10 Years of Old World Coffee Roasters: Craft, Community, Connection

This Memorial Day marks a milestone for Old World Coffee Roasters: 10 years of serving Northern Nevada with intentionality, excellence, and care. What started in 2015 as a humble café built by friends and family in Midtown Reno has evolved into a trusted local brand—with cafés in Reno and Carson City, a dedicated roastery, a wholesale program, and deep-rooted farm partnerships.

From the beginning, Old World set out to do more than just serve great coffee. They wanted to create meaningful experiences. Every cup would carry an invitation to Slow Down. Drink Up..

Ten years in, that vision has not only endured—it has deepened.

To celebrate the 10-year milestone, customers who spend $125 or more on our website from May 26 through June 2 will receive a free bag of coffee from Old World Coffee's Firefly Blend—crafted with care and rooted in purpose, while supplies last.

Humble Beginnings and a Clear Vision

In 2011, before Old World was a business, it was a shared curiosity. Chris Garrison and a few close friends had a tradition: wherever they traveled, they’d find the best local coffee shop. These weren’t chains or fast stops—they were places. Places where people slowed down. Where coffee was more than caffeine—it was craft, community, and connection.

Though none of them were deep in the specialty coffee world at the time, they knew they wanted to bring that feeling home to Reno. A few years later, that vision began to take shape.

In late 2014, they found their first location. With grit, sweat, and the help of family and friends, they built the café by hand. It was rough around the edges—what Chris now describes as “janky”—but it was full of heart.

When they opened their doors on Memorial Day Weekend in 2015, something unexpected happened: the line stretched out the door and didn’t let up for hours. It was the kind of day you dream of— but more importantly, it was proof that Northern Nevada was ready for something different.

Roasting with Intention, Sourcing with Integrity

Old World’s identity was always anchored in quality and people—and that meant taking ownership of the product from start to finish. Not long after opening the café, they began building a roasting program designed to bring out the best in each coffee while preserving the integrity of its origin.

Their approach to roasting is guided by restraint, curiosity, and respect for the producers. Rather than chase trends or roast profiles that overpower, the team works to amplify the natural character of each coffee—bringing out sweetness, clarity, and complexity.

Old World’s roasting facility in Northwest Reno has become the backbone of the company, enabling them to support both their own cafés and a growing network of wholesale partners across the region.

From day one, Old World has taken a relational approach to sourcing—partnering with farmers and producers who care deeply about the land, the process, and the future of coffee. These aren’t one-off transactions. They’re long-term collaborations built on trust, transparency, and mutual respect.

One of the most meaningful of these partnerships is with Finca Escénica in Nicaragua, a farm the team has visited multiple times. There, they’ve walked the rows, met the people behind the process, and seen firsthand the kind of care that goes into each harvest. Coffees from Finca Escénica have become a regular part of Old World’s offerings—representing both the flavor and the philosophy they care most about.

To further honor these relationships, Old World launched the Long Live Farmers initiative—a program that directs a portion of every retail bag sold back to the producers they work with. It’s a tangible way to invest in the future of coffee and recognize the labor behind the cup.

Hospitality as a Daily Ritual

Old World cafés—located in Reno and Carson City—are designed as more than places to grab a coffee. They are intentional spaces built to give guests a moment of calm, connection, and care. Every detail, from the layout to the service style, is crafted with the guest experience in mind.

Staff training goes far beyond technical coffee skills. Baristas are taught to pay attention, to greet guests by name, and to offer something deeper than a transaction. This hospitality-driven approach has shaped Old World’s reputation for warmth and consistency.

As Garrison puts it, “It’s not just about the drink—it’s about how people feel when they walk through our doors.”

Hard Seasons That Refined the Mission

The road hasn’t always been smooth. In 2019, Old World expanded with a new café—but quickly ran into operational challenges. Then in early 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic turned the hospitality world upside down.

Suddenly, the connection they built their brand on was impossible. Cafés emptied. Guests kept their distance. Staff had to adapt. The joy of coffee was harder to find.

