At the Velvet Robot Coffee Lab inside the Rockford City Market building. Photo by Forest City Photographs, courtesy of Velvet Robot Coffee Lab.
Combining precision-made coffee drinks and a warm and fuzzy approach to customers, Velvet Robot Coffee Lab has opened a brick-and-mortar cafe in downtown Rockford, Illinois.
Justin Carner and a roasting partner launched the Velvet Robot brand in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in 2017 when they saw a demand for cold brew at a local farmers market. They set up a booth and built a following for their cold brew before Carner in 2019 moved back to his home city of Rockford, splitting the business into two, and launched as a vendor at the Rockford City Market.