day9.coffee day9

Tampa · United States

Buddy Brew Coffee

Since 2007 · Dave Ward, Susan Ward

Visit website Instagram

Overview

Buddy Brew was founded by husband-and-wife Dave and Susan Ward, who began roasting on a Diedrich IR-7 in their South Tampa garage in the early 2000s and gave the coffee away as gifts before launching as a wholesale business in 2007. Their flagship Kennedy Boulevard cafe and roastery opened in 2010 — widely considered Tampa's first specialty coffee roastery — and the brand is named after their golden labrador, Buddy. The motto 'Brew Good. Do Good.' has driven 130+ employees, eight cafes, and grocery distribution to Sprouts/Whole Foods/Publix.

Known for

  • Tampa's first specialty coffee roastery
  • 'Brew Good. Do Good.' mission
  • Eight Tampa Bay cafes including Oxford Exchange, Armature Works, Tampa International Airport, USF
  • Sprouts national distribution partnership (2026)
  • Originally trusted customers with a coffee can register on day one

Why it matters

Built specialty coffee culture in a city with no specialty coffee tradition. The Tampa Bay specialty scene effectively starts at Kennedy Boulevard in 2010 — and Buddy Brew is now the rare US Southeast roaster with national grocery distribution and 130+ employees while remaining founder-led.

Production

destoning
null
head roaster
Dave Ward
color sorting
null
roaster machine
Diedrich IR-7 (original, still on display at Kennedy Boulevard); larger production roaster at standalone Tampa roastery and warehouse
filter equipment
null
cupping frequency
12-hour roasting and tasting process for each new bean to develop profile
roastery location
Tampa, Florida (full roastery and warehouse just outside downtown; ~3,000 lbs/week, 350 gal cold brew/week)
espresso equipment
null
annual volume tonnes
null

Café

Flagship: 2020 West Kennedy Boulevard, Tampa, FL

Recognitions

  • Tampa Chamber of Commerce Small Business of the Year (2021)

Sources

More roasters