Roam Roasters opens coffeehouse in Medical Lake

When Shelley Quigley launched Roam Roasters on her family farm near Harrington in 2019, she envisioned it as a place where people could connect and learn about coffee.

Quigley, a fifth-generation wheat farmer, has since expanded the roastery to include Roam Coffee House, which opened in July at 107 E. Lake St. in Medical Lake.

“The coffeehouse has been such a great thing so far,” Quigley said. “We have a team of six baristas that are absolutely stellar. They do everything from making drinks to putting smiles on peoples’ faces.”

Quigley’s plans to open a coffee shop became reality after creating a custom coffee blend with Gerri Johnson, owner of Farm Salvation, a Medical Lake-based vintage store.

“She asked, ‘Have you ever thought of opening a coffee shop?’” Quigley said. “She had a whole building with two other suites and thought it would be so great to have a coffee shop in that spot.”

The building had housed various businesses throughout the years, including an ice cream parlor and hair salon, Quigley said.

Quigley began remodeling the building in April to make way for the coffee shop.

“We put a lot of thought and care into it,” she said. “We wanted people to feel like it’s important to us and we hope it becomes an important space to them.”

Roam Coffee House serves espresso, lattes, cold brew, cappuccinos and mochas made with Roam Roasters’ artisan coffee blends. It also offers Italian sodas, tea from Revival Tea Co., Fannie’s Ice Pops, scones from The Scone Ranger and burritos.

The coffee shop will soon be opening a space for small groups to reserve for free.

“We wanted the ability to champion what we have locally and be a part of the community in a way that gives back,” Quigley said of her decision to feature items from local purveyors at the coffee shop.

The idea to start Roam Roasters was sparked when Quigley and her husband, Aaron, were living in Baltimore and realized how much they missed coffee from the Pacific Northwest.

Both middle school science teachers at the time, they were also drawn to the process of roasting coffee.

Upon moving back to Eastern Washington, the couple began as small batch roasters and later shifted to artisan roastingon a larger scale.

“As we dove in a little deeper, we always wanted to create a connection between the farm I grew up on and people who never had the opportunity to be on a farm,” Quigley said.

They converted an 80-year-old building on Quigley’s family farm into a coffee roastery.

“The building has a story to tell,” Quigley said. “It’s a neat space that we roast in, but (we) also do tours, tastings and allow people to come out and experience the atmosphere.”

Quigley hopes to begin offering brewing and roast-your-own coffee classes at Roam Roasters.

The Medical Lake community has embraced Roam Coffee House since it opened last month, Quigley said.

The coffee shop is open daily from 7 a.m.-7 p.m.

“That has been something people have been really excited about,” Quigley said of the shop’s operating hours. “We’ve had people that come in and say: ‘Medical Lake has needed a coffee shop for years and it’s really great.’ ”Amy Edelen can be reached at (509) 459-5581 or at amye@spokesman.com.