Heine Brothers'
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Coffee roasting and café |
| Founded | 1994 in Louisville, Kentucky, United States |
| Founder | Gary Heine, Mike Mays |
| Headquarters | Louisville , United States |
Key people | Mike Mays (President) |
| Products | Coffee |
Number of employees | 200–300 |
Heine Brothers' is a coffee roasting company and café chain established in 1994 by business partners Gary Heine and Mike Mays in Louisville, Kentucky. Mike Mays currently holds the position of President.[1] The enterprise employs between 200 and 300 individuals.[2]
History
The inaugural Heine Brothers' café debuted in Louisville’s Highlands district in 1994.[3] By 2002, the company had fully embraced sourcing coffee that is both fair trade and organic.[4]
In 2011, co-founder Mike Mays purchased Gary Heine’s shares and integrated the business with Vint, which led to an expansion of its presence. Presently, Heine Brothers' maintains 16 outlets throughout Kentucky and Southern Indiana.[5][6]
As one of the founding participants of Cooperative Coffees, Inc. since 1999, the company acquires fair trade and organic green coffee from suppliers across North America.[7]
In 2015, Heine Brothers' collaborated with the Forecastle Foundation and Whole Foods Market to introduce "Kentucky Dream," a fair trade coffee blend aimed at supporting environmental conservation projects.[8]
To accommodate growth, the headquarters and roasting operations were moved to Louisville’s Portland neighborhood in November 2016.[9]
In August 2017, Heine Brothers' teamed up with local broadcaster WDRB to distribute eclipse glasses, successfully raising more than $50,000 for the Louisville Science Center.[10]
The brand continued its expansion by opening a new store in Louisville’s Valley Station area in 2021.[11]
Unionization efforts commenced in May 2022 when employees declared their intention to form a labor union. By March 2023, the workforce and management reached an agreement on their initial collective bargaining contract.[12]
Production
The organization obtains its coffee beans from cooperatives owned by farmers located in crucial areas including Central America (Dominican Republic, Mexico, Guatemala, Nicaragua), South America (Colombia, Peru, Bolivia), Africa (Ethiopia), and Indonesia (Sumatra, East Timor). This sourcing strategy underpins its worldwide activities and commitment to sustainable practices.
- ↑ "Mike Mays".
- ↑ "Heine Brothers' Coffee Customer Success Story | NetSuite".
- ↑ "Heine Brothers' locations".
- ↑ Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedabout - ↑ Clouser, Stephanie (November 15, 2011). "Heine Brothers' and Vint coffee chains to merge".
- ↑ Bowling, Caitlin (October 28, 2014). "Heine Brothers' Coffee announces first Southern Indiana location".
- ↑ http://coopcoffees.coop/.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ "Heine Brothers' breaks 'grounds' on new partnership with Forecastle Foundation" (Press release). June 24, 2015.
- ↑ "Here's where the next Heine Brothers' location will be". December 2016.
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ "WDRB and Heine Brothers raise $50,000 for the Kentucky Science Center with eclipse glasses".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ Kobin, Billy (May 7, 2021). "Heine Brothers' Coffee to open a new location in Valley Station".
{{cite web}}: Missing or empty|url=(help) - ↑ Harbsmeier, Deborah (March 17, 2023). "Heine Brothers' Coffee and employees approve new contract".