Greater lauraville
An up and coming neighborhood
Zeke’s Coffee – A Common “Ground” in Lauraville
by Josh Flynn
If you walk down Harford Road in Lauraville any given day, there is a chance you will catch the distinctive aroma of coffee beans being roasted as you pass. Out of a small warehouse just off the main street, Zeke’s Coffee gives Baltimore’s caffeine-inclined (and decaf) coffee fans something to fill the morning mug.
A Lauraville resident himself, Thomas Rhodes started Zeke’s in 2005, debuting at the Baltimore Farmer’s Market and moving to its current location on Montebello Terrace in the heart of Lauraville in April 2006.
Rhodes got his start in the coffee industry working as a roaster for Key Coffee Roasters, and when they moved out of Maryland, he and an associate tried to go into a partnership together to start their own roastery. Ultimately they decided to go their own ways, and Rhodes and his wife Amy decided to take a chance on their own. Shortly thereafter Rhodes started looking for a place to roast.
Although Rhodes was a Lauraville resident at the time, he was getting ready to sign a contract at an affordablle warehouse space in Greektown in Baltimore. Thinking he could save himself some driving, and before things were set in stone, he decided to ask his neighbor if she knew of anywhere closer.
“I asked my neighbor Betty Mays if she knew of any places in the neighborhood I could do it. She came up with two addresses, and as soon as I saw this place, I said, ‘Oh, this is it’. I paid double what I was going to pay at the other place, but it’s only three minutes from my house.”
He was happy about the decision and was happy to pay the extra expenses for the rent. Being a Lauraville resident and business owner, Rhodes has an insider’s perspective on the community as a whole.
“It’s a really strong community that’s really dedicated and loyal to the businesses that they have. And proud, really proud that Chameleon is here, Zeke’s Coffee, Red Canoe, Grind On and all those places.”
Since its opening, Zeke’s Coffee has become a Lauraville institution, and many of the local businesses (including all those mentioned by Rhodes) brew their coffee in their cafés and bookstores, as do many other places outside of Lauraville and even Baltimore.
Zeke’s hasn’t done a whole lot of advertising and relies a lot on word of mouth for support. Rhodes said he does some barter deals with local magazines and radio shows, and he also is a sponsor of Maryland Morning on WYPR. Lauraville really supports Zeke’s well, and they are at the Tuesday Market Connection as well as other markets in the area as word of their coffee spreads beyond Baltimore.
Todd Brizzi, the graphic designer and quality control manager of Zeke’s has a metaphor about what makes Zeke’s different from the national brands, and he made the comparison of bakery bread to store bought national brands. 
“If you want bread, you can go in the grocery store and buy a loaf of Arnold’s and it will probably be OK. But you could also go to a bakery and get fresher, better quality bread; it’s the same thing with coffee.”
Basically Zeke’s offers something that its national counterpart cannot. Since Zeke's is a smaller operation, a lot of care goes into making sure everything is fresh and of good quality. Some may call them a “gourmet” coffee roastery, but Brizzi says its just plain better coffee and as he put it, “fiercely independent coffee”.
During the economic downturn, people had to tighten budgets to make ends meet, but a recent article claims most refuse to give up their coffee. Zeke’s has seemed to fit in with this theory and Rhodes said, “I have noticed that my wholesale business hasn’t grown like it should because I think people are buying pounds and making it at home.” He also said the drop in wholesale has been balanced out by the higher number of people buying retail.
The roastery got its name from a nickname that Rhodes’ father had for the boys in his family, “Zeke’s”. His father passed away a few months before the opening of Zeke’s, so Rhodes decided to honor his father with his company name. Bumper stickers reading “Fueled by Zeke’s” can now be seen on all types of vehicles all over the Baltimore area.
Brizzi shared the story of how one Zeke’s fan helped another who was “Fueled by Zeke’s” out of a tough situation. A man was stranded on the side of the road in the rain with a flat tire on his van, and a Zeke’s sticker on his bumper. Another man pulled up and helped him to put the spare tire put on. As the previously stranded man was thanking the helpful stranger, the man said something along the lines of “You’re welcome. I too, am fueled by Zeke’s”.
