DC-Area Chain Call Your Mother Answers the Call to Roasting

Inside the new Call Your Mother roastery and cafe location in Alexandria, Virginia. All images courtesy of Call Your Mother.

Washington, D.C.-area fresh bagel and deli chain Call Your Mother has been dialing in a coffee roasting operation to supply the brand’s 13 cafes. 

Serving eight shops in D.C., two in Virginia and three in Denver, plus a pair of regular farmer’s market booths, the Call Your Mother roasting program centers on a pair of electric-heat Bellwether Coffee roasters installed at the center of the chain’s largest shop in Old Town Alexandria.

Opened late last month and occupying more than 2,500 feet, the shop maintains zany and eclectic design elements found throughout all Call Your Mother locations, while a motley array of knick-knacks, refurbished furniture and other details that give each spot a distinct personality. 

“The vibe is electric. We take our bagels seriously, but not ourselves,” Rob Thompson, a former general manager for Call Your Mother before leading the coffee operation, told Daily Coffee News. “The goal is for you to have a little fun with your breakfast, so playfulness and bright shades of pink, blue and yellow are always on the forefront. The energy should be undeniable when you walk through the door.”

The green coffees at the root of Call Your Mother’s energizing beverages are produced by Sergio D’Alessandro at Fazenda Cotrim in the Matas de Minas region of Brazil. Call Your Mother buys the green coffee from Denver-based based Huckleberry Roasters.

“Down the road, we may be curious about different beans, farms or processes,” said Thompson. “The relationship aspect is also very important to us. We care a lot about who we work with and the sustainability of the industry. We are very open-minded to what our roasting program can look like and we hope to continue to evolve.”

Thompson, who worked for four years at another D.C.-based coffee roasting company, roasts the Brazilian bean to one profile called Jojo’s Medium Roast. The profile is named after the 1-year-old daughter of Call Your Mother Co-Founders Daniela Moreira and Andrew Dana, who started the company in 2018.

“It’s on the darker side of medium and has tasting notes of chocolate and roasted nuts,” Thompson told DCN. “As we ramp up our coffee program, we will begin to explore different roasts for different methods, like espresso. Our ultimate goal is to have a great product that meets our guest needs, at the shop and at home, and we feel like we are just getting started.”

Thompson said additional Bellwether machines could eventually be installed in more Call Your Mother locations. For now the focus is on supplying its existing shops and direct-to-consumer sales. 

The Call Your Mother Bagels location with in-house roasting is located at 1300 King St in Alexandria, Virginia. Tell DCN’s editors about your new coffee shop or roastery here.