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About Us



The Grimm Family

Dave and Kourtney both grew up in Central Illinois, but met in Peoria, IL in 2007. It’s been an exciting adventure ever since! After completing her undergraduate studies, she moved to Costa Rica to study sea turtles. Dave came to visit and their love for the gorgeous country and its culture grew. As they toured several coffee farms, interest in the process from farm to cup grew. Dave started to try multiple types of coffee and different brewing methods.

Dave proposed to Kourtney in the Costa Rica mountains and they were married in 2009. Kourtney started Veterinary school in Champaign, IL and Dave started roasting his own coffee in a modified air popcorn popper. Dave also started reaching out to other coffee lovers in the area and was invited to be the night roaster for Columbia Street Roastery. This was his first chance to roast in a commercial setting.

Once Kourtney’s veterinary degree was complete, they moved back home to East Peoria. Ever a talented family, Dave and his father built a working 5 kilo (about 10.5 lbs) roaster and he continued his hobby on a larger scale, much to the delight of his family and friends. Dave’s passion and talent for roasting was obvious, but it took a few years to locate the right place to start a business. Dave found a 90’s era Diedrich IR12 (12 kilos, 25 lb) while picking up green beans for his hobby roasting. He cleaned and fixed it up and finally had a commercial grade roaster to use for a business.

Finally, in November of 2019, Dave found an opportunity to lease a space in downtown East Peoria. Many of the locals remember the space for another roaster, Eysals, that had closed a few years previous. It felt right to be bringing a local roastery back to East Peoria. Build out of the space was started in January 2020 and despite the obstacles and the pandemic, Regulator Roasting Company opened for business on May 16th, 2020. Although living and working in a pandemic has been a challenge, Dave worked to make delivery and pick-up a large part of business.

Beyond being passionate about his work in coffee, Dave is a proud father of two little boys. His main job is being a stay at home dad. Dave and Kourtney are passionate about travel and learning from other cultures. Both boys have been able to travel with them to Costa Rica and also love it as much as their parents. They hope to develop relationships directly with coffee farmers in Costa Rica, and someday around the world. Throughout this journey, they have developed a better understanding for the hard work that goes into coffee before it ever reaches the roastery. Each bag of coffee that comes in, has a story to tell. Dave works to tell that story and bring each coffee to its best flavor profile. He hopes to continue to improve upon what’s possible and make coffee drinking an experience that can not be missed. 

 


Drink with Us
Come in and sample a pour over or Chemex of some of RRC’s delicious single origin coffees and grab a pound or two to go.