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Washington · United States

Compass Coffee

Since 2014 · Michael Haft, Harrison Suarez

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Overview

Compass was founded by Marines Michael Haft and Harrison Suarez, who met at Washington University in St. Louis, served together through training and combat in Afghanistan's Helmand Province, and after leaving the Marines in 2013 wrote the digital coffee guide "Perfect Coffee at Home" before opening their flagship cafe and roastery at 1535 7th St NW in DC's Shaw neighborhood on September 21, 2014. The chain grew to roughly 25 cafes across the DC metro area, but Suarez was forced out of the company in July 2021 and filed a federal lawsuit in January 2025 alleging RICO violations and misuse of $10.5M in COVID relief funds; the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on January 6, 2026 with cafés remaining open.

Known for

  • Founded by two Marines who served together in Afghanistan and went on to write "Perfect Coffee at Home" before opening a roastery
  • Built nearly 25 cafés across the DC metro area in roughly a decade
  • In-house furniture shop in the roastery basement that built every café's chairs and tables
  • Original mission: an approachable, pre-third-wave-snobbery hospitality brand grown out of two veterans' coffee experience overseas
  • Filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2026 amid co-founder lawsuit alleging COVID-relief fund misuse and forced exit

Why it matters

The largest specialty-coffee retail chain to emerge from Washington DC, and a case study in how veteran-founded operators scaled the third-wave model into a regional grocery and corporate-coffee presence — now in active restructuring.

Production

destoning
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head roaster
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color sorting
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roaster machine
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filter equipment
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cupping frequency
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roastery location
Shaw, Washington DC (with new production facility under construction in Ivy City)
espresso equipment
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annual volume tonnes
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Café

1535 7th St NW, Washington, DC 20001 (flagship)

Sources

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