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V O L . X X I I N O. V I I A P R I L 4 , 2 0 1 6 16 with Hannaford. We just came from a meeting with Sysco and had a meet and greet at our restaurant in Newry last night. And I was the keynote speaker at the New England Food Show last Sunday [March 13]," says Kramer, who drinks his coff ee black. " ings are moving along." e company started with a small batch roaster, but couldn't keep up with demand. So in 2012 it signed up Comfort Foods Inc. of North Andover, Mass., to roast the beans. "We went retail for the fi rst time in August 2013," says Frank Cimler, co-founder of Rockin' and Roastin'. "We thought it would be great if we were in 100 stores by Christmas, but we were in 1,000." Today, the company sells its USDA organic certifi ed, single-source Ethiopian, Guatemalan and Sumatran coff ees for $7 to $9.99 a bag through retailers like Stop & Shop and Hannaford, as well as through big-box stores, including Costco, as well as restaurants like the House of Blues and resorts and golf courses. "We're growing our food service and retail busi- nesses across the country," says Cimler. Kramer, Cimler and former Hewlett-Packard Co. executive Ron Mann co-founded the coff ee company, which also plans to add coff ee cake and potential other products in the future, Cimler says. Layering the business Kramer's newest venture is a 13,000-square-foot restaurant, café and entertainment space across from Sunday River Ski Resort that is run under a separate corporate entity but uses the same Rockin' & Roastin' brand. Another café that will operate seven days a week is scheduled to open in North Attleborough, Mass., in May. And shortly, Rockin' & Roastin' plans to have coff ee kiosks in various locales, Kramer says. e Rockin' & Roastin' Café & Restaurant, across from Sunday River's slopes in Newry, opened last December. It was founded by Kramer and former Sunday River owner Les Otten, who is also a former vice chairman of the Red Sox. At the Newry location, some entrée names play on Aerosmith songs, like the "Living on the Wedge" iceberg salad, and the menu is diverse for families. Cimler says Otten used to live in a part of the building that is now the restaurant, which can serve 500 people and has a private party room. Downstairs is a more casual, relaxing café. e décor upstairs includes photos of Aerosmith and other celebrities, a large mural of Kramer playing the drums behind a bar with Pearl drums fashioned into lights. Other Aerosmith memorabilia include a full drum kit of Kramer's from the Aerosmith "Global Warming Tour" that is hand-painted and glows in the dark. e front of the main restaurant was extended with a prow with fl oor-to-ceiling windows that overlook the slopes of Sunday River, which are lit at night. At other times the restaurant off ers front row seats to fi reworks displays. About 30 people work in Newry full- and part- time, and about the same number will work in North Attleborough. Contracted labor is used for the separate coff ee business. Kramer and Cimler didn't want to discuss fi nanc- ing, though they did say it's a combination of money from Kramer, friends and family. In early March the company sold out a $500,000 private placement to investors on SECGems to grow the business. Kramer says he's considering another round of investment over the summer to add products and stores for the coff ee company. He'd like to eventually franchise the café. "You have to spend money to make money," says Kramer. Cimler says sales have doubled every year since 2012, and the coff ee is poised to sell retail coast-to- coast within two years. e fund raises, customer management meetings and future planning may seem unlikely choices for a musician who for the past 40 years has created the beat for a world-famous rock band nicknamed " e Bad Boys from Boston." But Kramer sees the busi- ness as a blessing in disguise. "Not only is it a distraction that keeps me fresh to my drums, but it's something that helps me to give more to people to enjoy. I get to entertain people. I love working with people," he says. "In a place like Hannaford, they all get a charge out of me showing up at the meetings because every- body thinks that I'm just like every other celebrity that puts his name on a product and then just backs P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Joey Kramer's Rockin' & Roastin' Coffee, food with a Hall of Fame back beat B y L o r i V a l i g r a F O C U S Rockin' & Roastin' Café & Restaurant — at the Mountain 9 Timberline Drive, Newry Started: December 2015 Business: Restaurant, café, coffee Employees: 30 full- and part-time Funding: Private, friends, family, investors Contact: 824-2222 www.rockinandroastinrestaurant.com » C O N T I N U E D F R O M C O V E R P H O T O / T I M G R E E N WAY Joey Kramer, Aerosmith drummer and Rockin' & Roastin' co-founder and chairman, at an event in the Hannaford headquarters in Scarborough.

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