great cause,” said Simic. “We’re happy to support it, and so are our customers.” Rock Autism Roast Coffee, though created in honor of Autism Awareness/Acceptance month, is available all year in-store and on ellicottvillecoffee.com.
The month of April is also the time when mountain biking season begins, a season that is especially dear to Ellicottville Coffee Co. and the original business at 16 Washington Street, Adventure Bound onthefly. “We are big-time mountain bikers and huge supporters of the Western New York Mountain Biking Association,” said Simic. Ellicottville Coffee Co. is a proud sponsor of WNYMBA, and they even have a special roast, “Take the Black Trail,” in honor of the organization. A portion of the proceeds from each bag goes directly to WNYMBA to support their trail work efforts. This WNYMBA roast is also from the Chirinos district in the Cajamarca region, one of the premiere coffee-growing regions in the world.
Simic said, “John (Rounds) is actually in Peru right now on the hunt for new coffees. In fact, that’s a big part of our story. We have a sister coffee shop, Ulrike’s Cafe in Pisac, Peru that my family has had for over 20 years, and John has been a good friend for at least that long.” Rounds and Simic spend part of the year in Peru and part of the year in Ellicottville where they enjoy roasting the beans they’ve thoroughly researched during their travels. In the next few months, Ellicottville Coffee Co. will be adding to their coffee offerings, which will include a collaboration with Sacred Valley Roasters through a joint project with Ulrike’s Cafe.
Despite the challenges created by the pandemic, the new business has continued to grow, especially since they were already set up for carry-out service. Simic noted that Ellicottville’s favorable weather over the past year has also played an important role in tourism and local foot traffic. “We had a nice summer and 10 weeks of beautiful fall colors,” Simic said. “Winter was as good as it can get: cold and snowy up until a few weeks ago! A lot of people were pushed into the outdoors due to COVID, and Ellicottville is the perfect place to have that outdoor experience all year ‘round.”
Adventure Bound onthefly continues to offer a great variety of outdoor and adventure items in-store. Simic explained, “Our niche is you can come in, try it on, get fitted, and walk out with it. A lot of people have been missing that experience, which you don’t get with online shopping.” On the coffee side, customers have been enjoying the nitrogen cold brew on tap. “The caffeine delivery is different from your typical espresso,” Simic explained. “It’s not acidic and it has a smooth four or six hour caffeine release that’s easier on the system.”
Customers can purchase bags of whole bean coffee, including the Rock Autism and WNYMBA roasts, online, as well as mugs and tumblers online. For news and updates, visit ellicottvillecoffee.com and follow Ellicottville Coffee Co. on Facebook.