Popular Organic Coffee Bar To Open Westport Location

WESTPORT, CT — Nearly two years after opening his popular organic coffee bar in Fairfield, Ed Freedman is eager to extend the reach of his small-batch roasted coffee even further by opening a new location in Westport this summer.

Freedman is the owner of Shearwater Organic Coffee Roasters, a local brand based in Fairfield County that got its start in 2013 through wholesale of its product to independent coffee shops across the state, as well as retail sales in stores such as Whole Foods.

In 2017, Freedman opened the Shearwater Coffee Bar at 1215 Post Road in his hometown of Fairfield. He now hopes to replicate that successful model and bring it to eager customers in Westport.

"There really isn’t any specialty coffee in Westport," Freedman said. "It’s mainly Starbucks, Dunkin’ Donuts and places like that. We want to offer a higher-end specialty coffee bar experience."

The new coffee bar is currently under construction at 833 Post Road, the former Bertucci's location. Shearwater will share the space with both Ignazio's Pizza and One River Westport art school. Freedman said they still have a few months of construction left to build out the space, however he is hopeful they will be open before the end of July.

"Westport has a similar demographic to Farifield. We get a lot of people who come into our Fairfield coffee bar and ask me to open up [in Westport]," Freedman said. "Our business model is far from cookie-cutter; it’s very high-level execution by the baristas and everything. Logistically, if we can stay close to home it helps us to be able to create and execute a great place to come have great coffee and a great experience."

Freedman not only finds Westport to be a great fit for Shearwater's quality coffee, but also its values.

"Our brand is highly focused on sustainability and zero waste," Freedman said. "I think the values that we built our business around and our business model fit really well in progressive Westport, as it relates to doing right by the environment and everything. We’re also very active in the community and supporting nonprofits, and we’ll continue to do that in Westport too."

The Westport location will not be just a grab-and-go location, but rather a destination. There will be free WiFi customers can use to work, do their homework or simply relax. Freedman also promises a warm and inviting atmosphere for all who enter.

"We try to create a very customer-friendly environment," Freedman said. "The customer is the single most important thing to take care of. We have great coffee but we don’t want to be coffee snobs, so we create an atmosphere of friendliness; as soon as you walk through the door, you are greeted."

According to Freedman, the Westport location offers a lot of benefits, including great roadside visibility and convenient parking. The building has also been renovated, featuring floor-to-ceiling glass that offers a warm and bright aesthetic, similar to the Fairfield location.

"I think our goal is to really replicate what we’re doing in Fairfield in Westport. We have something that we’ve kind of developed in Fairfield over the past two years, and that’s where we feel very confident will be a great place to start in Westport," Freedman said. "My philosophy is do what you do well, especially in the beginning, and then see what your customers are asking for."

Customers can also trust whatever they order will offer the quality taste Shearwater is famous for, straight from the heart of someone passionate about great coffee.

"Coffee is a passion of mine. I started out home-roasting 30 years ago and it’s always been a passion no matter what field I was in or what I was doing," Freedman said. "It's more than just drinking coffee; it’s enjoying it with your family and friends. That’s what we’ve been successful developing in Fairfield and we’re going to bring that to Westport."