Worker-owners at the Dupont Coffee Collective in Washington D.C. Photo by Eliana McFate, Courtesy of Dupont Coffee Collective.
Workers from a shuttered Washington, D.C. location of Firehook Bakery recently took collective ownership of their former workplace, remodeling it and reopening under the name Dupont Coffee Collective.
Fresh paint and new branding help turn the page inside the 1,000-square-foot community coffee shop, where Firehook operated for more than 30 years. The new look reflects the exterior of the building and tunes into a timelessness that runs deeper than the Firehook era.
Photo by Eliana McFate, Courtesy of Dupont Coffee Collective.
“Our goal was to honor the Art Deco charm of this historic building while creating a space that feels warm, inviting, and reflective of our community,” Dupont Coffee Collective Co-Founder Jessica Reyes told Daily Coffee News. “We preserved key architectural elements while simplifying the interior to encourage gathering and connection.”
The flag of Washington, D.C., which adorned a wall over in the Firehook days, is also recalled by the collective’s new logo, which incorporates its three stars and two colored stripes to match the interior.
“We opted for softer paint tones to create a light and welcoming atmosphere, balanced by a bolder color around the windows for energy and contrast,” said Reyes. “While the layout remains the same, these updates bring a renewed vibrancy to the space, making it feel both fresh and familiar — a fun and inviting setting for this new chapter.”
Photo by Changeover Media, courtesy of Dupont Coffee Collective.
Coffees prepared on a La Marzocco Linea espresso machine paired with Mahlkönig grinders are the same blends already beloved by local customers, as supplied to the collective by D.C.’s Swing’s Coffee Roasters.
Reyes was the longtime general manager at the Dupont Firehook location. Dupont Coffee Collective Co-Founder Rakesh Verma is another former Firehook manager and business operations director.
Firehook Bakery, which grew to three locations after its founding in Alexandria, Virginia, in 1992, was acquired by the Connecticut-based private investment firm Forward Consumer Partners early last year. By the end of the year, Firehook shut down all its retail locations to focus on production of a packaged cracker product.
Photo by Changeover Media, courtesy of Dupont Coffee Collective.
“Firehook’s founder and investors felt it was important to transition ownership of the flagship location to the employees,” Reyes told DCN. “They worked closely with the employee-owners, the landlord, and Firehook investors to ensure the long-term sustainability of the business. We’re all incredibly proud and excited that DCC’s bylaws guarantee 100% employee ownership and profits — now and for as long as the business exists, which we hope will be for many decades to come.”
Dupont Coffee Collective is located at 1909 Q St NW, in Washington, D.C. Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here. For all the latest coffee industry news, subscribe to the DCN newsletter.
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Howard Bryman
Howard Bryman is the associate editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine. He is based in Portland, Oregon.
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