What if a cup of coffee could do more than wake you up? Matt Ramsay, founder and co-owner of Denim Coffee, shares how a late-night campus job sparked a mission to build cafés that are about people first, not transactions.

While working 11 PM shifts, Matt noticed students weren’t coming in just for drinks—they were lonely. With over 40% of college students experiencing extreme loneliness, he saw coffee shops as modern “third spaces” where connection matters. The road to building Denim Coffee was anything but smooth: 39 bank rejections, a roaster supplier collapse, and years of barely breaking even alongside his partner, Tony Diehl.

Today, Denim Coffee operates seven locations (with an eighth on the way), employs 80 team members, and lives by a clear philosophy: hire for warmth, train for craft, and define “better coffee” as care for both the customer and the farmer. Matt also dives into the tough economics of coffee—price volatility, sustainability, and why long-term farmer relationships are about justice, not branding.

Innovation plays a role too, from flash-chilled coffee brewed hot and cooled in under 30 seconds to scalable systems that reduce waste while expanding reach. Growth, for Matt, only matters if the mission grows with it.

Key Takeaways:

• Coffee shops as third spaces can combat loneliness
• Justice in coffee starts with supporting farmers
• Hire warmth, train skill—personality can’t be taught
• Hard innovations create real differentiation
• Scale the mission, not just the revenue

About Matt Ramsay:

Matt Ramsay is a former college minister who, along with his wife Kristin and business partner Tony Diehl, has built a coffee roasting business, a bakery, and seven coffee shops across central PA and is currently building their eighth location. Denim helps new coffee shops open and is also uniquely bringing flash-chilled coffee to the market. Matt cares about justice, great coffee, and hospitality.

Connect:

Website denimcoffeecompany.com
LinkedIn linkedin.com/in/matthew-ramsay-06452660/
Facebook facebook.com/DenimCoffee
Instagram instagram.com/denimcoffee
X x.com/DenimCoffee
YouTube youtube.com/@denimcoffee
TikTok tiktok.com/@denimcoffee

This episode is brought to you by Denim Coffee; Pennsylvania specialty coffee roaster with cafés across Central PA—Make Better Coffee. Go to denimcoffeecompany.com to learn more.

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