Café Kubal roaster/owner Matt Godard came home from a 2004 trip to Guatemala with two things. Not only had he met his future wife, he had seen for himself the transformative effect that coffee can have on an entire culture. Inspired to bring some of that home to Syracuse, he bought a homemade 8 lb. batch roaster and started roasting in his parents’ basement, selling the beans to family and friends. From these humble origins, Café Kubal was born.
As Matt honed his craft, word began to spread. Before long he’d bought an old Royal #5 roaster and refurbished it himself, and in 2007 Kubal’s first storefront opened in Syracuse’s Eastwood neighborhood. For the next two years Matt roasted all of Kubal’s beans himself in the Eastwood cafe, until in 2009 he opened an office, kitchen, and roasting space known as La Roasteria.
From the start, Café Kubal has been committed to sustainability and community involvement. Through his frequent buying visits to coffee farms abroad, Matt knows firsthand just how vital coffee can be to people’s way of life. Kubal is dedicated to helping grow and sustain farmers and villages throughout the developing world.
That philosophy applies at home in Syracuse, too, where Matt’s deep roots in the area have helped drive Kubal’s growth. When Syracuse University and Home HeadQuarters, a non-profit dedicated to revitalizing underserved communities, wanted to open a coffee shop, they reached out to Matt. The result of the partnership was Kubal’s 601 Tully Street location, which opened in the summer of 2011 as part of a teaching/gallery/public events space. And when developers renovating the Dey's building downtown wanted a coffee shop in the building to help draw in businesses, they knew where to turn—Café Kubal.
Coffee is a moment, an oasis away from the craziness of the storm of life. Café Kubal is dedicated to bringing the experience and integrity of great coffee to downtown and to the greater Syracuse area.