Today we’d like to introduce you to Laura Scales.
Alright, so thank you so much for sharing your story and insight with our readers. To kick things off, can you tell us a bit about how you got started?
I have always wanted to run my own business. As a kid, it was a craft shop, then a bookshop. As I got older – and more caffeinated, it turned into a coffee shop.
After I received my B.A. from Murray State University, I entered PR jobs and eventually navigated into the marketing world.
I spent a decade building the reputations of some of the largest brands in the greater Memphis area, but eventually, I reached a point where I wanted to grow my own brand.
I spent a couple of years daydreaming about working for myself. Those daydreams turned to articles, podcasts, and other online resources focused on entrepreneurship. I kept going back to coffee, and I ultimately landed on coffee roasting.
About the time my roaster arrived and was set up, COVID hit and the world shut down. What I thought would be a hobby or even a side hustle became my primary focus. I was supposed to attend an in-depth training with the manufacturer of my roaster, but that got postponed -and postponed again. I was faced with putting my plans on hold indefinitely, or teaching myself and hoping I didn’t burn my house down.
So I dusted off my high school chemistry knowledge and returned to online resources for help. I found great coffee mentors all over the world to help me brainstorm and troubleshoot. There was a lot of trial and error, but that was the real fun of it. At any given time, my coffee bar was buried behind a dozen pounds of roasted coffee beans from all over the world and roasted to various profiles.
I settled on sourcing organic and fair trade beans, and prioritizing purchases from women producers all over the world. This fed into one of my largest brand pillars: supporting women all over the world. I had long settled on naming my business Athena Coffee Roasters. The name combines my love of Greek mythology with my business goal: to uplift and empower women around the world.
In summer 2020, Athena Coffee Roasters set up at its first farmers market. We started with two blends: Persephone and Eos. In keeping with my theme, my blends get goddess names. Persephone is the goddess of Springtime. She is sweet and mild. Eos is the Titan goddess of dawn, and she gives you a loud and bright morning pep talk.
Since that first year, I have created three more blends. Artemis, the goddess of the hunt, kills it in every brew style. Aergia, goddess of idleness, is our decaffeinated blend. And our latest is Hecate, goddess of magic and witchcraft and often depicted as a three-figured goddess, is our only blend that uses three different beans in the blend.
In 2023, my family and I relocated to the greater St. Louis area, settling in Webster Groves. With First Crack Coffee, a shared coffee roasting space, I was able to relocate Athena Coffee Roasters to the area.
Now, I am working to introduce my coffee – storytelling in a cup – to our new community. I primarily focus on wholesale accounts but I do sell directly to the customer on my website. I also offer private labeling and white labeling services.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Anytime you are learning something new, you have bumps. Lots of bumps.
But I like to call those “learning opportunities.” As I said, I had to teach myself to roast in the midst of a global pandemic while being a stay-at-home mom to an infant and toddler. I largely learned through trial and error. But I felt like a mad scientist at times, learning how much region, elevation, and harvest method play into bean development through the roasting process.
If I didn’t give myself the freedom to be creative and make mistakes, I wouldn’t be so good at creating blends or even roasting single origins to their best profiles.
And relocating a business is not for the faint of heart. It took almost a year to complete the process, and now I am learning a whole new market. But my family and I have quickly felt at home in Webster Groves, and the area has been very welcoming to Athena Coffee Roasters.
We’ve been impressed with Athena Coffee Roasters LLC, but for folks who might not be as familiar, what can you share with them about what you do and what sets you apart from others?
Athena Coffee Roasters is known for specialty roasted coffee beans. It is a woman-owned business. We source organic and fair trade coffee beans from around the world and prioritize green bean purchases from women producers.
Our mission is to uplift and empower women around the world. We offer a variety of single origins and blends. Our blend names follow our brand name, in that each blend gets a goddess name. To date, we have five blends: Persephone, Eos, Artemis, Hecate and Aergia.
We believe that small business is the backbone of healthy, thriving communities and want to partner with local shops and retailers to offer our products. We offer wholesale discounts and payment plans, as well as private labeling and white labeling services.
We also sell directly to the public on our website, athenacoffeeroasters.com.
What do you like and dislike about the city?
I love how distinct each neighborhood is! I love that each has its own feel, its own local shops and restaurants. I especially love all of the events and how family friendly most of them are. People have been welcoming and we have easily found our community.
But all of that driving around the area has left me with one major complaint: the roads. We almost lost our car in a pothole last weekend. And don’t get me started on traffic. But hey, if those are my biggest complaints, then I think I’ve chosen a great place to live and do business.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.athenacoffeeroasters.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/athenaroasters/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/athenaroasters
- Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@athenaroasters
