Fire Department Coffee Expands Presence in Meijer Stores Nationwide

Three years ago, it was a rare thing to walk into a grocery store and find Fire Department Coffee on the shelves.

We have an iconic Midwestern retailer to thank for helping us turn the tide and launch the next chapter of our upstart coffee roasting company.

It began in the fall of 2021 when Meijer agreed to stock our coffee in its stores across Illinois, our home state. We were thrilled then — as we are now — to partner with Meijer to make it easier and more convenient for our customers to find delicious, small-batch coffee at a moment’s notice. Meijer carries our most popular roasts, including Original Medium Roast, Donut Shop, Dark Roast and Skull-Crushing Espresso. The Medium, Donut Shop and Dark roasts are sold as ground coffee, while the espresso is available in whole bean coffee. Our Medium Roast and Donut Shop are also sold in coffee pods.

“We are very excited to partner with Meijer to make our coffee available in their stores,” Fire Dept. Coffee CEO and founder Luke Schneider said at the time. “Those who already enjoy Fire Dept. Coffee will be able to pick up our coffee on their regular shopping trips. This will also help introduce us to even more people who haven’t discovered Fire Dept. Coffee yet.”

That statement proved to be true. And that moment proved to be a pivotal one for our company.

Now, Fire Dept. Coffee is sold in nearly every Meijer store in Illinois and beyond — 255 stores, to be exact. We’ve also made it to the shelves in other major grocery stores, like those under the Albertson’s family of retailers. And this summer, we debuted on Walmart shelves.

High-Quality Rockford-Roasted Coffee Meets a Midwest Superstore

Meijer is among the top 25 largest retailers in the United States and operates two dozen stores in Illinois, with additional locations in Michigan, Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio and Wisconsin. Stores offer a full range of grocery items, as well as general merchandise that covers everything from clothing and jewelry to sporting goods and office supplies. 

Fire Dept. Coffee is veteran-owned and operated primarily by a team of active and retired firefighters. Every bag of coffee is proudly roasted in the U.S.A.

The Fire Department Coffee roasts that Meijer stocks represent some of our most popular roasts.

It’s an opportunity to satisfy the immediate cravings of coffee lovers and, hopefully, pique their interests to explore Fire Dept. Coffee’s complete collection of more than a dozen unique and carefully crafted roasts, including our signature line of Spirit Infused Coffee that incorporates the tastes of real spirits such as bourbon, whiskey, rum, tequila and more since 2016.

When planning your route through the store during your Meijer shopping trip, we recommend heading directly to the coffee aisle first. This approach has multiple benefits. 

First, you eliminate the risk of forgetting the coffee. You do not want to forget the coffee. 

Second, throughout the rest of your shopping adventure, you can reach out, pick up the bag and breathe in the incredible aroma whenever you feel the urge. It smells incredible and it will motivate you to complete your shopping mission quickly and efficiently so you can get home and brew that first cup.