Photo courtesy of 8th & Roast
Reed Hospitality Group’s 8th & Roast continues its aggressive expansion spree with the acquisition of another local coffee company — Good Citizen Coffee Co. In addition to acquiring the assets of the wholesale-focused roastery, 8th & Roast will retain the entire staff of Good Citizen, who will continue to distribute their popular Good Citizen and Common Voice brands. There's potential to triple 8th & Roast’s nationwide wholesale business.
Good Citizen was founded by Sean Stewart in 2019, with a focus on quality beans that are grown and distributed sustainably and then roasted locally for distribution to customers such as Downtown Embassy Suites, the Grand Hyatt, Union Station Hotel, Stay Golden and Chief's on Broadway. This acquisition will add more than 300 wholesale trade partners to 8th & Roast’s already robust book of distribution business.
What does this mean for retail customers who enjoy a cuppa at 8th & Roast’s coffeehouse locations on Eighth Avenue, Charlotte Avenue, Midtown and in the Nashville International Airport? Not much on the surface, but the addition will make the business a major player in the overall coffee business around the region. You can expect the same coffee and service that you’ve always expected, and the extra fuel on the expansion fire may allow for future retail development.
“Nothing is more important to us than creating an environment where all of our team members can succeed,” says 8th & Roast's co-owner Q-Juan Taylor. “Following the acquisition, we intend to take the combined knowledge and talents of both teams to turbocharge what we are already doing for our existing wholesale partners and untapped new ones. This is really a 1+1 = 3 partnership. We look forward to welcoming Good Citizen employees into our family.”
More coffee is always better in my book.
