Timothy Styczynski, owner of Bridge Coffee Co., has informed customers about the shop's upcoming closure. Photo courtesy of Timothy Styczynski

MARYSVILLE, CA (MPG) - Bridge Coffee Co. has been a beloved staple of the Yuba-Sutter community for nearly a decade now.

With humble beginnings in the garage of Timothy Styczynski’s home, the company quickly obtained its first store front on Clark Avenue in Yuba City. Here the community would gather for a selection of gourmet brews, artisan products, and arguably some of the best sandwiches in town. Next came their set up in New Earth Market in Yuba City and a roasting warehouse in historic Marysville.

“It's hard to describe just how passionately obsessed I am about coffee,” Styczynski, Bridge’s owner said. “When books come out, or articles, the Trade magazines, I read them all. I've been following coffee really closely for thirty years.”

Bridge Coffee Co. can best be described as a boutique, small batch, third wave, specialty craft coffee roaster. Its name was meant to symbolize the bridge from “crop to cup” in obtaining high quality beans from family farms across the globe.

In addition to its brick and mortar, Bridge Coffee Co. had also established a robust delivery and subscription service, and plans were in the works to expand its Marysville roasting warehouse into another cafe. But on Wednesday evening, Aug. 21, the company sent out a mass notification alerting its customers to its upcoming closure.

“Over the years, we have been fortunate to build a loyal customer base, and it has been an honor to serve you all. This business's growth and our successes were only possible with your continued patronage and support,” Bridge Coffee Co said in a public statement. “As we close this chapter, we do so with immense pride in what we have accomplished together. We understand that this news may be difficult, and we share in the sadness of this closure. While this is the end of Bridge Coffee Co. as you know it, we are excited about what the future holds and the new opportunities that await.”

This announcement came just six days after celebrating Bridge Coffee Co’s nine-year anniversary and left a number of loyal patrons stunned. Those on social media expressed their heartfelt condolences with many congratulating the business for its impact on the community and its exceptional service. Yet the biggest question still hung in the air - why? 

“It's an economic decision, simply put,” Styczynski explained. “We’ve had incredible loyalty and really great growth, and the business had been growing month over month, but our expenses are going faster than our growth.”

Styczynski said that he and his wife, Jennifer Styczynski, who is also the co-owner of Bridge and the finance director for the city of Marysville, had been contemplating the decision for many months. Their operations were growing and had been close to breaking even, but in July things changed.

“Our insurance increased overnight, 350 percent, so that ate up anything we had for profitability,” Styczynski gravely said. “It went from a half of a percent of our gross annual sales to three percent annual sales, and we were already at that margin.”

Over the summer, numerous publications have been circulating articles on the rise of insurance across the board in California. Contributing factors cited include inflation, crime, supply chain issues, regulation changes, and catastrophic events such as wildfires.

“It's just disgusting, I think that's the most appropriate term. It's just disgusting,” Styczynski said.

This insurance hike paired with stagnating wholesale buyers was the proverbial nail in Bridge Coffee Co’s coffin. Styczynski said that the businesses trajectory had been going well in 2019 with leads on supplying hotels, restaurants, and high-scale offices, but this momentum was put on hold during the 2020 pandemic shut downs. What they found after was that the demand for gourmet coffee dropped in favor of saving costs.

“Everyone is being squeezed by the economy and inflation, no one is going for a more expensive product, they're looking for less expensive ones,” Styczynski said.

Besides closing, Styczynski said his only option would have been to compromise on his customer service and quality, slash its labor force, and charge around $15 a cup.

“Then, truthfully, I would have been continuing to support a sustainability problem that our globe has that we were helping to correct,” Styczynski added.

Styczynski has been very vocal both in person and online about his desire to connect people with quality coffee and ensure that the families and communities supplying this product are equally supported. The company even made a pledge with Transparency, a group working to help reveal the pricing of coffee negotiations with the goal of setting an example for the coffee industry and ensuring producers earn a living wage.

Bridge Coffee Co. will cease its operations at its Clark Avenue location in Yuba City on Aug. 31 and its New Earth location along with deliveries will end on Sept. 30. Photo by Shamaya Sutton

“An increasing number of actors in the coffee industry have recognized that the only way to secure the production of great coffee is to increase its sustainability along the value chain,” Transparency stated on its website.

This value chain references an intricate web of the labor force from the farmers and harvesters to those that process, package, deliver, and ultimately serve the coffee.

While Styczynski’s journey with Bridge Coffee Co may be coming to an end, he will continue as “Head Roaster” at the University of California, Davis. There he helps not only with brewing and roasting but also with courses such as The Design of Coffee through the chemical engineering department.

“It's a really fun way of being able to teach some of the complex mechanics in chemical engineering,” Styczynski said.

With more than 2,090 students reported to be enrolled in this course last year, it has quickly established itself as one of the most popular classes on campus. Styczynski also serves as a resident Q Grader, evaluating coffees based on the expectations and practices created by the Coffee Quality Institute. Currently, there are only about 600 Q Graders in the United States and less than 8,000 globally.

Bridge Coffee Co. will cease its operations at its Clark Avenue location in Yuba City on Aug. 31 and its New Earth location along with deliveries will end on Sept. 30. Coffee will still be offered at New Earth's coffee bar however it will not be from Bridge Coffee Co. Likewise, a new cafe will be taking over the Clark Avenue location under the leadership of Denise Landis of Edible Memories in Marysville.

“It's heartbreaking not seeing what I had dreamed for Bridge to be fulfilled, but I'm looking forward to the other dreams that I have and the new dreams to come,” Styczynski said. “Our customers have been the hero of an incredible story. They’ve made it possible to connect with the community and I can tell personal relationships with coffee producers who have benefited from the love and support from our community and their community also thrived. Many years of experiencing that is something very special to me that I will always hold dear.”