There were real conversations about stepping away. But rather than fold, the team used that season to recenter on their mission. They realized they had been moving too fast, and growth for growth’s sake wasn’t sustainable.

The crisis forced them to ask: Why are we doing this? And the answer was clear—to serve this region with integrity, to create cultural spaces, and to offer meaningful coffee experiences. That clarity shaped the rebrand that followed and continues to guide Old World’s future.

A Coffee That Tells the Story

To mark their 10-year anniversary, Old World created a special offering: the Legacy Blend. More than a celebratory product, this blend is a tribute to the company’s history and the people who helped shape it.

Legacy Blend brings together three exceptional coffees:

• Guatemala Fenix – a longtime staple in Old World’s single origin lineup
• Nicaragua Finca Escénica Fruity Dipilto – from one of their most cherished farm partners
• El Salvador Loma La Gloria Unicorn – a vivid, expressive coffee from a relationship years in the making

Together, these origins represent Old World’s values, partnerships, and flavor philosophy. Balanced, bright, and thoughtfully constructed, the Legacy Blend is a way to taste the story of the past 10 years—one cup at a time.

Looking forward, Old World Coffee Roasters isn’t driven by the pressure to become a national brand or grow for growth’s sake. Instead, the next decade is about going deeper—deepening impact, deepening partnerships, and deepening the experiences they create for their guests and their team.

One of the most exciting areas of development lies in their relationships at origin. As climate, economics, and sustainability continue to challenge coffee producers worldwide, Old World wants to be a stronger partner—offering more than just consistent purchasing. They’re exploring ways to invest more directly in long-term projects with farms they’ve worked with for years, including those in Nicaragua, Colombia, and El Salvador. The vision is mutual growth: as Old World thrives, their producers should thrive too.

There’s also momentum building in education and mentorship, both internally and externally. As part of their wholesale program and barista training, Old World has already begun to expand resources for small café owners and aspiring coffee professionals. In the years ahead, that focus will sharpen—with better training tools, expanded consulting, and deeper investment in helping others build sustainable, hospitality-driven businesses in rural and regional markets.

And while new cafés aren’t off the table, the decision to open another space will never be made lightly. Old World knows the cost of growing too quickly. Any expansion will be intentional, community-centered, and aligned with the brand’s identity. It’s not about how many locations exist—it’s about how each one feels.

Ultimately, the vision for the next decade is simple but profound: build a business that lasts—not just by doing more, but by doing better.

After 10 years in the coffee industry, Old World’s biggest takeaway isn’t about a roast curve or café workflow. It’s about people—and the power of presence.

From their regulars who show up rain or shine, to their farm partners across Central America, to their own baristas behind the bar each morning, the story of Old World has always been a story of relationships. Coffee has been the medium, but the impact has always been human. Over the years, the team has learned that consistency, kindness, and genuine hospitality are often more powerful than anything on a menu.

They’ve also learned the cost of misalignment. Times of rapid growth brought moments of disconnection. The team sometimes felt the weight of trying to keep up with industry trends or live up to external expectations. But those moments of friction became opportunities for clarity. When they returned to their “why”—to serve people, create intentional experiences, and elevate the craft without pretension—everything made sense again.

Today, they’re more grounded than ever. And if they could give their 2015 selves a single piece of advice, it would be this: Take your time. Define your purpose early. Don’t drift from it.

The industry will evolve. Markets will shift. But the companies that last are the ones that stay true to what matters most.

With Gratitude, Always

Old World Coffee Roasters has spent the last 10 years building something intentional. But it wouldn’t exist without the people who supported it—guests, farmers, baristas, friends.

As they celebrate this milestone, they offer one simple invitation:

Slow Down. Drink Up.

Here’s to the next 10.

As a small token of appreciation, we’re offering a free bag of Old World Coffee's Firefly Blend with any purchase of $125 or more on our website through June 2, or while supplies last. It’s our way of raising a cup to a roaster that is striving to stand out and have a lasting and enduring mark in the coffee community.