Where We Came From: About Founder & Owner Lorraine Walker
Silver Bridge Coffee Company is truly a home-grown Ohio business. As a hobby, Lorraine and Phil Walker started roasting coffee in a popcorn popper in their kitchen. They shared samples with friends and family near their home in Gallipolis, Ohio. Everyone raved about their “special brew,” and many encouraged them to start roasting and selling it to the public. In 2008, Silver Bridge Coffee was born and it remains a proud woman-owned Ohio and family-supported business.
Since the inception of our artisan, small-batch roast coffee company, Lorraine has made it her mission to source coffees curated from the best coffee-growing places in the world, support women-owned coffee farms, and to become a master coffee roaster.
Lorraine is a Level 2 Certified Roaster with the Specialty Coffee Association of America (SCAA), and is an active member of the Roasters Guild. Silver Bridge Coffee is a member of the SCAA. Governor Kasich’s administration appointed Lorraine to Ohio’s Small Business Advisory Council. She is also a member of The National Association of Women Business Owners.
Lorraine is a supporter of other women-owned and -run businesses. She sells several varieties of Café Femenino Peruvian coffee. The Café Femenino Foundation provides grants for women and their families in coffee-producing countries such as Peru, Columbia and Guatemala.
In 2020, Silver Bridge Coffee partnered with the Café Femenino Foundation to fully fund 13 early childhood centers in Peru, something we couldn’t do without the enthusiastic support of our customers and retailers. Lorraine is a big believer in paying it forward, and has made local and international outreach an integral element of the Silver Bridge Coffee Company philosophy.
What We’ve Built - About Silver Bridge Coffee Company