Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters says its increasing its revenues, expanding its operations, and carving a niche in the coffee industryone squeezable sumo wrestler toy at a time.


The Spokane-based company, which started in 1993 with a single store in NorthTown Mall, has grown to include a total of 11 stores in Spokane and Boise, says Thomas Hammer, its president and CEO. It opened its newest store last month in a student lounge at Gonzaga Universitys Jepson Center School of Business Administration, he says.


The recipe for building a long-term successful business is that were focusing more on our products and customer service than the speed at which we grow, Hammer says.


The company plans to open a flagship store in Boise in mid-November, Hammer says. Its leasing an 1,800-square-foot space in a building downtown there, and is renovating it at a cost of $150,000 to include a coffee shop, small bakery, and conference area. The company will hire seven employees for that store, which will be its retail and wholesale base of operations in Boise, where it has three other stores.


Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters Spokane plant and corporate offices currently occupy about 5,000 square feet of leased space at 5805 E. Sharp, but the company said in May that it plans to move to a larger facility closer to downtown, and Hammer says it will wrap up that move soon. The companys sales have increased by about 5 percent each year. He declines to disclose its revenues, but says theyre evenly split between its retail and wholesale divisions.


The company plans to add more coffee shops in Spokane in the future, Hammer says. It focuses on areas such as malls and hospitals, because it wants to avoid competing with its wholesale clients. For instance, he says, the company doesnt plan to open a store on Division Street, because four of its wholesale clients are located along that street.


The concerns wholesale business serves about 200 clients in Washington, Idaho, and western Montana, he says. Those clients include Rosauers supermarkets, espresso stands, and restaurants here such as the Elk Public House, Downriver Grill, and Ferrantes Caf & Shop. Most wholesale customers buy coffee beans or coffee grounds in bulk packages, and the company distributes those products in its trucks, or ships them by mail, he says.


The recent popularity of energy drinks has added another caffeinated-beverage alternative to an already highly competitive market here, he says. In an effort to maintain its sales growth, the company re-branded itself about a year and a half ago. It altered its name only slightly, but added a new logo and product lines, including Hammer Sumo toys, and the re-branding has had a monumental impact on the companys sales, Hammer says.


Our industry is about as cutting edge as dirt, because its basically bags of coffee, not a music CD, Hammer says. So we were trying to do something that hasnt been done, to think of the zaniest thing we could do, and came up with a squeezable sumo.


The Hammer Sumo has the companys new logoa hammer in the center of a fireballon its belly. He says the logo represents the company better than its previous symbol, which was two dancing goats. That logo looked like it belonged on a German beer bottle, rather than a coffee cup, he says.


Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters also sells apparel and coffee mugs, including an orange-colored mug that says, 2 eyes, 2 ears, 1 bladder, no fair. Hammer says sales of those products have been better than expected, and that the companys youthful, slightly offbeat marketing strategy has been well-received here. He hopes such innovations also will make Spokane stand out from a certain coffee giant on the West Side.


Were always playing second fiddle to Seattle in the coffee industry, he says. Were trying to show that we can be cool in Spokane, too.


Meanwhile, Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters recently established new standards for its raw materials, what Hammer calls green coffee quality assurance, to ensure good-tasting specialty coffee, he says. Green means unroasted coffee beans that look and taste green. Theyre typically stored in green rooms at a plants warehouse until theyre roasted. Specialty coffee in the green bean stage doesnt have defects, and in roasted coffee, it must be fresh and highly aromatic.


The company makes about 26 different coffee blends. Hammer says its Signature Blend is its best seller, but sales of its fair trade and organic blends have been increasing, especially among college-aged consumers. Organic coffee beans have been grown without using pesticides or fertilizers, and fair trade coffee is coffee thats sold directly by coffee producers to consumers, bypassing coffee traders.


Washington State University, in Pullman, only buys bulk packages of the companys fair trade and organic coffee, he says. The concern also sells those products in 12-ounce packages, which are $1 more expensive than its 12-ounce packages of regular coffee in Rosauers supermarkets. Hammer says he emphasizes to customers that fair trade and organic coffee tastes just as good as other coffee and has the added benefit of helping to sustain the natural and economic environments of the less-developed countries where coffee beans typically are grown. He expects revenues for that type of coffee to increase industrywide at a double-digit pace as demand rises.


Old-school service


Although the company is expanding its product lines and is pursuing innovative marketing techniques, it takes a traditional approach to customer service, Hammer says. He calls that approach working a little old school with people. Customers can contact him directly and visit him at his office, and they can tour the plant to see how the coffee is roasted. Hammer frequently visits his stores, and either works behind the counter or sits down and has a cup of Joe with employees and customers.


If youre buying a latte for $3.50, youd hope wed deliver more than just a cup of coffee, he says.


The company hopes to transfer some of that Hammer vibe when it moves to its new location, Hammer says. It plans to move its plant, a separate operation called Mad Batter Bakery, and corporate offices to a 20,000-square-foot building at 210 W. Pacific before the start of the holiday season, he says. In anticipation of the additional space at its new location, it bought a new, larger coffee roaster machine. For now, that roaster shares space with a smaller machine at the plant on Sharp.


Plans call for the building on Pacific to include a living room, where people can bring in a cup of coffee and have business meetings or just interact with each other outside of an office setting, Hammer says. It also will have a 600-square-foot conference room and a space for private receptions at night, he says. The company plans to offer monthly public tours as well.


Were trying to engage the city to hang out in the area, and providing a place for them to do it in, he says.


Hammer says the company will hire a few more employees for its wholesale division after it relocates. It currently has about 60 employees companywide, including 17 people at its plant and bakery here.


Hammer started Mad Batter Bakery about six years ago. It makes baked goods from scratch for the companys coffee shops and for wholesale clients, and currently is located in 1,500 square feet of leased space at 6615 E. Broadway.


Our bakery business has been steady, but its tough because so many industries have been producing scoop-and-bake products, which are ready-made mixes that only require a few additional ingredients, he says.


Hammer got his start in the coffee business working at the Nordstroms coffee bar and 4 Seasons Coffee Co. downtown while in college at Gonzaga. He then went back to making mochas with a graduates degree and started Thomas Hammer Coffee Roasters.


Its a great thing to build a business in the city you grew up in, he says. People want to be treated fairly, and if we can achieve giving them a higher level of customer service, then weve made it.