Ironclad Coffee Roasters has licensed its brand to another company to operate Ironclad cafes at Richmond International Airport. (Photo courtesy of Ironclad Coffee Roasters)
Ironclad Coffee Roasters owner Ryan O’Rourke couldn’t help but notice in his travels that small, local coffee shops like his were slinging cups of joe in airports in their respective hometowns.
“As I was traveling different places in the country I would see a local coffee company I knew the name of and they’d have a cafe in the airport and I’d be like, ‘That’s awesome. That’s something every airport should do,’” he said.
That notion will become a reality beginning today at O’Rourke’s hometown airport, as he has agreed to license his Richmond coffee shop’s brand for three new Ironclad cafes at Richmond International Airport.
The deal is with Delaware North, the New York-based company that operates eateries at RIC. The Ironclad cafes open today and replace the three Caribou Coffees that Delaware North has operated at the airport – in the A and B concourses as well as the shuttered cafe in the airport’s atrium.
Ryan O’Rourke
O’Rourke said the menu at the airport locations is largely the same as what’s available at Ironclad’s coffee shops in Shockoe Bottom and Henrico County’s west end.
While O’Rourke admitted the arrangement doesn’t give him the level of control he has over his other shops, because Delaware North staffs and manages the airport cafes, the licensing agreement is a way to get his brand in front of visitors to the region.
“It’s a good thing for us because of the exposure,” he said. “(The airport) is one of the faces of any city. That’s how a lot of people come in to visit, whether it’s tourism or for business.”
O’Rourke said he first pitched the idea to RIC several years ago after seeing similar arrangements at other airports. While the airport didn’t bite at the time, O’Rourke said that about a year and a half ago airport officials came back around.
“They really liked what we were doing and asked if we were interested in exploring something with them,” O’Rourke said.
The relationship started with two self-serve Ironclad coffee kiosks that have been operated by Delaware North at the airport for nearly a year.
A local representative of Delaware North didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Ironclad opened its Shockoe Bottom coffee shop at 1805 E. Grace St. in 2018. It added the western Henrico outpost at 2100 John Rolfe Parkway in early 2022.
Ironclad Coffee Roasters has licensed its brand to another company to operate Ironclad cafes at Richmond International Airport. (Photo courtesy of Ironclad Coffee Roasters)
Ironclad Coffee Roasters owner Ryan O’Rourke couldn’t help but notice in his travels that small, local coffee shops like his were slinging cups of joe in airports in their respective hometowns.
“As I was traveling different places in the country I would see a local coffee company I knew the name of and they’d have a cafe in the airport and I’d be like, ‘That’s awesome. That’s something every airport should do,’” he said.
That notion will become a reality beginning today at O’Rourke’s hometown airport, as he has agreed to license his Richmond coffee shop’s brand for three new Ironclad cafes at Richmond International Airport.
The deal is with Delaware North, the New York-based company that operates eateries at RIC. The Ironclad cafes open today and replace the three Caribou Coffees that Delaware North has operated at the airport – in the A and B concourses as well as the shuttered cafe in the airport’s atrium.
Ryan O’Rourke
O’Rourke said the menu at the airport locations is largely the same as what’s available at Ironclad’s coffee shops in Shockoe Bottom and Henrico County’s west end.
While O’Rourke admitted the arrangement doesn’t give him the level of control he has over his other shops, because Delaware North staffs and manages the airport cafes, the licensing agreement is a way to get his brand in front of visitors to the region.
“It’s a good thing for us because of the exposure,” he said. “(The airport) is one of the faces of any city. That’s how a lot of people come in to visit, whether it’s tourism or for business.”
O’Rourke said he first pitched the idea to RIC several years ago after seeing similar arrangements at other airports. While the airport didn’t bite at the time, O’Rourke said that about a year and a half ago airport officials came back around.
“They really liked what we were doing and asked if we were interested in exploring something with them,” O’Rourke said.
The relationship started with two self-serve Ironclad coffee kiosks that have been operated by Delaware North at the airport for nearly a year.
