Popular NC grocery store has a new local offering, but it may be temporary
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- 321 Coffee, based in Raleigh, will be sold in NC Costco stores starting April 26.
- The coffee company wants to become an “everyday item” at Costcos in and out of NC.
- 321 Coffee employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
For 10 days, Raleigh’s 321 Coffee was roasting about 2,000 pounds of beans each day. That’s how much the facility roasts in a typical week.
It took adjusting employees’ shifts and completing maintenance on the equipment after a week, rather than the usual month. But in 10 days, around a dozen people at 321 Coffee had roasted and packaged 20 pallets of coffee beans to be shipped out to Costco Wholesale stores in North Carolina.
Morale remained high throughout the process, 321 Coffee co-founder Lindsay Wrege told The News & Observer by phone. To celebrate sending off the final pallets, the team gathered around Costco cake and hot dogs, recognizing each person’s contribution to the massive task.
“It shows that we can handle volume and that we can scale up and that we have infrastructure that, yes, it’s going to need some modification, but the bones are there,” Wrege said. “And our team is capable to deliver and execute at this scale.”
Locals have been able to find 321 Coffee, which employs people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in Triangle grocery stores including Whole Foods Market, Weaver Street Market, Food Lion and Wegmans for years. The company’s roasting facility has accommodated larger wholesale orders in the past, but the one from Costco was the biggest yet.
Selling 321 Coffee in Costco stores was a dream for the company, a “wouldn’t it be cool if” scenario, Wrege said. 321 Coffee appreciated the way the retailer, which reported net sales of about $28.4 billion in March, works with vendors and approaches business.
Then last year, the Raleigh company connected with Costco’s coffee buyer for the Southeast, and started telling the retailer 321 Coffee’s story and mission.
Their persistence paid off. Starting Sunday, April 26, 321 Coffee will be available in every Costco location in North Carolina — including the Triangle stores in Raleigh, Apex, Garner and Durham, plus the locations in Charlotte, Matthews and Mooresville.
321 Coffee at Costco
For now, 321 Coffee is in Costco stores on a trial basis. Whether it becomes a permanent fixture on Costco aisles in North Carolina locations or elsewhere depends on sales, Wrege said.
That’s why 321 Coffee is encouraging fans to buy the coffee from Costco within the next couple of weeks. Bags are available for $25.
The company’s goal is to become an “everyday item” in North Carolina, the Southeast region and even nationwide.
“That would be so impactful and influential for us as a business, for our operations, for our growth, for our mission, to be able to truly hire more people and be able to run like this all the time — would be incredible in pursuit of our mission of creating more jobs for people with disabilities,” Wrege said. “And so this is so exciting for us as a company to have this opportunity and hopefully show up to Costco and be able to crush it.”
To facilitate Costco purchases, 321 Coffee is opening up its roastery to guided tours followed by a caravan-style trip to the Raleigh Costco, where guests will purchase bags of 321 Coffee.
Where to find 321 Coffee
In addition to grocers such as Costco and Weaver Street Market, customers can visit 321 Coffee’s retail shops. The brand has a space at the State Farmers Market and locations on Hillsborough Street in downtown Raleigh and at NC State’s Centennial Campus.
The company also has in-office cafés, and shoppers can purchase 321 Coffee beans, pods and merchandise online.
