A Kansas City-based, private equity-backed network of specialty coffee companies — notably including Messenger and The Roasterie coffees — added another brand to its ranks: a 31-year-old, brick-and-mortar mainstay in Chapel Hill and Durham, North Carolina.
FairWave Collective announced the acquisition Monday, adding Joe Van Gogh Coffee to its growing collective of 14 coffee, tea, and bakery brands operating in more than 40 cafes, roasteries, and bakeries throughout the U.S.
Joe Van Gogh Sea Turtle Organic Blend; photo courtesy of Joe Van Gogh
“The word ‘Collective’ drew me in,” explained Robbie Roberts, who founded what would become Joe Van Gogh in 1991 in Raleigh, North Carolina. “Joe Van Gogh has always been about collaboration and openness. We’re a team, and everyone here has an innate drive to keep growing, to keep getting better. The team at FairWave are the same way.”
FairWave brings financial insights, industry best practices and behind-the-scenes support so that brands can stay invested in their product, experience and local market, the company said. Founded in 2020 in Kansas City, its expansion to date has focused on the Minneapolis, Milwaukee, Annapolis, and North Carolina’s Triangle markets.
The latest acquisition adds Joe Van Gogh’s five cafes (and one satellite location), operating multiple business channels, including wholesale, e-commerce, equipment maintenance, and more.
Joe Van Gogh’s Roberts is expected to remain at the company for the foreseeable future, the brands said in a press release. Each FairWave brand is operated by its own staff and market leadership to ensure that the brands stay true to their unique vision, FairWave said.
“We are beyond impressed and inspired by the Joe Van Gogh team on so many levels, and we’re really excited to work with them,” said Isaac Hodges, president of growth at FairWave. “They care about their people and their community above all else. Their team is stacked with experienced industry leaders who hold deep expertise across many disciplines.”
Joe Van Gogh’s Durham Broad Street location; photo courtesy of Joe Van Gogh
After initially opening a roasting coffeehouse in the early 1990s, Roberts debuted his first brick-and-mortar location in 1995 in Chapel Hill and adopted the name Joe Van Gogh, inspired by Dan Bern’s song by the same name and Roberts’ desire to explore the intersection between art and coffee roasting.
“Our cafes are as distinctive as fingerprints, while sharing the common thread that no matter which store you enter, you are welcome,” the company said. “Joe Van Gogh has inspired deep loyalty among their team members and customers, a testament to their enduring legacy as a community gathering space.”
The brand expects to maintain that aesthetic through the acquisition, Roberts said.
“Customers who came to Chapel Hill on day one still come in today – over three decades later,” he said. “And of course I do too — every morning on the way to our roastery.”
Joe Van Gogh is the second Triangle coffee brand to join FairWave, following the addition of Black & White Coffee Roasters in March 2025.
