Plenty consider morning coffee a necessity, the only way to start the day right. But the bold beverage means more than just some extra pep in our step. We enjoy the taste, and as Megan and Wade Preston know, we also enjoy the fellowship that’s as common with a cup of joe as two sugars and a splash of cream. The couple started Prevail Coffee Roasters, a craft coffee-roasting and import company with coffee shop locations in Auburn and Montgomery, based on their belief that sharing coffee is an ideal way to foster communication and community. “We have always loved the idea of coffee and coffee shops and how they bring people together,” said Megan. “Coffee is something so many people drink, and coffee shops have become these communal third spaces between work and home.”
They founded Prevail in 2015 and in 2016, opened the Montgomery location (in partnership with Phillip Johns) in its revitalizing Dexter Avenue area downtown. It was in a temporary spot for two years, but in April 2018, Prevail Union moved into sleek new digs in the renovated Kress building. “We’re so happy to be a part of the effort to reclaim and restore some of the history on that street,” Megan said. Not long after, the coffee shop was rated “the best coffee in Alabama” by Food & Wine magazine.
The idea for Prevail was born from the Prestons’ desire to help revitalize and regenerate in other areas far from home: the places that produce the necessary ingredients for the gallons of coffee Americans consume. Before their first shop, the young couple spent some time in Africa and got to know a few coffee farmers there who opened their eyes to the impact of the Western world’s coffee habit. “Coffee is exclusively grown between the 20th parallels and usually in poorer countries,” Megan said. “It can be a tool to either oppress or empower the people in those areas; we wanted to empower.”
Wade quit his job working in youth ministries and went to work with a large coffee roaster in Atlanta to learn the ropes. When they felt they were ready to open their shop, they chose Auburn. “Wade went to college there, so he knew the town, and at the time, there weren’t many coffee shops there,” Megan said. They initially opened that first shop with another coffee brand; the decision to roast their own beans came a year later, and that marked the foundation of Prevail. “Wade is the real coffee nerd in the relationship and the business, and he took a real interest in roasting from the beginning and wanted to do it, so we moved into that pretty quickly,” Megan said. “It’s been the way we are really expanding our business and our reach.”
And Prevail’s reach is deep and wide. The company sources from all over the world but always goes the extra mile to ensure that every bean it buys comes from farms and co-ops that are paying fair wages. “Some are fair-trade certified, and some are not, but for those that aren’t, we feel confident they are following fair-trade practices,” Megan said. Quality matters too. Megan’s partial to a coffee they get from Ethiopia with fruity notes. “It’s got a kinda surprising, sweet flavor that I love,” she said.
The beans arrive at Prevail in 50-pound bags, ready for Wade to work his magic. He spends one full day each week roasting, an old practice that he’s taken high-tech. “He actually hooks his computer to the roaster and sets different roasting profiles that define temperature and time for each roast,” Meagan said. Creating and then picking the right profile for each batch of beans depends on multiple factors: where they were grown (a wet or dry country) and at what altitude and how they were harvested and handled. He often does test runs on a small roaster first.
Today, in addition to its two locations, Prevail sells its coffees to restaurants and other coffee shops as well as churches that want to serve parishioners a tasty coffee that’s responsibly sourced. “We’re looking to grow the wholesale side of our business,” Megan said. “We see it as a great way to build relationships and share our lives with people we may never have met otherwise. It’s another way we can build that community we’re after. Same thing applies to our coffee shops; we want them to be places where everyone belongs.”
As the Prestons continue to connect locals and visitors using coffee, they still prioritize one of the company’s core purposes. “We really want to be a part of the solution for the farmers and give them a way to better their lives, not with charity, but with building an industry that provides employment, accomplishment and pride,” Megan said. “We feel we are partnering with them.” Through combined, like-minded efforts, they all prevail, and savoring that warm thought is pretty great way to start any day.
