La Colombe Coffee Roasters (originally La Colombe Torrefaction) is an American

coffee roaster Roasting coffee transforms the chemical and physical properties of green coffee beans into roasted coffee products. The roasting process produces the characteristic flavor of coffee by causing the green coffee beans to change in taste. Unroaste ...

and retailer headquartered in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. Founded in 1994, the company has cafés in locations including Philadelphia,

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

, and

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

In 2023, it was acquired by

Chobani Chobani is an American food company specializing in strained yogurt. The company was founded in 2005 by Hamdi Ulukaya, a Turkish businessman of Kurds, Kurdish origin. Chobani sells thick, Greek yogurt with a higher protein content than traditional ...

for $900 million. La Colombe is representative of

third-wave coffee Third-wave coffee is a term primarily in the United States coffee industry emphasizing higher quality, single-origin farms and light roast to bring out distinctive flavors. Though the term was coined in 1999, the approach originated in the 1970 ...

. Its recognition includes a BevNet award for "Rising Star" in 2017.

History

La Colombe was founded by Todd Carmichael and JP Iberti in 1994 in the Rittenhouse Square neighborhood of Philadelphia. In 2015,

Hamdi Ulukaya Hamdi Ulukaya (born 26 October 1972) is a Turkish billionaire businessman, activist and philanthropist of Kurdish ethnicity based in the United States. He is the founder, owner, chairman, and chief executive officer of the strained yogurt bra ...

, founder of

, purchased a share of the company. Ulukaya bought out private equity firm Goode Partners to gain his stake, and helped the company raise $28.5 million to fund plans for expansion. This purchase made La Colombe one of several small-scale coffee roasters that received large investments or were acquired outright in 2015.

Acquisition

In July 2023,

Keurig Dr Pepper Keurig Dr Pepper Inc. ( ), formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (1979–2014) and Keurig Green Mountain (2014–2018), is a publicly traded American beverage and coffeemaker conglomerate with headquarters in Burlington, Massachusetts, and ...

invested $300 million in La Colombe in exchange for 33% of the company. In December 2023, Chobani fully acquired La Colombe for $900 million. As part of the deal, Keurig Dr Pepper had its 33% equity converted to a minority position in Chobani. Chobani took a $550 million loan to fund the acquisition.

Locations

The company's earliest stores included its original site in Rittenhouse Square as well as its New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. locations. Locations in New York were opened in 2007 and 2009 in

Tribeca Tribeca ( ), originally written as TriBeCa, is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan in New York City. Its name is a syllabic abbreviation of "Triangle Below Canal Street". The "triangle" (more accurately a quadrilateral) is bounded by Canal Str ...

and

SoHo SoHo, short for "South of Houston Street, Houston Street", is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, art installations such as The Wall ...

, respectively. The first location in Chicago was opened in 2011. The second Philadelphia location was opened in Dilworth Park (near

Philadelphia City Hall Philadelphia City Hall is the seat of the municipal government of the City of Philadelphia in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Built in the ornate Second Empire style, City Hall houses the chambers of the Philadelphia City Council and the office ...

) in 2011. In 2013, the company operated three locations in

Seoul, South Korea Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

. Headquarters moved to a new construction in

Fishtown, Philadelphia Fishtown is a neighborhood in the River Wards section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Located northeast of Center City Philadelphia, its borders are somewhat disputed today due to many factors, but are roughly defined by the tria ...

in 2015. The construction had been voted on by residents in 2013. The same year, the company announced plans to expand to 150 new locations in the next three to four years. Expansion to

began in September 2015. Expansion to

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

was announced in early 2016, with locations in

Beverly Hills Beverly Hills is a city located in Los Angeles County, California, United States. A notable and historic suburb of Los Angeles, it is located just southwest of the Hollywood Hills, approximately northwest of downtown Los Angeles. Beverly Hil ...

and Silver Lake. New locations in Chinatown, Washington, D.C. and

Lincoln Park, Chicago Lincoln Park is a designated community areas of Chicago, community area on the North Side, Chicago, North Side of Chicago, Illinois. It is located west of Lincoln Park. History In 1824, the United States Army built a small post near toda ...

were announced in 2016. In

San Diego San Diego ( , ) is a city on the Pacific coast of Southern California, adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a population of over 1.4 million, it is the List of United States cities by population, eighth-most populous city in t ...

, a new location opened in

Westfield UTC Westfield UTC is an upscale, open-air shopping mall in the University City, San Diego, University City community of San Diego, California. It lies just east of La Jolla, near the University of California, San Diego. The mall is served by UTC Tr ...

in fall 2017. In 2021, a location was announced in

Austin, Texas Austin ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Texas. It is the county seat and most populous city of Travis County, Texas, Travis County, with portions extending into Hays County, Texas, Hays and W ...

inside a

Whole Foods Market Whole Foods Market, Inc. (colloquially referred to as simply Whole Foods) is an American multinational supermarket chain store, chain headquartered in Austin, Texas, which sells products free from Hydrogenated fat, hydrogenated fats and artificia ...

