Messenger Coffee Co.

Ron Matsch co-founder; KC specialty-coffee operation; Tier 1 with a local-PE disclosure overlay (FairWave Holdings, majority-owned by KC-based Great Range Capital, Mission Woods KS — same parent as The Roasterie). Matsch family retained as partners/stakeholders; FairWave CEO Dan Trott is a KC native. Sister-brand pattern to The Roasterie.

Description

Messenger Coffee Co. is a Kansas City specialty-coffee operation co-founded by Ron Matsch (the Matsch family). The operation runs roasting + multi-café operations + sister sub-brands including Blackdog Coffeehouse, Filling Station Cafes, and Ibis Bakery — all nestled within the Messenger Coffee Company brand.¹²

In September 2020, Messenger Coffee + The Roasterie joined common ownership through the FairWave Holdings coffee collective, majority-owned by Kansas City-based private-equity firm Great Range Capital (Mission Woods, KS). The Matsch family was retained — Ron Matsch as a partner, and the Matsch family among FairWave’s individual stakeholders + board.²³ FairWave CEO Dan Trott is a Kansas City native + beverage-industry expert.³ The structure is documented in detail on the-roasterie Registry page; Messenger Coffee follows the same Tier 1 local-PE disclosure-overlay pattern.

The Plaza Provisions food hall (opened Aug 2025) includes a Messenger Coffee vendor presence — extending the brand’s reach into the Plaza/Cascade Hotel dining market.

Tier classification — Tier 1 with a local-PE disclosure overlay

Tier 1 — KC-founded operation, Matsch family retained, with a local-PE disclosure overlay.

Same Tier 1 reasoning + local-PE disclosure pattern as the-roasterie: -Brand origin is KC-rooted (Ron Matsch + Matsch family co-founders) -Operational footprint in KC (multiple cafés + roasting) -Matsch family retained as partners/stakeholders in FairWave (Ron Matsch a partner; the Matsch family among FairWave’s individual stakeholders + board) -Ownership locus stays in Kansas City — FairWave is a KC collective majority-owned by KC-based Great Range Capital (Mission Woods, KS); CEO Dan Trott is a KC native

• ⚠ Local-PE disclosure overlay: capital structure is PE-backed (Great Range Capital), disclosed transparently rather than treated as a downgrade

Best Coffee Award eligibility: In the candidate pool under Awards Methodology v2 (quality-first). The earlier blanket FairWave exclusion has been superseded: because FairWave is a local PE-backed collective and the Matsch family is retained, the born-and-raised KC operator criterion is satisfied, with ownership carried as a transparent local-PE disclosure. See Best-Coffee-In-KC-Summer-2026-Shortlist-Synthesis.

Sources

Footnotes

1. Greater Kansas City Chamber of Commerce — “Member Spotlight: Messenger Coffee.” https://www.kcchamber.com/current-topics/member-spotlight-messenger-coffee. Source for Messenger Coffee Company brand portfolio (Blackdog, Filling Station, Ibis Bakery). ↩

2. Daily Coffee News — “KC’s Messenger Coffee and The Roasterie Now Part of FairWave Holdings” (2020-09-24). https://dailycoffeenews.com/2020/09/24/kcs-messenger-coffee-and-the-roasterie-now-part-of-fairwave-holdings/ — asserts: Sept 24 2020 announcement; The Roasterie + Messenger combined under FairWave Holdings; largest shareholder Great Range Capital (KC-area PE); Ron Matsch a Messenger partner; Danny O’Neill on the board. ↩ ↩²

3. Ingram’s — “Kansas City-based The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee Company Launch FairWave Holdings.” https://ingrams.com/article/kansas-city-based-the-roasterie-and-messenger-coffee-company-launch-fairwave-holdings/ — asserts: FairWave launched Sept 2020; Matsch family among individual stakeholders + board; Dan Trott CEO (KC native). ↩ ↩²