Higher Grounds Coffee House was founded in 1996 and is owned and operated by John and Kim Richards, both of Fort Wayne. The business was founded on a principal of bringing our community a better cup of coffee, accompanied with an unexpected level of high service.
John and Kim currently own and operate three retail locations in Fort Wayne, as well as the Higher Grounds Roastery and Distribution Center. We have partnership agreements with Lassus Handy Dandy, Anchor Room Book Store, and Scrapbooks Of Fort Wayne; each operate Higher Grounds in select locations. In addition, there are two independently owned locations: one in New Haven, IN owned by Chad and Denise of Churubusco, and one in Fishers, IN owned by Daren and Lisa Mitchell of Fishers. Our brand awareness continues with relationships like the one we have with Fort Wayne International Airport who serves our coffee and promotes the brand of Fort Wayne’s favorite locally roasted coffee. In all, there are Ten full service Higher Grounds locations and a few other limited menu locations in operation today. We continue to seek additional opportunities in and beyond our market.
The Higher Grounds Roastery and Distribution Center offers fresh roasted coffees from around the world. We source many of our coffees from the Holland Coffee Group which has done an impeccable job over the years of being our link between the growers and our customers. Higher Grounds has also kindled a direct relationship with Andeano Gold Colombian Coffees. This is the “fairest trade” coffee available. This relationship has allowed us to cut out the middle “men,” which ultimately puts more money back where it belongs, in the growers' communities. Higher Grounds distributes Torani Italian Syrups, Ghirardelli Chocolates, and Teas from Harney and Sons. We also sell and service equipment from Bunn, Rio, La Marzocco, and Franke Superautomatic.
Higher Grounds has consistently won awards for best coffee over our eleven years of business, and we attribute that to our commitment to quality. We are deeply involved in our industry and are active members of the Specialty Coffee Association of America. We make it a part of our business practice to support efforts to improve the quality of life for the serious laborers in our industry, the growers. We employ around 30 part-time and 3 full-time employees and have an extremely high employee retention and satisfaction rate.
If you would like information about buying our products wholesale, our equipment, or becoming a partner in our operation, please contact us at website@highergroundsonline.com.