La Colombe Raises $28.5 Million; Plans Nationwide Expansion
There is no shortage of news coming from the La Colombe camp recently. As we, not so patiently, wait for co-owners Todd Carmichael and JP Iberti to open their Fishtown flagship cafe and rum distillery, the Philadelphia based coffee roaster has announced it has raised $28.5 million towards opening 100 cafes in the next five years and has also released “The Dragon,” a $359 coffee making device that has coffee geeks salivating. This is all happening as La Colombe has been busy opening new cafes in Washington DC, New York and Chicago. And that’s not to mention that the original 19th and Walnut location is getting revamped and Iberti is a recent father.
The $28.5 Million La Colombe Investment
- $28.5 million dollar investment from Goode Partners
- Company now valued at $66.5 million
- Goal is 100 cafes coast-to-coast in the next five years
- Seven new leases already signed in markets La Colombe already has cafes (Philadelphia, New York, Chicago, Washington DC)
- Also looking at Boston, Baltimore, San Francisco, Los Angeles and other locations on the West Coast
La Colombe Fishtown Flagship
- 11,000 square foot cafe, bar, bakery, distillery and corporate offices
- Final cost will be around $2 million
- 80 or so seats
- No wifi
- Mural by Steve “ESPO” Powers dominates one wall
- The cafe has its own chef, pastry chef and baker:
- Taryn Goodman is the chef and has worked at Talula’s Garden and Zahav
- John McGrath is the baker, McGrath previously worked at Parc
- Pastry chef is Angela Ferri and comes to La Colombe from Lacroix
- Cafe will sell wine, beer and some spirits including La Colombe Different Drum Rum which is distilled on site.
- The distillery was designed by Carmichael and manufactured in Germany
- The distillery has two 3,000 liter holding tanks
- In addition to the distillery there is also a wood-fired oven for hot dishes and toasts
- Officially opening October 1st but we’re expecting an earlier opportunity to check it out
- For more shots of the food at La Colombe Fishtown, check out the Zagat slideshow
The Dragon Coffee Maker
The Dragon is a new brewing device created by La Colombe’s Todd Carmichael and is described as being for “people who want to just make a great cup of coffee before work and for those who totally want to geek out and fall down the rabbit hole of coffee, maximizing its potential.” As a $395 handmade and numbered device, that comes with its own “assassin” hard case, we’d say it comes firmly down on the coffee geek side but the time to brew a cup, does seem reasonable.
Check out Carmichael’s instructional video below.
Todd Explains: The Dragon (Updated) from La Colombe Coffee Roasters on Vimeo.
For more on La Colombe, be sure to check out these recent stories:
- Welp La Colombe Just Raised 28.5 Million Dollars In Venture Capital [Sprudge]
- La Colombe Secures $28.5 Million Investment, Plans Coastal Expansion [Daily Coffe News]
- La Colombe in Fishtown: Menu Sneak Preview [Zagat]
- La Colombe: Making it big [Philly.com]
La Colombe [Official]
