Angel Wings: Profiles of Boosters: Jim Munson of Brooklyn Roasters

December 22, 2017 Brooklyn Daily Eagle

Jim Munson. Photo by Phillip Mauro

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“This is a brewed beverage borough,” says Jim Munson, one of the masterminds behind Brooklyn Roasters. “ I love that the first syllable of where I live symbolizes what I do: ‘broo’…”

Such a play on words, coming from a transplanted Iowan, shows clearly how Brooklyn as a place, and a brand, transforms people who come here from other parts of the world.

“I think one of Brooklyn’s most powerful characteristics is that it welcomes people from so many backgrounds,” adds Munson. “It provides an incubator for the growth and expression of so many different people and characters.” And products.

Munson started out in Brooklyn working with Brooklyn Brewery.

“Steve Hindy and Tom Potter were the best bosses I could have hoped for when I arrived as a 26-year-old kid, new to the big city,” he said.

Munson says his time with them opened his eyes to the smart, passionate dream-chasing required to build a new product.

“When I started Brooklyn Roasters, to bring back Brooklyn’s once-thriving tradition of coffee roasting, and to add a retail component,

I was so fortunate to have the Brooklyn Brewery model so fresh in my mind,” Munson added. Indeed, though he designed the Brooklyn Roasters logo himself, he was inspired by the iconic Milton Glaser logo for Brooklyn Brewery.

Munson also has high praise for his partner Michael Pollack, “for generously supporting my sometimes-irreverent vision for our brand,” and for Eric Goodrich, a close friend who has helped build out the many popular retail and roasting sites in Brooklyn’s hottest neighborhoods.

Topping off the clear personal dedication to and identification with his brand, Munson named two of the most popular drinks after his daughters: the Shay and the Iris. If you love Expresso, if you love maple flavored lattes, you only need know those two words.