Worcester Business Journal

wbjournal.com | May 4, 2026 | Worcester Business Journal 15 SMALL BUSINESS F O C U S year. e school sells customized Good As Gold medium and dark roast and espresso at Cool Beans, the college's busiest on-campus coffee shop. Good As Gold does "business the right way," said Dudek. "ey look for partners. ey don't look to just sell you coffee." Dan and Mike stood out to Dudek as he was shopping for local roasters by inviting Dudek's entire Holy Cross team to the manufacturing site for a tasting and talking about the farms Good As Gold sources from. Building relationships is type of personal relationship is what specialty coffee enthusiasts are craving right now, said Giuliano. Customers, especially younger gener- ations, are demanding transparency. "A coffee company that notices that and invites consumers into their story is so right on," he said. "Companies that do that are really succeeding." At any given time, Good As Gold is roasting 20 different origins of coffee, including beans from Mexico, Hawaii, Ethiopia, Colombia, and Costa Rica. "e Starbucks of the world deals with these big, huge farms. [Good As Gold] is dealing with small farms," said Dudek. "For our students, that's kind of the thing they want to hear." Starbucks' share of spending at U.S. coffee shops was 48% in 2025, accord- ing to the Associated Press. But that market share dominance doesn't faze Good As Gold. Actually, quite to the contrary. "A lot of times Starbucks and Dunkin' Donuts helps our business," said Dan. ose industry giants introduce customers and build demand for the types of drinks that Good As Gold provides the ingredients for, whether it's teas, iced coffees, or lattes. Good As Gold customers, like independent cafes, then can ride that wave by offer- ing higher quality alternatives. "e way that our customers can compete is by having a product that's better," said Dan. e manufacturer is gearing up to expand its operations and capacity. Dan and Mike are looking to upgrade from a 30-kilo roaster to a 70-kilo roaster, and eventually, expand its facility and hire more employees. e expansion cannot come at the cost of the relationships that have sustained the manufacturer for more than five decades, said Dan. "It's more important for us to take care of our customers than to put on additional new business," he said. "If our customers are successful, we'll be successful." Specialty coffee's rise Between 2020 and 2025, the percentage of Americans who reported drinking specialty coffee in the past day increased to nearly half of all survey respondents. Marty Dudek, Holy Cross director of hospitality operations W Wicked good rates for every business Great rates that grow with your business. Our Tiered Money Market account works for businesses of any size while keeping your funds available when you need them. centralfcu.com | (800) 527-1017 $0 - $49,999.99 2.00% 3.00% 3.50% 4.00% APY* Account Balance $50,000 - $99,999.99 $100,000 - $199,999 $200,000 + APY = Annual Percentage Yield. Rates effective as of: April 9, 2026. Rates are variable and are subject to change. Please refer to Central One Federal Credit Union's Business Service Agreement and Our Rates and Service Charge Disclosure. for the Business Money Market Account. Federally insured by NCUA. Source: National Coffee Association's 2025 Specialty Coffee Report 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 46% 45% 41% 42% 37% 39% 2020 2021 2022 2023 2024 Jan. 2025

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