Grand County Roastery, Fraser

At a glance

• Roasts inFraser, CO
• Founded1993
• Founded byMichelle Ismert and Marie Koepke
• CafesFraser and Granby
• VisitorsOpen to the public

Grand County Roastery is one of the beloved local roasters we follow in Colorado: an independent roaster based in Fraser, founded in 1993. Here is what their own pages and public sources say about them, in our words.

Their story

Michelle Ismert and Marie Koepke learned to roast from a friend in Oregon, bought a Probat roaster and opened the shop in March 1993. In 2015 the Thomson family became owners of the Fraser shop, and four years later they opened a second store in Granby. In April 2025 the business took the name Grand County Roastery; it says it has no tie to a similarly named Rocky Mountain roaster.

The idea started in 1992, when the two founders were ordering Peet's beans by mail and decided after reading The Perfect Cup that they could roast their own. Doug Horton, who once owned the bike shop next to the Fraser store, has been the master roaster since the beginning. Beans are roasted on site at close to 7,900 feet, and the product notes say profiles are set with that elevation in mind.

What they roast

Roast levels run light, medium, medium dark, dark, French and Italian. House blends include Granby Grind, Byers Canyon, Grand Lake, Grand County, Van Life, Fraser's Funk and Bill's Grateful. Single origins on the list when we checked: Costa Rica Jaguar Honey, Tanzania Peaberry, Guatemala, Nicaraguan Jinotega, Ethiopia, Brazil Peaberry, Colombia, Uganda, Sumatra and Mexico. Espresso: Uphill Espresso Blend. Decaf: Decaf Mexico; Decaf Colombia; Decaf Divide. Offerings change with the seasons, so this is what their own pages listed on 2026-09-28.

Where to drink it

The Fraser shop is open every day, and a second shop sits in the Granby visitor center.

• Fraser: 543 Zerex St, Fraser
• Granby, inside the visitor center: 516 E Agate Ave, Granby

Address

543 Zerex St, Fraser, CO
Fraser shop.

Why buying from Grand County Roastery matters here

Parks Thomson, who runs the shops with his wife Libby, co-founded the Winter Park Film Festival and serves on several community boards. Blend names draw on the county, from Byers Canyon and Grand Lake to Fraser's Funk and Bill's Grateful, named for a local character. Libby Thomson has worked in coffee since 2009 and came up through the shop before becoming an owner; she also runs long distance races in summer.

Every bag bought from a Fraser roaster pays roasting and cafe wages in Colorado, and the coffee reaches you days after roasting instead of months. That is the reason the club exists. Why local roasters matter.

About this listing

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