Wauwatosa — A couple of decades in the restaurant and wine businesses are the basis for Robb Kashevarof’s new venture: Valentine Coffee Roasters.

Kashevarof, 42, is a new entrant to the area’s coffee roasting scene, which is dominated by Alterra and Stone Creek, plus the smaller Bay View roaster Anodyne. All three have coffee shops in addition to their retail and wholesale businesses.

Kashevarof considered opening a shop, but for now he is focused only on selling to restaurants and retailers, and after 18 months, he’s still striving toward turning a profit.

“I’d like to pay myself,” Kashevarof said. “That’s right around the bend.”

Valentine Coffee Roasters is selling 300 pounds of coffee per week now, mostly to local restaurants, as well as to Nehring’s Sendik’s on Oakland Ave. in Shorewood and Groppi’s Market in Milwaukee’s Bay View neighborhood. That’s enough to cover costs; 500 pounds per week would turn a profit.

The business is named for Kashevarof’s grandfather, who was an Aleut Indian, and it is owned by his wife, Virginia, who works as a nurse. Valentine qualifies for certain benefits as a woman-owned business, and it was easier to get a loan with Virginia as owner.

Robb is the sole employee for now. He does the selling and the roasting, and he focuses intensely on each batch, monitoring and recording the temperature every 30 seconds. It takes 15 minutes to roast each five- to six-pound batch. Afterward, he performs a cupping exercise to check for taste. Some beans will have a chocolate finish. Some taste a bit like strawberries.

“If it sounds like I’m talking about wine, that’s my background,” he explains.

Kashevarof roamed far from Milwaukee after attending Wauwatosa West High School and Marquette University. He played professional soccer in Poland, managed restaurants in Oregon and Hawaii, and sold wine for General Beverage Sales Co…

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