When globalist Starbucks announced its pledge to hire 10,000 refugees in response to President Trump’s executive order instituting a temporary travel ban, former Special Ops veteran Evan Hafer, now CEO and founder of Salt Lake City, Utah-based Black Rifle Coffee Company (BRCC) had a better idea. Hafer said his veteran owned and operated company is working to employ 10,000 veteran service members and others who have served their country.
Hafer, who had been roasting coffee for ten years between multiple deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan and taste-testing his roasts on the gun range while teaching tactical skills, launched his “premium conservative coffee company” in 2014. During interviews Hafer’s passion for roasting coffee, serving his country and supporting those who have served, is evident. He says simply, BRCC is different from other coffee sellers because it was “built from the ground up for people serving their country.”
And instead of Starbuck’s globalist approach to business Hafer says it’s important to shift the focus closer to home. In that context, he makes a compelling case for the potential veteran worker pool of 2.5 million unemployed or underemployed post 9-11 vets and a veteran unemployment rate of 6.3% as compared to a 5% non-vet unemployment rate. Hafer says they will also reach back to older veterans from the Gulf War.
Hafer is quick to point out that his pledge to hire vets is both part of his business plan and simply “it’s who we are.”
Another feature of BRCC that makes it stand apart from other coffee sellers, is the obvious branding of the company and its products with very clear support for the Second Amendment. Product names like “Silencer Smooth,” “AK47 Blend,” and “Snipers’ Hide Coffee Blend” stand in stark contrast to the CEO of Starbucks (who endorsed Hillary Clinton), telling coffee drinkers, in writing, that even if allowed by state law, guns are not welcome in their stores.
BRCC also uses its product for philanthropy. For example, 100% of the profits from the now sold out “Thin Blue Line Limited Edition Blend” were donated to Blue Lives Matter and The Fraternal Order of Police.
Coffee drinkers and gift-givers can now show their support for veterans and pro-American immigration policies by buying their grind from BRCC. An interactive map on the company’s website shows Tennesseeans which local stores carry the BRCC brew.
Hafer says that BRCC is “not about me,” but he does not shy away from the fact that BRCC is a for-profit venture with a 5-7 year goal to expand to several hundred sites across the company, reach his goal of employing 10,000 vets, and in this way, create as much economic opportunity for those that have served their country.
“I [Hafer], take pride in the coffee we roast, the veterans we employ and the causes we support.”
He also has a message for Starbucks’ CEO Howard Schultz:
I think that a person has to be accountable, especially for a publicly traded company. And if you’re going to alienate a huge portion of your market you really have to be prepared to just give them away. What I’d like to say is if you don’t want your conservative customers to buy coffee from you, please tell them to just walk down the street and buy Black Rifle Coffee.
I’m openly conservative, I’m openly 2A, I’m openly veteran and conservatives will always find a home [with us].
Starbucks management is a hotbed of left-wing liberals. I would not drink a cup of their stuff if it was offered to me on a silver – make that platinum – platter.