Rook Coffee expands in redeveloping Long Branch

LONG BRANCH, N.J. - April 4, 2017 - PRLog -- Rook Coffee, the specialty coffee company with multiple retail locations, an online store and bottled cold brew business, expands with new company executive hires and the opening of its 10,000 sq. ft. roasting facility, distribution center and corporate headquarters located at 10 N. 3rd Ave., Long Branch, NJ.

After opening 10 Monmouth County retail locations in under seven years, Rook Coffee now focuses on growing and strengthening its company infrastructure. "Top quality product and people are the driving factors of our company," says Rook Coffee Co-Founder/CEO, Holly Migliaccio. "With the fast-paced growth of retail locations and over 130 employees comes the need to hire top talent to support our brand, culture and company vision."

Rook is expanding its hiring efforts and is currently seeking a number of senior management positions, including an Operations Executive, a Human Resources Manager, as well as Assistant Store Managers and Baristas.

Rook Coffee has appointed the following new executive hires:

• Adrienne Battaglino to District Manager of all 10 locations, overseeing the development and maintenance of strategies to achieve operational and customer service excellence.  Battaglino was most recently the top-performing General Manager for several Urban Outfitters locations throughout New Jersey. Prior to that role she was the District Manager for Zumiez in the Central New Jersey and Philadelphia regions.

• Marc Hindman to Brand Manager, overseeing brand building, creative and media execution and community management for Rook Coffee marketing initiatives and properties. Hindman hails from The Sawtooth Group, where he managed client relationships and strategies for fast-paced national accounts in the CPG, QSR, alcohol and non-profit industries.

• Anna Passero to Business Analyst, managing all financial and data analysis and reporting. With a background in real estate financial planning, Passero's role focuses on strengthening infrastructure through implementation of business intelligence systems and decision-making tools, process improvement and identification of alpha seeking strategic initiatives.
Rook Coffee officially opens its new roasting facility, distribution center and corporate headquarters in the developing area of downtown Long Branch, just three blocks from Ocean Avenue and Pier Village. Rook Coffee purchased the 10,000 sq. ft. building which was formally Kimbo Educational, and takes up a whole city block, now housing the roastery, corporate offices, a test kitchen and event space.

"The new Rook roastery features a 70kg Loring roaster with the latest technology in roasting coffee beans allowing for more consistency and quality control throughout the process. This new roaster is also capable of producing five times more than our previous roaster, allowing us to distribute to all 10 retail locations multiple times per week. Additionally, we are renovating the space to accommodate production, refrigeration and distribution of our cold brew line," says Rook Coffee Co-Founder/CEO Shawn Kingsley.

The location of the new production facility is in line with Rook Coffee's commitment to community and roots in the Long Branch area. Migliaccio and Kingsley, both born and raised just outside of Long Branch, have family history in the city. Migliaccio's paternal grandparents owned a luncheonette in Long Branch called The Busy Corner in the 1950's, while her parents owned Gem Art Gallery and a roller skate rental in West End for 10 years. Kingsley's grandfather was a milkman and grew up on Jane Street, just a block and a half from the new roastery.

With the previous success of the Pier Village redevelopment area and phase three now approved for construction of additional residential and retail space, Rook Coffee hopes to be a part of the revitalization of downtown Long Branch. Rook joins the upcoming opening of a sustainable beer garden, known as The Whitechapel Projects, at the corner of Broadway and Second Avenue. A 13,000-square-foot CVS Pharmacy recently opened in the lot facing South Broadway and Ocean Boulevard. Additionally, the city recently purchased land for parking next to the beer garden and across from Pier Village and CVS.

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About Rook Coffee
Established in January 2010, Rook Coffee is a specialty coffee company complete with multiple coffee shops, a roastery and an online store. Rookʼs coffee bar experience involves exceptional product and over-the-top customer service. Using the finest quality coffees from all over the world, every cup of coffee is custom made to order. For more information about Rook Coffee, including an online retail business, please visit: www.rookcoffee.com.