A new shop will soon join the brewing scene in Syracuse, and Peaks Coffee Company is tightening the bolts to set its cafe in motion.

Cazenovia-based Peaks Coffee will warm up Syracuse’s coffee drinkers this winter with an expected opening date in December or January, said Samuel Bender, the 25-year-old co-founder and co-owner.

With his wife and co-owner/manager, Kelsey, Bender is working toward the opening of Peaks — a “communal space to foster teamwork and friendship” — at 1200 E. Genesee St.

“I’m glad we started this young,” said Bender a former nursing student. “We both have experience as baristas and began our wholesale space/cafe in Cazenovia in 2015.”

But Bender said it was time to move on from Cazenovia and back to his and Kelsey’s native roots. As their first venture closed shop this past August, the Benders set their sights on their hometown of Syracuse.

Peaks aims to provide a casual space for people to enjoy different styles of brews and raise the level of the experience it brings, Bender said.

The idea for a cafe first took shape in 2014, and the backyard-roasting of beans in a cast-iron skillet led to the birth of Peaks. It was Kelsey’s vision to have her own cafe. But the trajectory of their journey and inspiration for their coffee shop came through their struggles.

“Kelsey and I have been through a tough phase of depression and anxiety,” Bender said.

On their website’s founders page, they write that Kelsey’s father told her “life is about enjoying the peaks and enduring the valleys.”

These words that Bender’s father-in-law shared when his daughter was at her lowest point was the motivation for the brand name, Bender said, and what they have endured has helped them establish their dream project and keep going.

“My goal with being so transparent about my mental health is to be an example of someone who has been in a hopeless place, but has overcome it and built something amazing,” Kelsey said in an email.

When she looks at the way Peaks has shaped up, she says she is nervous — as fear of failure is sometimes unavoidable — but the excitement of her dream coming true burns brighter.

Cafe visitors can look forward to quality light and dark coffee roasts along with single origin and blends. Peaks’ beans have been sourced by Bender from countries including Ethiopia, Kenya, Guatemala and Honduras, among others.

“We are offering coffees that are sweet, clean and balanced to both regular customers as well as wholesale,” Bender said. “There will be clarity in flavour and a seasonal rotation of menus.”

The menu will also include breakfast, lunch and perhaps an early dinner, Bender said. Diners can expect paninis, toasts, sandwiches, pastries and a variety of teas from Chicago-based Spirit Tea and kombucha from New York-based Yesfolk Tonics.  

Nate Cochran, the East Coast sales manager for Spirit Tea, met Bender two years ago at an event at ReAnimator Coffee where he worked. One thing led to another, and Spirit began supplying tea to Peaks in Cazenovia. Since then, their bond has been forged.

“I am excited for Sam,” Cochran said. “Peaks is looking good. We will be supplying around 15 tea varietals of single origin and some new arrivals in December or January.”

And with the new year just around the corner, Bender said there’s plenty of brewing for Syracuse to warm up to.

Published on November 27, 2018 at 9:33 pm

Contact L.A.M.: lymichae@syr.edu