, the company's first Texas location. In 2025, both locations in Boston closed (at 745 Atlantic Ave. in Leather District and at 29 Northern Ave. in the

Seaport District The Seaport District, or simply Seaport, is a neighborhood in Boston, Massachusetts. It is part of the larger neighborhood of South Boston, and is also sometimes called the Innovation District. The Seaport is a formerly industrial area that ha ...

), with the owners citing financial performance of the locations and other factors. , La Colombe advertises on its website 30 locations in the United States, in Philadelphia, New York City, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, Austin, Los Angeles, and San Diego. Coop de Ville, a restaurant in the

Strip District, Pittsburgh The Strip District is a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States. It is a one-half square mile area of land northeast of the central business district bordered to the north by the Allegheny River and to the south by portions of the ...

, features a walk-up window serving La Colombe coffee and espresso drinks. The restaurant opened in 2020.

Retail products

In 2016, the company began offering a canned version of the Draft Latte, a cold-pressed

espresso Espresso (, ) is a concentrated form of coffee produced by forcing hot water under high pressure through finely ground coffee beans. Originating in Italy, espresso has become one of the most popular coffee-brewing methods worldwide. It is cha ...

and frothed milk

latte Latte () or caffè latte (), also known as , or , is a List of coffee drinks, coffee drink of Italian cuisine, Italian origin made with espresso and steamed milk, traditionally served in a glass. Variants include the chocolate-flavored ''caf ...

which was available on tap in stores. Draft Lattes were initially available in four flavors. The cans for the latte were designed by CEO Todd Carmichael and produced by

Crown Holdings Crown Holdings, Inc., formerly Crown Cork & Seal Company, is an American company that makes metal beverage and food cans, metal aerosol containers, metal closures, and specialty packing. Founded in 1892, it is headquartered in Tampa, Florida. As ...

. The can employed a valve mechanism at the base for injection of

nitrous oxide Nitrous oxide (dinitrogen oxide or dinitrogen monoxide), commonly known as laughing gas, nitrous, or factitious air, among others, is a chemical compound, an Nitrogen oxide, oxide of nitrogen with the Chemical formula, formula . At room te ...

. Manufacturing of the cans moved from Pennsylvania to a new facility in

Norton Shores, Michigan Norton Shores is a city in Muskegon County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 25,030 at the 2020 census. History The Ojibwe, Bodewadmi and Odawa Native Americans for hundreds of years occupied the wilds of western Michigan. W ...

in 2016. A Nitro cold brew was also in the works around 2015. Other products include Different Drum, a coffee-infused rum, produced at a micro-distillery located in its

cafe, and a line of La Colombe single-origin and blended roasted coffees, which are available for purchase in retail stores or via the company's website. The company also produces retail cold brew in larger 42oz bottles. In 2020, the company announced a can of instant coffee with new self-heating technology.

Collaborations

In 2013, La Colombe partnered with the

Clinton Foundation The Clinton Foundation (founded in 2001 as the William J. Clinton Presidential Foundation, and renamed in 2013 as the Bill, Hillary & Chelsea Clinton Foundation) is a nonprofit organization under section 501(c)(3) of the U.S. tax code. It was e ...

to found the Haiti Coffee Academy. The organization's stated aim is to improve coffee growers’ livelihoods in

Haiti Haiti, officially the Republic of Haiti, is a country on the island of Hispaniola in the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and south of the Bahamas. It occupies the western three-eighths of the island, which it shares with the Dominican ...

through training programs for

smallholder A smallholding or smallholder is a small farm operating under a small-scale agriculture model. Definitions vary widely for what constitutes a smallholder or small-scale farm, including factors such as size, food production technique or technolo ...

farmers, a demonstration farm and nursery, and efforts to strengthen the supply chain for both local and export markets for Haitian coffee. In 2016, La Colombe collaborated with

Yards Brewing Company Yards Brewing Company is a craft brewery in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, specializing in ales, particularly those in the Beer in England, English tradition. In 1994 friends Tom Kehoe and Jon Bovit established Yards after producing their own home ...

, also in the Philadelphia area, to produce a coffee stout to be served in local Shake Shack branches. Also in 2016, the company collaborated with the Icelandic brewer Einstök and again with Yards on Snorri's Awakening, a coffee

pale ale Pale ale is a golden to amber coloured beer style brewed with pale malt. The term first appeared in England around 1703 for beers made from malts dried with high-carbon coke, which resulted in a lighter colour than other beers popular at th ...

. In 2021, the company collaborated with

to open new stores in New York City and Austin.

References

External links

* {{Philadelphia Corporations Companies based in Philadelphia Coffeehouses and cafés in the United States Coffee brands American companies established in 1994 Food and drink companies established in 1994 Retail companies established in 1994 1994 establishments in Pennsylvania 2023 mergers and acquisitions