For my last post, you met Joe Nazir of Tov, Portland’s one-of-a-kind double-decker coffee bus. For this week’s profile, I drove the six hours out to the small ski town of Sandpoint, Idaho, where I got a chance to chat with Rick Evans, one of the two brothers behind Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters. When Rick and Randy decided to leave big city lifestyles behind and settle down in Sandpoint, Rick’s business background and Randy’s coffee roasting expertise led the two to pursue a dream of bringing artisan, sustainably-sourced specialty coffee to town.
Today, Evans Brothers is ubiquitous across Idaho, and especially around its home base of Sandpoint: the roaster’s wholesale program reaches across the state from Coeur d’Alene to Boise, and over state lines into Washington and more. Local attractions like Schweitzer Mountain Resort are honored with their own custom blends, while the cozy, artsy café space itself offers a wide range of single-origin roasts, signature blends and more.
How did you and Randy decide to leave bigger cities behind and settle in Sandpoint?
My brother and I had two little kids – we wanted to plant roots and raise our kids in the same place, and we both love skiing. I was in real estate in Santa Barbara at the time; Randy had been in coffee for 10 years, and was then the head roaster at Storyville in Seattle…[but] he had driven through Sandpoint at one time, and remembered the town.
How was the idea for Evans Brothers born?
It was on chair six at Schweitzer. We started brainstorming and I asked him what he wanted to do, and he said he wanted to stay in coffee. I said why don’t you do it, and I’ll work with you. We didn’t have any money but he humored me, and I wrote up a business plan. I got fired up about it. Next thing you know we had a loan from a bank and we were buying a roaster. We found an amazing space and were able to help restore the granary warehouse district. Before we created Evans Brothers the local coffee scene was pretty old-school, there wasn’t much of a specialty coffee presence…[but] one of my business goals was to create a business that made Sandpoint a little bit better.
Your resident café dog is adorable. What’s her name?
Roxy. She’s a mutt; I don’t know exactly what all she is but we think part German Shepherd, part Shiba Inu.
What sorts of things do you most enjoy about being in the coffee industry?
We went to a Cafe Imports event – 600 coffees were submitted, and the best ones were judged by a panel of importers and experts. The very best received premium certification, and then were auctioned off that same evening. The judging rewarded high-quality coffee, and the auction meant that the farmers were receiving way over fair trade pricing. At the live auction, everyone was drinking and dancing, and all the farmers were there. It was really fun. We love coffees that tell a story, [and] these are the kinds of things we get excited about.
What is your go-to coffee drink?
At a really good café I like to try a macchiato. Kenya and Ethiopia are probably my favorite origins…I like a coffee that tastes like juice!
