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For Cosi Goodman, coffee has never been just about the bean. Having a front row seat to the way coffee and community have shaped Goodman Coffee Roasters, he sees every cup as a connection to the farmers and communities that make this craft possible.

In our recent conversation with Cosi, we got a firsthand look at the values behind Goodman Coffee and how they continue to shape Chattanooga’s coffee culture, both now and for years to come.

Q: What moments or lessons from growing up around the business still stay with you today?

No single person knows everything and everyone has to start somewhere. Remind yourself everyday why you do your craft and what excites you about it. Never lose sight of the beauty of every aspect of what you do as an artisan, no matter how bad your day is, someone has it far worse and they are closer than you think.

We are in a craft of unheard voices and stories, rather than letting that pressure squash you, try to use that energy to inspire you to tell their story. It is not our coffee that we are selling, it is our farmers, and they’re all badasses.

Q:Goodman Coffee talks often about honoring “every piece of the story.” What does that look like in practice, from relationships with farmers to the way a single cup is served inside Warehouse Row? 

The primary focus of the business needs to be the coffee and the people who love it. That mindset drives excitement and engagement from our farmers to employees to customers alike.

There was a time where the coffee scene valued separation of those who had knowledge (even if rudimentary) from those who did not. It turned many people away and blew the pilot light out on their desire to learn more. That’s damaging to our craft as coffee is still one of the most undervalued luxuries in life. The more people can learn about coffee and all that goes into each cup, the better the livelihood of everyone in coffee is.

Q: Chattanooga has grown into a serious coffee city over the last decade. From your perspective, how does Chattanooga experience coffee, and what still feels uniquely local?

Absolutely! I think it’s a fun era for coffee because the baseline of quality has been moved up so much, more restaurants are serving specialty coffee than they have before in town. People are developing palates to appreciate coffee all over, and are seeking out the many local roasters in our community to learn more.

Chattanooga has been very locally focused for quite some time. It’s so great to see that as people, especially since COVID, influx and outflow from this city there is a focus on supporting your neighbors than going to retailers like amazon.

Q: Warehouse Row has always been tied to craftsmanship, history, and reinvention. What felt right about opening a Goodman location in the middle of that environment back in 2016? How has this space shaped the experience since?

The space is immaculate! The brick, old wood and warm lighting give a cozy energy that unfortunately has been more of a rarity in the city as historic buildings are not as protected as they once were.

People want a space that feels established and like home and I hope many developers don’t lose sight of that vision as the city continues to grow. The space was there, we just had to make it ours.

Q: There’s a noticeable restraint to Goodman’s identity where nothing feels over-engineered or performative. How intentional has that quieter approach to branding and hospitality been?

Part of that is, unfortunately, we are very bad at promoting ourselves. It’s very hard for most of us to talk about what all we are doing at risk of it sounding performative or disengenuine. At times I think it hurts us, but I think it makes it more meaningful for many at the same time.

We are not about manipulating people into seeing our vision or mission. We just want to do our best to showcase our farmers' hard work and get people excited about a whole world they may be unaware of. Eh, we are still just trying to figure it all out.

Q: In a world where coffee has become highly aestheticized and trend-driven, how do you hold onto substance over spectacle?

I think the most important part of that is not losing sight of your mission. Our primary owner Ian has followed that mindset since the 90s, it’s not about what the trend is necessarily, but about serving coffee the best way.

When he roasted in the 90s the trend was 2nd crack roasting which is quite dark and manipulates the ideal flavor profile of coffee. When he returned in 2015 he was on the tail end of the pendulum swing to roasting coffee too light to manipulate the flavor profile. We do profile roasting at the shop, the coffees fall in the light/medium range and the goal is to show people that there are natural flavor profiles to coffee that have tasting notes of “dark” and “light” coffees.

Coffee is one big experiment with lots of personal preferences. It is a tough balance to appease customers, between giving them what they want, but also preserving your craft. There are things over the years we have tried and ultimately dropped. Some of them if they detracted from our mission or burned out our employees. There is beauty though as people are becoming more informed on specialty coffee so there is in many respects, less translating of drinks to customers. I do think coffee trends and social media even have helped with that.

Q: How do you balance surprise and experimentation with creating something customers return to as part of their daily rhythm?

We try to accomplish that balance by keeping a unique spread of beans. We do our best to keep classic crowd pleasers and find new, exciting experimental coffees for those looking for something different.

With the tariff tax this past year it was difficult to maintain certain coffees as coffee prices were higher than it ever had been. This is ultimately a good thing but the timing was unfortunate because that money wasn’t necessarily going back to our farmers, it was going to the government or the importers/exporters who were also getting screwed on costs. Although that is somewhat leveling out now there are still some bean scarcities as many people are buying out crops as they become affordable.


This pairs with the climate change of higher rainfall this year in countries like Sumatra or Guatemala which limits the crops the countries are able to produce as it’s harder to process the coffee due to an unnaturally low amount of a dry season. We sometimes have seasons like this past year where demand is more than supply. There is a constant need to adapt in this scene which keeps it exciting.

Q: Looking towards the next 10 years in Chattanooga, what’s next for Goodman Coffee?

Coffee is, in my opinion, an unmasterable craft. We just have to keep growing, learning, teaching and loving. I’m stoked to see what lies ahead and where we will be. Our roasting operation has outgrown our previous space and we are still mid merge on the new space. I’m hoping we will be able to showcase even more coffees than we currently do as we have had to say no to many recently due to our ability to warehouse or move.

Expansion for Goodman isn’t necessarily more stores but more coffees and time spent curating them. There have been times that we have had 33 different coffees at once and I am looking forward to getting back there. Keep a look out, and come in and chat with any of us. We love what we do and cannot wait to share it with you.