(Riverton, WY) – Brown Sugar Coffee Roastery is expanding its operations in Riverton, thanks to funding from the city’s Evolve, Diversify, and Grow our Economy (EDGE) program.
Amanda Henry, the owner of Brown Sugar Coffee Roastery, reported to the Riverton City Council on July 16 that her business is now officially re-licensed for coffee roasting as of 11:30 a.m. that day. The company has purchased a building at 118 South Third Street East, the former Gizmos building, which has been remodeled for roasting operations.
“We did have an instance where we found out some of the equipment that we were going to purchase was not going to fit in the Broadway building that I purchased. So we had to pivot a little bit,” Amanda explained to the council.
The EDGE funding, which was approved for packaging equipment, has allowed Brown Sugar to install a K-Cup machine and a pre-pouch packaging machine. These additions are expected to boost production and expand the company’s product offerings.
“I do have the K-Cup machine already here. And so that will be set up. I can set that up as early as tomorrow, now that we got approval from the Wyoming Department of Agriculture,” Amanda said.
The expansion is also creating job opportunities. Amanda announced plans to hire a full-time machine operator for the fall, marking the company’s first full-time position outside of herself. Additionally, she anticipates adding several part-time positions, particularly for after-school coffee packaging work.
“I get a lot of like 16-year-olds, 17-year-olds that come in and ask for jobs. And unfortunately, we just don’t really have a whole lot for that age group. But I do have the opportunity to have a lot of part-time help, especially with the coffee packaging after school,” Amanda said.
The company still plans to build a restaurant on its Main Street lot at Fifth and Main, though the timeline for this project remains uncertain. Amanda was unable to provide an update on the groundbreaking, citing difficulties in reaching her contractor that day.
Brown Sugar’s expansion reflects the broader impact of Riverton’s EDGE program, which is funded by a voter-approved half-percent sales tax for economic development. Since its inception, the city has received over $2.5 million and distributed slightly more than $2.1 million to local businesses.
However, the program’s implementation has not been without challenges. The city council discussed modifications to funding agreements for two recipients, including Java Java, another local coffee business. Click here to read our earlier story.
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