Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | April 21, 2025 | Worcester Business Journal 9 and soils of Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and a small swath of California have the right conditions for coffee to grow. is limited space, combined with higher labor costs, means less than 1% of coffee consumed in the United States is grown domestically, according to the National Coffee Association, with Amer- ican-grown beans costing much more than those produced overseas. "If the tariffs are implemented in order to protect jobs in this country, that's one thing," Cormier said, "but the fact that we can't even really grow [coffee] here means we were hoping for it to be excluded." Growing the brand Aer a year of operation where the biggest challenge was keeping up with the shop's rapid growth and the litany of other challenges stemming from starting a small business, Cordella's owners feel the time is right to expand their foot- print, so they can take advantage of their rented space beyond the typical hours customers are seeking coffee. On April 1, Cordella's announced a fundraising campaign to allow the own- ers to embark on expanding the shop's offerings to include a bar and food op- tions, which would be prepared on-site. "When you look at it like, 'Oh, we're only a year old.' From that singular perspective, it's definitely scary or wild to think about," Jimison said. "But if you come in on a Saturday, all these tables are full. It's good to have people coming and going and keeping the flow going, but on the other hand, you want to make sure it's a place where you can hang out and do whatever." e expansion efforts will involve knocking down walls separating Cord- ella's from Jimison's Materia Arcade and space formerly occupied by Rewind Vid- eo, an attempt by independent journalist Bill Shaner to bring back the concept of video rental stores. W Safety & Security Learning Trusted Support Well-being Friendship Wellness Connection Pursuing Passions Learn more about our approach to whole person health at openskycs.org To us, health means: $2 $3 $4 $5 $6 $7 $8 1/'20 3/'20 6/'20 9/'20 1/'21 3/'21 6/'21 9/'21 1/'22 3/'22 6/'22 9/'22 1/'23 3/'23 6/'23 9/'23 1/'24 3/'24 6/'24 9/'24 1/'25 3/'25 Price per pound Wholesale coffee prices climbing Even before the potential impact of tariffs hit, Americans are paying 77% more for a pound of coffee when compared to 2020. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Andy Jimison, owner of neighbor- ing Materia Arcade & Video Games and MallRats arcade in Downtown Worcester. When a flower shop operating in the storefront next to Materia Arcade went out of business, Jimison's landlord asked if he wanted to take over the space. "I always saw this stretch of road here as having a lot of potential if you get the right businesses in here," he said, "I didn't necessarily know what I wanted to do, but I did think a coffee shop was a missing piece of the puzzle on this side of town." Jimison is originally from Tulsa, Okla- homa. e Cordella's name is a tribute to Jimison's great-grandmother, who ran a cafe. She was born without a middle name but later gave herself the middle name of Cordella. Jimison convinced his wife Jessica Rao and cousin-in-law Ellie Ellis to join the venture as co-owners. e final piece of the Cordella's ownership puzzle was Ellis' friend Alecia Bishop, an experienced coffee industry figure with more than 15 years of experience, who is the brain be- hind the shop's creative coffee creations. "e original plan was just to consult them and set them up for success, and then I just didn't leave," said Bishop, who is set to head to Texas to lead two workshops at the Specialty Coffee Asso- ciation's convention in late April. Bishop's experience has allowed Cor- della's to have an ever-rotating menu of whimsically-named specialty brews. e current spring specials include Livin' La Vida Coco, an espresso and co- conut-based beverage, and Guava Lamp a bubbly concoction made with matcha and guava hibiscus syrup. e menu is designed to be friendly to both vegans and those with dietary restrictions, and all syrups are made in-house. A hot commodity One challenge to running a modern day coffee shop is the price of the beans. Consumer coffee prices have climbed dramatically in the past five years, from $4.17 per pound in January 2020 to a peak of $7.39 in March 2025, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. is climb has a significant impact on the coffee industry, said Cormier, the coffee wholesaler. "It's been challenging," he said. "We've obviously been at this for a long time, and we've never seen prices kind of yo- yo and spike like this." Already dealing with fluctuating coffee costs and the ubiquitous presence of big coffee brands and at-home coffee ma- chines, shops like Cordella's have another obstacle to overcome: tariffs. Even as the messaging over tariffs from the White House seems to change by the hour, it seems unlikely proposed levies on coffee-producing nations like Vietnam and Colombia will boost state- side coffee production; only the climates Cordella's efforts have raised $15,767 from 123 contributors, as of April 10, with the end goal of raising at least $50,000 by the campaign's scheduled end date of May 1. e campaign is being organized through NuMarket, a Boston-based firm helping food and beverage companies grow by crowdsourced campaigns, which allow contributors to gain in-store credits in exchange for contributions. Contributors to Cor- della's campaign will receive 120% of what they contribute back in the form of credits, which will be distributed in installments over the course of a few months to spread out the economic impact on the shop. "We understand [things are] tight for everyone," Bishop said. "We don't have money in our budget to do this, but we want to do this. We want to continue to grow and to give the community a bigger, better space." Elisabeth Morgan, former employee at Redemption Rock Brewing, assists Cordella's with its social media accounts. PHOTO | COUTESY OF CORDELLA'S

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