A local representative of Delaware North didn’t respond to requests for comment Friday afternoon.
Ironclad opened its Shockoe Bottom coffee shop at 1805 E. Grace St. in 2018. It added the western Henrico outpost at 2100 John Rolfe Parkway in early 2022.
This guy’s coffee is already at exorbitant airport prices so he’ll fit right in.
You get what you pay for. The products are top notch and most of his ingredients at the café’s are locally sourced, organic, and sustainable. We should support our local small businesses that operate in such a socially responsible way, even if it costs a little more. We certainly shouldn’t bash them publicly.
Thanks for the life advice. I support lots of small businesses, specifically those that treat customers with respect and decency.
Can’t take the feedback? Stay out of the business world.
We love constructive feedback.
You’re absolutely right, John. We should just buy slave-picked coffee and pay our own employees borderline abusive wages so you can have your dirt-cheap cup of coffee. Thanks for the advice.
Buddy, it doesn’t mean he’s supporting slave labor. Chill the hell out. I actually agree with John, I’m not paying for a cup of coffee that is extremely overpriced compared to similar competitors. There’s also the reasons why I dumped Starbucks more than 10 years ago. Disrespectful to our troops and highly overpriced for coffee that is watered down!
Of course while I agree, it is in an airport after all. Just buy your coffee outside the airport :).
Who writes these headlines? This one is kinda cute 🙂
“Delaware North staffs and manages the airport cafes,…” Wow, I did not realize that this will be a licensing agreement. Relying on another company’s workforce could be a disaster for your brand. I go to these Caribou cafes frequently, and many times the staff claims the espresso machine is “not working”, and all they have is regular coffee. The staff that Delaware North hires are friendly, but if you are not selling the specialty coffees, your $$ per customer goes way down, and RIC will not give you the volume you may need to offset the lack of specialty coffee… Read more »
Valid, Victoria! We’ve considered this, and many other concerns, over the last year. We will be stopping in to these cafes weekly (at a minimum) to ensure the best possible experience. That’s something a huge company like Caribou could never do. On balance, we are convinced this will be good for RIC passengers, good for our local airport, good for Delaware North, and ultimately good for us. 🙂
Ryan, I’m looking forward to this. Forgive me if I missed this in the article, but when will the three Ironclad outposts at RIC be up and running? Or are they already? Thank you!
Many thanks, Mark! They are up and running as of today. Still a few things to work through, but the coffee we roast is being served in all the drinks at all three RIC spots. Any constructive feedback on any visit you make to these cafes (or our other two cafes) will always be appreciated and used to improve. 🙂
Thanks for this clarification, nothing in the article specifically said the coffee itself would be Ironclad. This is great news considering I got to the point where I skipped coffee at RIC and would wait until my connection or final destination because of the hot garbage Caribou was serving.
Best of luck, Ryan! Hopefully this gets you some name recognition. is your website info printed (or a QR code linking to them) on all of the consumables at these locations? Napkins, Cups, and the like?
Thanks very much, Justin. A QR code like you mention is a heck of an idea — much appreciated, sir!
Maybe Ryan can convince them to add a Chick-fil-a; no one has has been able too. Maybe they can get the Ripp’s to add an Arby’s. Hell even Norfolk Airport has a Burger King. Looking forward to trying it.
Anything is an improvement over Caribou. The lack of a Starbucks makes RIC feel very small-time, however. Moreover, the lack of any lounges, half decent fast food, hell even McDonald’s, etc that are standard at even smaller airports.
I have been to Ironclad a couple times. It is really good coffee. Price points are very close to Blanchards. RVA roasters are probably right around the median price for small batch coffee in America. You can sometimes find lower prices, but there are a bunch of places, like Huckleberry out of Denver, Blue Bottle out of Oakland, Intelligencia out of Chicago, or Victrola out of Seattle that are much pricier. Their fancy drinks, like the smore latte reminds me of the stuff you can get at Philz and is a bargain compared to that place. I am excited about… Read more »