There’s something brewing at 2525 Portland Ave., but it’s not beer, as the location was recently home to the short-lived but beloved Kyros Brewing. The strong aroma would be emanating from the custom operation of Donovan Talbott and Ithmah Coffee Roasters, continuing to fulfill wholesale orders of his flavor-optimized coffee from around the world.
“I moved in around the end of May of last year,” he said, noting that he helped the Kyros team move out of the building. “I’ve done a lot of work, mostly by myself, and slowly but surely it’s pretty much ready to go.”
Considering this is his second rehab job in the past couple years (including his previous location adjacent to the now-operational High Street Pub at 33rd Street and Northwestern Parkway and Portland Avenue), he’s now a veteran redeveloper. “But I think I worked harder on this one, it was already a nicer, finished building” (compared to the decades of neglect and damage at the other location, which they brought back to life).
He said this year, he wants to open up a “whole different avenue, working with non-profits, developing their own private label as a fundraising tool,” he said, noting that he’s already talking to some Executive Directors about partnerships. And Ithmah itself serves a bigger mission, supporting the orphanage in Mexico that his brother operates.
“They broke ground on new space for caregivers, teachers and office space,” he said. “An architect worked with kids to design it. They’re working with the government to get orphanages certified and recruiting young people not sure what they want to do with their lives. Maybe give missionary work a try.”
Ithmah continues to supply wholesale orders for local coffee shops and businesses in the area, and Donovan is excited about the new spot.
“We want to stay here a long time, get more wholesale accounts,” he said. “We’re pretty self-sustaining. We don’t need foot traffic. I want to keep it simple and lean. We don’t need a lot of hype or to get people too excited.”
Despite what Donovan says, Ithmah coffee is in fact worth getting excited about (whatever I sampled blew me away), and you can learn more at www.ithmahcoffee.com.
