Man who founded Greyfriar's Coffee & Tea Co. as college senior is back with new coffee shop

Ian Goodman, who founded Greyfriar's Co. in the 1990s in downtown Chattanooga, has opened Goodman Expert Coffee Roasters in Warehouse Row.

Ian Goodman earned Chattanooga coffee fame in 1996 when, as a senior at Covenant College, he founded Greyfriar's Coffee & Tea Co., a pioneering downtown coffee shop that he sold about eight years ago. It currently operates in the 300 block of Market Street near the Tennessee Aquarium.

Now, Goodman is back in the retail coffee business. He and three business partners opened Goodman Coffee in a Warehouse Row space that formerly held Brash Coffee, an Atlanta-based cafe that closed in May.

Only in its third week of business, Goodman Coffee already draws between 200 and 300 customers a day, which he said is a good volume.

"There's a lot more people in a one-block radius here than I ever had at Greyfriar's," said Goodman, noting that he's near the power headquarters of the Tennessee Valley Authority and major offices for Coyote Logistics and Bellhops.

The cafe also is inside Chattanooga's new downtown Innovation District, which, according to a Brookings Institution report, are popping up around the country and are a mash-up of startup entrepreneurs in an urban setting "fueled by caffeine."

"That's definitely right," Goodman said. "You get a lot of young people starting up businesses like that, caffeine is definitely the fuel."

Goodman opened the cafe with business partner Aric Annear, who roasted beans at Greyfriar's until 2006 and then struck out to Seattle, Wash., where he ran a cafe called Fremont Coffee Co. Earlier this year, the duo launched an artisan coffee roasting business in St. Elmo, which sources beans from around the world.

As soon as Goodman and Annear learned Brash Coffee was closing, they put in a bid for its space at Warehouse Row, which they've leased for five years with an option to renew.

"This space was a very appealing location," said Goodman.

It already had the electrical and water systems that a cafe needs, he said. Goodman redid the interior, including installation of three red oak tables he made from a pre-Civil War tree that fell down during a storm at his St. Elmo house and new concrete countertops that Goodman made himself. The cafe employs eight full- and part-time employees, Goodman said.

Goodman and Annear partnered with David Rossi and Kris Perkins, two businessmen who own Waypoint Distillery in Bloomfield, Conn., and plan to infuse their vodka with Goodman Coffee to make Goodman Coffee Liqueur.

"We partnered with them on that, and they partnered with us on this," Goodman said.

He and Annear will continue to roast beans in St. Elmo.

Among the customers in the cafe Friday were first-timers Julie Bage and Alisa Stipanov, two friends who picked the cafe to meet mainly because of its location and the free parking.

"I love the atmosphere, the coffee was really good, service was good," said Stipanov.

Contact staff writer Tim Omarzu at tomarzu@timesfreepress.com or www.facebook.com/MeetsForBusiness or twitter.com/meetforbusiness or 423-757-6651.