Anchorage · United States
Kaladi Brothers Coffee
Kaladi Brothers Coffee roasts in Anchorage, Alaska.
Since 1986 · Brad Bigelow, Mark Overly
Overview
Kaladi Brothers began in spring 1986 as a single espresso cart on Anchorage's 4th Avenue and grew into Alaska's defining specialty roaster — there are no actual brothers in the name. By the late 2010s the company was operating roughly 15 cafes across Alaska and Washington and roasting close to a million pounds a year of air-roasted coffee at its Brayton Drive facility, with co-founder Mark Overly later departing to start the unrelated Kaladi Coffee Roasters in Boulder.
Known for
- Alaska's first specialty coffee roaster (1986)
- Pioneers of commercial air-roasting in Alaska
- Anchorage 4th Avenue espresso-cart origin story
- Red Goat Espresso signature blend
- Catalyst-for-Community business mission rather than direct competition with Starbucks
Why it matters
Kaladi is Alaska's coffee origin story — the cafe ecosystem that pre-dated and then survived alongside Starbucks' aggressive Anchorage expansion (28 Starbucks vs Kaladi's deep local roots), and the wholesale anchor that supplies most independent Alaskan cafes through its Side Street Espresso-style loyalty network.
Production
- roaster machine
- Air roasters (specific models not publicly disclosed)
- roastery location
- 6921 Brayton Drive, Anchorage, Alaska
- annual volume tonnes
- 450
Café
Multiple Anchorage locations including original 4th Avenue site
Recognitions
- Best Coffee Shop in Alaska — Eat This, Not That (2021)
- Featured in Paste Magazine's Best Coffees Coming Out of Alaska (2017)