Doma Coffee Roasting Co. is always looking to find that next great cup, says Laura Siemens, sales manager for the Post Falls-based wholesale distributor. While in pursuit of that goal, the coffee roaster plans to open a retail coffeehouse today, Aug. 15, she says. 

The 3,000-square-foot coffee shop, dubbed Doma Café, is located at 3091 N. Atlas Road, amid the Toll Brothers Atlas Waterfront development. The café is set along the Centennial Trail and includes a 1,300 square-foot wraparound patio facing unobstructed views of the Spokane River. Inside, there will be seating for about 40 guests, a fireplace, large windows facing the river, and a menu offering fare, bread, and pastries from local partners. 

“Part of it (Doma Café) is just wanting to create an awesome space for people to come join us and see what we consider to be an elevated coffee experience,” Siemens says.

Laura Twidt, director of administration and accounting at Doma, says the café will set the stage to help inform the roasters’ wholesale accounts of the different ways they can offer, brew, and serve its products. 

Siemens agrees, “We’ll have things that set us apart from some of our accounts, for example, we’ll be doing single-origin espressos and partnering with different vendors.” 

Doma Café partnered with Hillyard-based Locos Restaurant on a food menu. Bread will be sourced from Coeur d’Alene-based Back Pocket Baker, and pastries will be provided by Mimi & Frankie’s Kitchen, also of Coeur d’Alene. The coffeehouse will be operated by a staff of eight, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily, Siemens says.

Muir Harrison, CEO of Doma, says the roasting company has been growing about 8% every year since he joined the company in 2019. Currently, the roaster receives 400,000 pounds of green coffee a year, which yields about 364,000 pounds once the coffee has been roasted, or 7,000 pounds per week. He declines to disclose projected annual revenue. 

When Harrison saw that a new housing project was planned just a mile east of the company’s headquarters, located at 6240 E. Seltice Way, he approached one of the builders about adding a coffeehouse within the development. 

“Its location along the Centennial Trail and Spokane River appealed to me,” Harrison says. “We committed to the project before houses had started to be built and it was just earth. They were stoked to have us.” 

The project value for Doma Café is about $650,000, Harrison said. The builder is Boise, Idaho-based dechase Miksis. Harrison’s predecessor’s brother, Mike Patano, provided interior design concepts, in collaboration with Post Falls-based ML Architect & Associates, Inc. 

Doma Coffee Roasting Co. was founded in 2000 by Terry and Rebecca Patano, a coffee-loving husband and wife duo that began roasting beans in the garage of their Coeur d’Alene home. Initially, the couple was only roasting coffee for farmers markets and their café, Doma on Sherman, “Doma” being a portmanteau of Dominic and Marco, the couple’s two sons. The coffee grew in popularity, and eventually, the Patano’s realized their passion lay in coffee roasting and became solely a wholesale coffee roaster. Doma outgrew its garage origins and moved its operations to its current headquarters in Post Falls. 

Doma Coffee sells its beans from coast to coast, but primarily sees itself as a regional roaster, says Siemens. While the roaster has accounts with Spokane restaurants such as The Grain Shed, Luna Restaurant, and Wiley’s Downtown Bistro, to name a few, the roaster works with more coffee stands on its accounts, Siemens says. 

“A lot of coffee shops choose to work with us because we take a full-service wholesale approach,” Siemens says. “We really try and take care of our accounts and make sure they are supported in their program.” 

Doma Coffee Roasting Company Post Falls coffeeshop will be open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. daily.                            | Karina Elias 

In 2019, the Patanos were looking to take a six-month sabbatical and asked Harrison if he could step in and take over the roaster’s business dealings while they were gone. He had been the company's accountant for many years before striking out on his own.

However, with the onset of the pandemic, the Patanos were not able to take that sabbatical and Harrison stayed on working alongside the two and learning more about the business and culture they have grown. In January of 2023, the Patanos decided to retire, and Harrison purchased the business from them for an undisclosed amount. 

Harrison says while he always loved Doma, both as a coffee drinker and adviser, he didn’t anticipate buying the company from the Patanos when he agreed to hold down the fort in 2019. However, as he immersed himself in the company and its culture, he was drawn in by the relationships he built with employees, growers, and accounts. 

“They are (Patanos) more focused on building community, relationships, and how their product impacts others,” Harrison says. 

The company’s tagline is Coffee, Culture, Meaning, says Siemens. 

“Coffee is the reason we are here,” she says. “But other than finding great coffees, it’s also about taking care of the farmers and making sure we feel as good as we can about our ethical sourcing. Some of that means transitioning to a direct relationship sourcing.” 

Terry and Rebecca played a large part in creating the culture and aesthetic of the company, says Siemens. Both are artists with a history of working in restaurants and bike shops and a passion for the outdoors and the environment. At the Coffee Lab, light fixtures created from found objects and bike wheels and welded together by Rebecca Patano hang from the high ceilings, serving as a reminder of the couple's cycling and recycling hobbies. The leather cabinets and cabinetry were also created by Rebecca. While the Patanos infused their passions into their company, they also encouraged the staff of 30 to bring their passions to work, Siemens says. 

“Everyone is welcome to bring their true authentic self to work,” Siemens says. “Maybe you love to play Dungeons and Dragons, or you love records, or you love to bike. Whatever it is, it’s cool; it’s valuable.”