A lone rider has made his way to Iowa City.
For nearly five years, Chris James has pedaled across the streets of West Des Moines, hand-delivering his homemade brew, Coffalo Coffee.
With his trusty companion Bugsy the pug, James has garnered a steady following of fans and customers alike. Coming up on their 5th anniversary in November, the orange-clad duo now partners with Iowa City retailers such as Hy-Vee and, as of April 8, New Pioneer Food Co-op in Iowa City.
“Iowa City has been on my radar for quite some time,” James said. “So, when the opportunity presented itself, I went for it. I’m currently in two Hy-Vees there [8th Street and Waterfront], and I don’t plan on stopping.”
It all started under the crushing weight of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020. James’ 25-year career in the restaurant industry was cut short by nationwide industry layoffs.
“I’ve been privileged enough in my career that I have never experienced a layoff before, and it was an experience that I feel that opened my eyes to who I am and what my purpose was,” he said.
James decided to take matters into his own hands, taking a gamble on a small roaster that could roast a pound of beans per hour in his basement. He bought it from money he made selling items around his house. He would also need a brand theme that could be recognized on shelves dozens of miles from home.
He decided on the buffalo, combining the animal’s name with coffee to make “Coffalo.”
The name only seemed natural, considering James graduated from Tempe High in Arizona, which sports the buffalo as its mascot. When he moved to Iowa 15 years ago, he landed and lived on Buffalo Road in West Des Moines.
“The term Buffalo has kind of been following me around,” James said.
To James, it’s a symbol of perseverance and strength, something he could latch onto starting up his own business.
James’ Coffalo Coffee went live in November 2020, a mere four months after he was laid off.
As his bike-riding coffee business became more recognizable throughout the area, he was able to expand his operations exponentially. His small roaster was upgraded to one that roasts up to 60 pounds per hour, allowing him to sell to retailers like Hy-Vee.
The roaster uses hot air rather than natural gases, meaning customers don’t have to worry about hydrogen sulfides finding their way into their brew.
But clean coffee and a unique brand name aren’t the only ways Coffalo has gained traction. In the bicycle’s backseat during James’ local deliveries sits his furry companion, Bugsy the pug.
Bugsy fills in the paws of James’ previous pug, Sushi, who died a year and a half after the business started. When he started Coffalo, James was looking for a way to get Sushi out of the house, who was blind and deaf. His bicycle rides turned out to be the perfect solution while also being environmentally friendly.
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If the weather is right, customers can find Bugsy now riding in the backseat of the bike. And for the right amount of treats, she’ll pose for any selfie that comes her way.
“[Customers] absolutely love her. I mean, it’s not something that you see every day, a pug in goggles and a helmet riding around on the back of a bicycle. And she gets lots of attention,” James said.
Dave Kurns, who acted as business advisor for Coffalo, believes there is plenty to set James’ business apart from other coffee sellers.
“It’s a fascinating story about somebody who’s trying to invent and build something from the ground up and was able to do it with the help of the community and the people around him,” he said. “I was just really intrigued with that.”
James hasn’t forgotten about the community that supported him from the ground up. Since he started his business, James has given coffee donations to the nonprofit Unravel Iowa and various other local programs in the Des Moines area like the Valerius Elementary Book Fair, the Waukee Elementary Book Fair, Waukee APEX, and the Windsor Heights Steam Clean Earth Day Cleanup.
Most prominently, James supports the Buffalo Field Campaign, in which volunteers defend and herd the buffalo in the Yellowstone area.
James reached out to the organization in Coffalo’s youth and decided to donate a pound of the “Roam Free Roast” to the organization every month.
“I didn’t want to just use the image of the buffalo or the word buffalo just to sell coffee, right? It just didn’t sit right with me,” he said.
Beth Middleton, the Wine & Spirits manager at the Hy-Vee on 910 N. Jefferson Way in Indianola, felt James’ product would be a great addition to the location and ultimately made the connection for him. The two had worked together at Sodexo 15 years ago.
“I’ve worked for a local distillery, so I know how hard it can be to get outside of home base and how much more effort it takes out there,” she said. “So, seeing him expand into the Iowa City market is pretty exciting.”