Some of Sandpoint's best ideas start on a chairlift, and Evans Brothers Coffee is one of them. Brothers Rick and Randy Evans, both passionate skiers, developed their vision for a coffee company over long chairlift rides at Schweitzer Mountain Resort during the winter of 2008/2009. In the summer of 2009 they made it real, founding Evans Brothers Coffee in Sandpoint with a simple ambition: build something unique and enduring around a great cup of coffee.
Each brother brought half the recipe. Randy had spent more than a decade honing his skills in high-end specialty coffee, training alongside some of the best in the industry, while Rick brought experience in business development, luxury resort sales, and marketing. From the beginning, their approach has started at origin: sourcing exceptional coffees from passionate farmers and producers, building long-term relationships with the families who grow the beans, and supporting sustainable production. The company buys through partners such as Cafe Imports and Atlas Coffee as well as direct trades with its producing partners, then roasts each coffee to bring out the unique flavors of the bean. The results have earned national attention, including a third Good Food Award win reported in 2023.
The roastery opened in Sandpoint in 2009 with a focus on wholesale partnerships, and in 2011 the brothers added a cafe right next door to the roastery so they could share their coffees directly with the community. You will find it at 524 Church Street in the Granary Arts District, beside the historic Granary tower and along the bike path. Inside, the espresso bar serves handcrafted espresso drinks and coffees dripped to order, alongside loose-leaf teas, chai, and local, organic baked goods and breakfast burritos. Big sliding doors open the cafe to a sunny patio, there is comfortable lounge seating with free wifi, and parking is free and plentiful.
Evans Brothers has grown well beyond its Sandpoint flagship. It now runs a full-service wholesale roasting program supplying cafes, restaurants, resorts, and specialty markets, ships fresh-roasted beans to subscribers' doors, and has opened a second cafe on Sherman Avenue in downtown Coeur d'Alene. Through it all, the company describes its team as an extended family, and that warmth carries into the cafe, which has become a genuine gathering place for the town.
For Schweitzer visitors, it is an easy and rewarding stop on the way through Sandpoint: fuel up before heading up the mountain, or settle in after a day on the slopes or the lake and take a bag of fresh-roasted beans home with you. The Sandpoint cafe at 524 Church Street is open daily from 6:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. Stop in, say hello, and taste what a chairlift conversation can grow into.