Good Friends, Great Business Partners

Coffee friends, I (Founder, Brian Gumm) am thrilled to announce that our Operations Manager & Roaster, Jenny Rosario, is now a co-owner of Ross Street Roasting.

Jenny’s been with RSR for two years now and quickly established herself as a pillar of the business, managing all aspects of production and fulfillment at our roastery in Tama, Iowa. Even before becoming an RSR employee, Jenny was a huge fan of ours, both our product and our story. She brought with her into the role a passion and enthusiasm for the job that exceeds that of a “mere” employee. Of course, it didn’t hurt that I’ve also known Jenny, personally, for a few decades and was confident she was the perfect fit for the position. Turns out: She is.

Jenny’s success in her role has enabled me to make a dramatic life change: Moving from Iowa to Wisconsin last year. Being the managing owner of RSR, remotely, does present some challenges but Jenny has made it practically painless. It’s allowed me to not only focus on my day job outside RSR but to take what time I do have for the business and focus it on development, especially on growing our commercial business which, over the course of the last year, has resulted in a 33% average month-over-month increase in business for RSR. That’s the dream of an owner to “Work on the business, not in the business.” Jenny’s been instrumental in making that possible for me and I’m profoundly grateful.

When RSR began as a business in 2015, the ownership was split between me and silent investor partners that I connected with through my network. From my hobby starting in a garage on Ross Street in Toledo, Iowa, I had a dream, passion, and vision for a coffee roasting business that sold fresh-roasted Specialty Coffee online and through wholesale/commercial channels, as our mission statement has long stated: “Turning coffee drinkers into coffee lovers.” My problem was, I didn’t have any money to invest in that vision. Thankfully, my investor partners stepped in and helped finance the dream and help get RSR established as a sustainable business.

Over the years other co-owners have come and gone from RSR but Jenny’s the first “on the ground” owner since I was in her position from 2015-’19. It gives me confidence that RSR can thrive now that we’re nearing the end of our first decade of being in business, looking forward to the next 10 years and beyond.