West Coast Coffee Roasters Selling Story: True Taste and Passion:

This West Coast Coffee Roasters selling story starts with a woman on a mission, combined with the power of a good old-fashioned Internet search. And, it ends as a testament of how two men, separated by distance and a generation, have become good friends; thanks to the connections that our coffee roasting community inspires.

But there’s a good part in the middle, too, and it’s about how CoffeeTec helped facilitate this sale over eight months with tons of perseverance to accomplish a CoffeeTec first: selling a complete coffee roastery.

Meet The Seller: West Coast Coffee Roasters

Bill and Sharon Coleman have been roasting coffee since the early 1990s, providing roasted coffee to a healthy roster of retail and online customers from their arid and picturesque oceanside community of Chula Vista, CA. Like many used coffee roasters, Bill has worn many hats, serving as master roaster, mechanic, and machinist; leaving Sharon to run all administrative aspects of the business they aptly named West Coast Coffee Roasters.

To get started, Bill bought a Probat G25 roaster and an Intro-Burn Model 500 Afterburner and installed them himself. Over the years, he went on to customize much of the operation, including a custom framework to support the afterburner over the chaff collector. Bill even modified the Probat G25 to operate exactly as he needed to produce the dark, smoky roast that West Coast Coffee Roasters had become known for.

But as they say, all good things must come to an end, so about five years ago, Bill and Sharon started mapping out an exit strategy to retire, and then the arrival of COVID-19 only solidified and sped up their intentions.

So, after enduring one full year of the pandemic and with no end in sight, Sharon sat down at her computer one day in February 2021 to start searching for a solution for selling their roasting equipment, whether that meant piecemeal or, ideally, selling the entire plant to one buyer. Thanks to our robust search engine marketing efforts, it didn’t take long for her to find CoffeeTec.

Sharon spoke directly to CoffeeTec, who recalls the conversation:

“This inquiry was unique because the Colemans didn’t want to just sell a roaster. They wanted to sell the ENTIRE PLANT: not one, but two, roasters, along with packaging machines, grinders, a forklift, equipment racks, a tasting room, and so much more. Basically, their entire 2500-square-foot facility, even the lease and their accounts, was up for sale. This represented a first for CoffeeTec, but I was definitely up for the challenge.”

CoffeeTec Gets To Work...And The Colemans Keep Roasting

CoffeeTec went straight to work to create a multi-faceted sales approach. He packaged the Probat G25 and afterburner and promoted it through CoffeeTec’s multiple online channels and through targeted campaigns to the CoffeeTec community, offering any potential buyer the first right of refusal on the other roastery equipment. He also listed the complete roastery as a fully turn-key, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

Before long, CT started entertaining offers in the San Diego area, leading to several interested buyers viewing the Colemans’ plant. But if CT knows anything about sales in such a niche market, it’s that it takes a consistent and persistent sales strategy for a unique opportunity like this to find the right buyer. CT's goal was to get global exposure for this roastery sale. Hundreds of people saw the opportunity, drawing interest from people across the US, plus some serious parties in Canada and Puerto Rico.

As this coffee roasters for sale played out over a handful of months, CT continued to adjust the marketing plan for maximum reach. He met with and vetted every single interested party, identified their needs, conducted preliminary negotiations with the serious inquirers, and so on.

Meanwhile, Bill and Sharon Coleman continued roasting and planning their retirement. What they didn’t do is worry about any of the details to get their roastery sold. They knew CT had it handled.

Meet The Buyer: Copper Canyon Coffee Roasters

Then, in Summer 2021, CT connected with an interested buyer in Southwest Missouri. Sean Hunziker owns Copper Canyon Coffee Roasters, a roasting facility that caters to wholesale and online buyers and also includes a walk-up counter for retail sales.

Sean has 10+ years’ experience as a master roaster and is a SCAA-certified Q-cup grader. For about 15 years now, he and his team have specialized in small-batch roasting a variety of coffee and tea offerings, including fresh crop, single-origin coffee, and blends. They take pride in sourcing responsibly, giving back to the community - and they roast to order.

Sean had been looking to expand the business, both in adding some equipment and swapping out other items. The Colemans’ substantial equipment list, anchored by two amazing roasters (Bill had a Probat sample roaster in addition to the G25), fit the bill for everything Sean was looking for.

It took about three months before Sean was ready to take action and execute the sale, and CoffeeTec patiently worked with him throughout the entire process. In the end, Sean decided to purchase all of the equipment and transport it himself, the entire 1,600 miles from California to Missouri. Because on top of Sean’s roasting qualifications, he’s also a rigger, meaning he works with coffee roasteries to help them take down, relocate, and set all of their industrial roasting equipment in place.

A Labor Of Love: Buyer and Seller Team Up For A Very Personal Hand-Off

So, on a cool Wednesday morning in October 2021, Sean and his 18-year-old daughter set out from Southwest Missouri for the 24-hour drive to Chula Vista to disassemble and load up every bit of the Coleman’s roasting equipment.

They arrived on a Friday and spent the weekend breaking down the plant with Bill. Both self-professed “good ol’ boys,” they became fast friends, with Bill offering Sean hands-on training on all the equipment. They worked with CoffeeTec’s logistics team to help prepare the equipment for transport on the truck that CoffeeTec arranged to show up on Monday.

The West Coast Coffee Roasters selling story doesn’t end here, though. While Bill and Sharon start deciding how to spend their retirement, they’ll need to consult their calendar to find the right time to take Sean up on his offer to come to Missouri to see how their roasting equipment looks in its new home.

It’s hard to imagine a happier ending than this: The sellers were very satisfied with the price they got for the sale to fund their retirement, the buyer was ecstatic to add the equipment to bolster his roasting facility, and they became friends in the process.

Sharon Coleman describes her and Bill’s satisfaction over the sale:

“I cannot express to you what an incredible connection this is! Bill and Sean are having a great time together. Sean is an absolutely carbon copy of Bill! I am blown away...He is so excited to have all of this...said one of the main things that kept drawing him in was the tasting room! He is going to recreate it exactly and wants us to visit some day! We are so grateful! You made this happen for us, and we can't thank you enough for never giving up!

We think this is what it looks like to pass the baton - literally hand to hand - to the next generation of coffee roasters. Wouldn’t you agree?

CoffeeTec Never Gives Up

At West Coast Coffee Roasters, this story isn’t just about selling equipment; it’s about never giving up, no matter the challenge. Even in an unpredictable market, our team stayed the course, powered by expertise, creativity, and our full-service approach to coffee roastery sales and marketing. The result? A successful sale that benefited everyone involved and another roastery ready to thrive.

Since then, CoffeeTec has continued to connect passionate coffee entrepreneurs with the tools and technology they need to roast, create, and grow. From complete roastery sales to single-machine setups, our persistence has brewed success stories across the nation.

If you have coffee roasting equipment, new or second-hand coffee roasters for sale, or you’re dreaming of expanding your roasting operation, let CoffeeTec make it happen. We’ll handle everything: marketing, buyer matching, negotiations, logistics, and beyond.

Your success story starts here.

Contact CoffeeTec today, and let’s build the next great roastery together.