Coffee roaster moving into long-vacant Custom Brewcrafters property in Honeoye Falls

TiA Coffee, owned by a local periodontist, will offer both wholesale and retail coffee, as well as a café.

A Brighton periodontist is looking to give new life to the long-vacant Custom Brewcrafters facility in Honeoye Falls with a very, very unexpected venture.

Dr. Thomas Zahavi hopes to open his coffee roasting wholesaler and cafe, TiA Coffee, later this summer at the CB’s property. Facing mounting financial woes, the pioneering Rochester-area craft brewery closed in September 2019. The property has been vacant since.

Property owner David Dworkin of LLD Enterprises said he never expected the 10,000-square foot building at 300 Village Square Blvd. would be empty for more than 4½ years. But after showing the property to multiple breweries, some existing already, others looking to expand, and many seeking a turnkey-ready start, they just weren’t ever able to find the right tenant. Enter Zavahi, a native of Israel who is reaching back to his home country to fuel this fledgling coffee venture.

Zahavi, who moved to Rochester 21 years ago, is starting this venture to share his love of coffee and with an eye toward his eventual retirement. Zahavi, also a teaching faculty member in the Department of Periodontology at the University of Rochester’s Eastman Institute for Oral Health, hopes to bring a little bit of Europe to Honeoye Falls — both in terms of the coffee and the atmosphere.

“I’ve been at my business in Brighton for quite a while and I’m doing quite well,” Zahavi said. “I am starting to prepare for retirement. There is only so much I can bend over my patients for so long. I love coffee. I love making people happy. It’s going to be really quality coffee and a quality experience. That’s what we’re looking for.”

Photo: The vacant Custom Brewcrafters facility in July 2020.

A coffee-fueled journey

Zahavi said coffee, beyond being a delicious beverage, has long been one of his passions. Traveling through Europe as a dental student, he was exposed to coffee culture. He then received his first espresso machine as a graduation gift from his father.

“I always like to make sure I had that good espresso or that Americano or cappuccino at home,” Zahavi said.

Having consistent access to European coffee, Zahavi said he was spoiled by a seemingly endless supply of quality options. When he moved to Rochester, he called a supplier here to make sure he had a machine ready for him when he arrived at his new home. He attended URMC’s dental school.

Zahavi had his desired machine and then he started his search for desired coffee beans. Shipping over directly from Israel was a costly option. “It was tough for me to find what I wanted here,” Zahavi said, noting how the Rochester coffee scene has exploded and evolved over the last two decades.

Photo: This is the vacant and empty CB’s tasting room in July 2020.

A retirement gig?

During a trip home last year, Zahavi said he was introduced to a “very good producer of really quality coffee.” He asked the gentleman, “'Why don’t you sell to the U.S.?” He said he didn’t have the time to gain all the necessary approvals and stated he was busy enough in Israel.

“So I said, ‘Coffee is my passion. What if I take care of everything? You just teach me how to do what you do.’ He’s such a nice guy and he said, ‘Sure.’”

Zahavi attended HOST Milano, an international food and beverage exhibition, last October to conduct research on roasters, packaging, coffee bean sources and suppliers. Satisfied he had learned what he needed, he purchased a small roasting machine that’s now housed near his Brighton office. He’s been producing small batches and experimenting with different variables.

Photo: While all of the brewing equipment has been removed and sold off, property owner David Dworkin said the iconic CB’s grain silo will remain at the property.

He’s awaiting delivery of a larger 200-pound roaster from overseas and expects it to be delivered in July. The business could open shortly thereafter. Zahavi is excited to be moving into the former CB’s property. “I really liked it from the outside,” he said. “I felt like it was a good location with good visibility. Originally, I was thinking of only doing the roastery. But the space was there and I thought a café could be really complementary to the factory. We slowly progressed.”

Zahavi attended the recent Specialty Coffee Expo in Chicago, where he managed to form some new connections with suppliers for baked goods. He envisions offering a freshly made croissant “with European flavor” and other treats. Patrons will be able to experience a croissant made in France, flown over to Honeoye Falls, and then baked at TiA. “I want to recreate the experience of those nice cafés in Europe.”

The name, TiA, has multiple meanings for Zahavi — it’s the initials of his kids and also the Spanish word for “aunt.” He said his sister will eventually move to the area from Israel to work with the new business.

Since the brewery closed, the facility is essentially a blank canvas. There is also potential to expand, if needed, since the property owners control all of the land around the building. In the interim, there is a lot of space already there.

TiA’s roasting method will set it apart, Zahavi offered. Plus, it will be the high quality of the beans. Instead of roasting it dark, fast, and with a lot of air like a lot of places do (through convection), Zahavi said, TiA will utilize a conduction method to bring more sweetness and flavor from inside the beans. “It’s a nice, smooth drink,” Zahavi said. “You don’t need to add any syrups or anything to make it taste better. It’s just good coffee.”

Custom Brewcrafters abruptly closed its doors in 2019 after 22 years in business. Founder Mike Alcorn built CB’s into one of the foundational breweries of the Rochester scene through his unique contract brewing agreements and his willingness to provide a training ground for brewers and front-of-house employees. Really, CB’s functioned as de facto brewing university.

The brewery moved into the newly constructed building in 2008 after leaving its original location across town. Dworkin expected they would be able to line up a new tenant quickly as the brewery was practically turnkey and featured a 10-barrel brewhouse system. Instead, likely hindered by the pandemic, the property owners were never able to line up a new occupant until Zahavi approached them about the possibility of using the space to roast, sell, and serve coffee.

Genesee’s new beer

The Genesee Brewery obviously struck gold with the release of its Ruby Red Kolsch a few years back. The state’s oldest brewery has gone back to that fruited well a few times now. And for its latest release, Mango Peach Kolsch, which hits stores today, it is unleashing a new fruit combo to refresh and excite drinkers during the upcoming summer months.

The beer will be available in 12 packs of 12-ounce cans and also on draft at a few, select places. I’m very, very excited to try this one.

Strangebird’s huge win

Since opening during the pandemic, Rochester-based Strangebird Brewing has developed a massively impressive portfolio of beers and garnered some absolutely incredible awards, including recognition as NYS Brewery of the Year two years ago.

When you look at the Stranegbird brewing team, none of this should be surprising.

Two days ago, Strangebird earned its highest honor yet — a bronze medal from the World Beer Cup, the most prestigious competition in the world. (And if I can recall correctly, I think this is the Rochester area’s first World Beer Cup medal since 2018 when brewmaster Dean Jones and the Genesee Brew House won a gold medal for its Dark Chocolate Scotch Ale in the chocolate beer category.)

What’s kinda crazy is that Strangebird’s medal came in a category you might not expect. You’d probably expect the brewery to be recognized for something wood-aged. But showing off its varied portfolio and brewing acumen, the brewery was recognized with a bronze medal in the juicy or hazy imperial India pale ale category for Unfettered Soul. The category featured 145 entries.

In total, 2,060 breweries from 50 countries entered 9,300 beers. And 280 beer judges from 37 countries evaluated beers in 110 categories.

Pretty impressive stuff.