The Cafe That Refuses to Roast

A two-group Modbar espresso system sits flush with the counter at Two Fold Coffee & Kitchen in Tampa, Florida. No towering roaster behind glass. No bags of green coffee stacked in the corner. Just an open sightline between barista and customer, and a rotating selection of beans from some of the world's most respected roasters.

This is a specialty cafe that has made a deliberate choice: to curate rather than produce.

Two Fold opened recently at The Garrison House, a coworking and community venue on South Falkenburg Road. By day, it operates as a multiroaster specialty coffee program. By night, it transforms into a natural wine bar. Both sides share the same philosophy: source from small producers who prioritize complexity and character over volume.

A Question for Sofia's Roaster-Cafes

For anyone following Sofia's specialty coffee scene, the multiroaster model raises an interesting question. What if a venue's strength lay not in roasting, but in selection?

The Bulgarian capital's specialty landscape is dominated by roaster-cafes, from DABOV Specialty Coffee with its five locations to newer entrants building identity around in-house roasting. Venues like Blue Bag Specialty Coffee work with verified farms and small-batch roasters, demonstrating that quality sourcing is already valued locally. Two Fold represents the next step: a cafe that treats roaster selection as its primary craft.

Nordic Beans, Biodynamic Wines

Phil Schiller, Two Fold's General Manager and Beverage Director, has spent decades in the industry. His opening menu features coffees from Tim Wendelboe in Oslo, alongside Brooklyn-based Sey Coffee and Loveless Coffees.

It just so happens that a lot of the coffees I am interested in are based overseas, primarily in the Nordic countries.

Phil Schiller

Geography is incidental. What matters is complexity and vibrancy. The same criteria apply to the wine program: small makers, biodynamic practices, fruit-forward expressiveness.

The fact that most of the wines we source are from small makers that focus heavily on biodynamics really just fit directly into the types of coffees I want to serve as well.

Phil Schiller

Dark Wood, Open Sightlines

The equipment list reads like a specialty wish list: dual Mahlkönig E80W grinders, Nucleus NCD Pulse distributor, Puqpress automatic tamper, Curtis G4 batch brewer with Litmus Coffee Labs UFO Spray Head, two Orea Z1 brewers for pourover.

But owners Jason and Emily Smith resisted fetishism. Their firm, Watermark Design Build, created a space with dark wood, soft lighting, and comfortable seating.

From the beginning, we wanted to create more than a coffee shop. We wanted to create a place where people felt comfortable staying awhile. More than anything, we wanted the space to feel lived in, not overly designed.

Emily Smith

The undercounter Modbar preserves that openness. No machine towers between barista and guest.

Фото: Виктор Младенов

Banana-Bread French Toast, Then Pork Belly

Chef Andy Nasser runs a kitchen that shifts through the day. Morning brings scrambles, bagels, and banana-bread French toast with brûléed banana cream and candied pecans. After 11 a.m., the menu moves toward shrimp toast sliders, smoked barbecue pork belly sandwiches, udon noodles, and gnocchi.

This is not coffee with food as an afterthought. It is a hospitality concept where coffee, wine, and food share equal weight.

Nimble as the Hummingbird Logo

The Smiths founded Foundation Coffee Co. in 2015, starting with a trailer in Riverview before adding a Tampa Heights cafe. They sold in 2019. Schiller was their first hire at Foundation; he later launched Klen Coffee in Asheville before rejoining them for Two Fold.

Roasting is not in the immediate plans.

I personally think that Tampa has been in need of a structured multiroaster concept for some time. We're more than content to just feature and serve some of the best roasters in the world. But down the line, anything can happen.

Phil Schiller

By not committing to roasting, Two Fold can pivot with the market, respond to new roasters, and maintain flexibility that a production-focused operation cannot.

The multiroaster model demands different expertise: the ability to taste across styles, build relationships with roasters, maintain consistency when your supply chain spans continents. For Sofia's specialty community, Two Fold offers a case study. Not every cafe should abandon roasting. But quality can emerge from selection as much as production.

The question is not whether to roast. It is whether you know what you are looking for.

Frequently Asked Questions

Q: What is a multiroaster cafe and how does it differ from a roastery-cafe?

A: A multiroaster cafe sources all its coffee from external roasters rather than roasting in-house. This model prioritizes curation and selection expertise over production, allowing the cafe to offer beans from multiple world-class roasters simultaneously.

Q: What roasters does Two Fold Coffee & Kitchen currently feature?

A: The opening menu includes coffees from Tim Wendelboe (Oslo, Norway), Sey Coffee (Brooklyn, New York), and Loveless Coffees (Brooklyn, New York). The selection prioritizes complex, vibrant coffees regardless of geographic origin.

Q: Why would a specialty cafe choose not to roast its own coffee?

A: Strategic flexibility. By not investing in roasting equipment and production, a cafe can remain nimble, respond quickly to new roasters, and focus resources on hospitality, sourcing relationships, and service quality rather than manufacturing.