Grafik Coffee used to be a Subway, and before that, an ice cream shop. The building on East Main Road that has seen the rise and fall of other businesses has become the prime location for a hip coffee joint in Portsmouth. After just over one year of being in business, the community support Grafik has received has made it possible for Josh Whalen, owner of the coffeehouse, to launch his expansion plans.
His ideas are threefold: more coffee, more hours, more space. The first order of business is more coffee and better coffee. Whalen has invested in a Diedrich Roaster – “basically an oven that’s specially designed to roast coffee beans” – for the Portsmouth shop. This roaster is known in the coffee world for its high quality (“like upgrading to the Mercedes of coffee roasters!”), and the one Whalen has been using is only about one-sixth of the size of the Diedrich. With this roaster, “we’ll really be upping our game,” Whalen says, claiming that the bigger, better roaster will increase production and, hopefully, quality, as the roasts will be more consistent from the bigger batches being heated in a superior machine.
The new roaster also means changes to the interior layout of the coffeehouse. Instead of being placed in the kitchen, where the old roaster is now, Whalen has designed a space in the seating area to hold the Diedrich. This will open up the kitchen for increased efficiency, quality, and more production for the in-house baking program. Plus, “it’s a beautiful looking roaster,” Whalen says. “A nice cherry red color. We’re not going to be losing a lot of seating because I’m building a little half-bar” which will enclose the roaster, making it a functional centerpiece in the seating area and literally bringing customers closer to their coffee.
The second order, to bring more hours to Grafik, is achieved through Whalen’s vision of “Grafik After Dark.” The idea, which has been in the works since last September, is to create a relaxed, upscale-casual joint for coffee to be served in a more grown-up way. Grafik has its official liquor license, and the after-dark menu will feature coffee-based drinks, like an espresso martini using Grafik’s house blend, of course. Being “fresh” (in all senses of the word) is what will set Grafik apart from other bars and restaurants; “When you make a martini using fresh espresso beans, it creates an incredible crema on top. It tastes really good,” Whalen affirms, citing his months of experimentation and taste-testing drinks to get everything he plans to serve on the after dark menu absolutely perfect.
Coffee-based drinks won’t be the only items served at Grafik After Dark. Also on the menu will be the “classics:” a French 75, old fashioned, sangrias, three different choices of wine, and two to three cans of local beers. Small bites like nuts, olives, and charcuteries will be offered with drinks, and, in an ideal world, Whalen will have a live acoustic jazz guitarist on Friday nights, and live jazz piano music on Saturdays. If live music isn’t always possible, soft jazz will still be the recorded ambience theme, and Whalen will publish on Grafik’s social media pages when to expect live performances. To begin, after dark hours will be Friday and Saturday nights from 5-9 p.m., but Whalen hopes to expand those hours even further as the concept catches on and as the summer season approaches.
The third order, and perhaps the largest undertaking, is Grafik’s expansion into Middletown. Grafik will have a smaller, grab-and-go kiosk off of Valley Road, situated on the property of the mini golf course across from Ida’s Restaurant. The kiosk used to be a Ben and Jerry’s ice cream shack, but Whalen has grand plans to repurpose the location.
“We’re hoping to establish ourselves as our own business, even though we are on the property of the mini golf course,” Whalen stresses, explaining that anyone – regardless of if they want to play mini golf – can come and order at the kiosk. The new location will focus on the coffee program, with all of Grafik’s original coffee drinks to be available at the new locale. The kiosk will also offer a plethora of grab-and-go options like pastries that are made in-house at the Portsmouth branch, breakfast sandwiches, and bagels. Also on the menu will be fruit smoothies and the new “Grafik Spinners,” a frozen, frappe-like beverage in which a customer may add a shot (or two) of espresso. One of the new Grafik Spinners is caramel-crunch flavored.
The new location in Middletown will be small, but mighty in its offerings. The space constraints, however, means that there will be a walkup window and online ordering availability, but no indoor seating. Picnic tables outside the kiosk are available in times of nice weather.
All three of these expansions are set to open in March. The kiosk will be operation in mid-March, and Whalen plans to make that location seasonal, from March-November, unless there is demand for coffee in that location year-round. Construction in the Portsmouth location for the coffee roaster and the bar-style seating around it will conclude in early March, and Whalen plans to roll out Grafik After Dark following the completion of the construction. “We’re not trying to grow faster than reasonable, but it’ll be nice to spread our wings and […] just grow accordingly. I’m never just satisfied with resting on our laurels,” Whalen commits.
The triple-expansion is a natural growth of Grafik, according to Whalen. “What Grafik Coffee really stands for is the foundation of everything [all of these expansions]; our slogan is ‘Coffee. Arts. Community.’ Those three pillars have dictated these business decisions,” and Whalen wants to continue to support the arts and the local community through Grafik’s rise. “This is Grafik’s identity.”
Whalen is grateful for so much community support throughout the last year, and he is confident that the community will continue to support the coffeehouse and its new growth.
