Larger roaster and more space

The father-and-son team opened a coffee roastery in Cham at the beginning of the pandemic. Things have been going so well that they can now expand.

"We seem to have hit a nerve with good, sustainable coffee, and that's why we need more space to meet demand," says Buddy Stocker when asked why Stocker's Kaffee opened a second roasting location on Saturday, 20 October 2021. It is located in the middle of Rotkreuz, right next to the railway station. Together with father Hannes Stocker, Buddy Stocker opened their first roastery at their home in Cham, right at the beginning of the pandemic (we reported at the time. ed.).

They wanted to make their roastery "personal and approachable" and therefore still deliver orders to their customers today. They also do the roasting themselves. "We really enjoy our coffee, the business and the meetings with our customers. It's a real passion. That's why we like to invest a lot of our time," says Buddy Stocker with a smile. Despite starting in the middle of a crisis, they didn’t get into problems – quite the contrary:

"The idea of expanding came soon. But we didn't have room for a larger roasting machine."

They now have enough space with their second location. Why did they choose Rotkreuz? "We searched in Cham for quite a while. Sometimes it looked like something might happen, and then not," explains the owner and emphasizes: "We absolutely want to keep the connection to Cham. Also because we’ve been able to build up a nice regular clientele there." They came across the Chäsimatt development in Rotkreuz, which is currently under construction and is to be completed in two years. "Thanks to the initiative of our landlord "Rotkreuzhof Immobilien", we can bridge the gap with the current location, which is located a few metres away." The new location is open on Thursdays and Saturdays.

Tastings and insights into the roastery
Commuters in a rush who want to grab a quick coffee while changing trains will hardly appreciate the new roastery, because "decelerated coffee enjoyment" is the aim here. "We're not yet a real café," Stocker quickly adds. That would be conceivable in the Chäsimatt. But if you like, you can watch Hannes Stocker doing their roasting – and marvel at the new, larger roasting kettle, to which Buddy Stocker reveals an anecdote: "I recently picked it up from Holland with a small truck. When I arrived, it wasn't quite finished yet, so I was able to watch the last screws being tightened."

Photo 1: Buddy Stocker and his father Hannes at their new roastery location in Rotkreuz.
Photo 2: The two are a well-rehearsed team.
Photos: Matthias Jurt (November 2021)

The roastery also offers tastings. "The enthusiasm for this soon became apparent in Cham. Some customers stayed with us for two or three hours and chatted with each other," enthuses Stocker. He also wishes the same for Rotkreuz. The company and the sensitisation with regard to coffee is a matter close to the heart of the family business. Which was one of the reasons why they launched a coffee session in the Galvanik in October, together with Matilda from Kahawa Cafe & Roastery in Zug. "That's the beauty of it. From the very start, we’ve also been able to cultivate friendships with our supposed competitors," says Stocker happily. Coffee and the joy of it are always more in the foreground than the growth of the business.

No new hiring despite the high workload
But growth naturally brings more work. Hannes Stocker is actually retired. But the roasting, selling and delivering still keeps him quite busy. Buddy Stocker still works as a music teacher. "Quite frankly, I do feel the higher workload of course. But I put so much heart and soul into it that it doesn't seem overwhelming," admits Buddy Stocker. For the time being, they want to manage the new location without additional staff, also in order to have a personal connection to as much of the business as possible.

"This will, of course, becomes more difficult with an increase in customers, because we can no longer get to know every customer personally. Which was the case at the beginning."

The cooperation between father and son is also personal. "This is a real enrichment. Even when it’s sometimes a challenge, because we spend a lot of time together and don’t always in agreement," says the coffee lover. "But we are learning. Constructive discussions can advance our business. After all, it's all about the passion for coffee, for both of us."

More information can be found on www.stockers-kaffee.ch.