Great Jimmy Butler/MKE Coffer Roaster story - The Athletic

[Elonsmusk]

MILWAUKEE — Before he boarded a plane leaving Miami, before he arrived in Milwaukee and assembled his Game 1 masterpiece, Jimmy Butler needed an espresso grinder.

He doesn’t do anything before coffee.

With the six-time All-Star stationed in Milwaukee for five days for the opening two games of the Miami Heat’s first-round playoff series, Butler had to have his customary cup.


“Coffee is everything, man,” Butler told The Athletic on Tuesday. “Coffee. My friends. My family.”

In that order? Perhaps. Butler is that serious about his beans.

He is the founder of Big Face Coffee, a brand that specializes in high-end coffee but offers other goods and merchandise. He launched the company in 2020 from the NBA bubble in Florida, where he charged his pro basketball brethren $20 a cup. He’s watched the company flourish ever since.

Jimmy knows joe.

He just needed a grinder for the week while battling the Bucks.

“I’ve got one at the house,” Butler told The Athletic. “It’s just we take our machine and we take our beans and we take our cups. But a grinder is heavy. It’s hard to travel with a lot of the time. So if you can find somebody to let you borrow one no matter what city you’re in, that’s always a good thing.”

Even during the playoffs.

Butler put his people on the prowl. His team called around Milwaukee looking for a machine. Their search led them to Ryan Hoban, 38, owner of Interval, a quaint little shop hugging the corner of N. Jackson St. and E. Pleasant St., sitting a mile away from the shadows of Fiserv Forum on the city’s East Side.

Hoban almost botched the best transaction of his eight-year career in the coffee business.

He was on the golf course, enjoying a pleasant respite in Milwaukee’s unpredictable April weather last Saturday. By hole No. 3, his phone began buzzing non-stop. Another local coffee shop owner who previously had worked with Butler’s baristas had been commissioned to help. He reached out to Hoban.

“I thought it was for his shop,” Hoban said. “I was, like, ‘Hey, man, sorry. I don’t have one.’ Then he texted me back. I said, ‘Is yours down at the shop?’ And he said, ‘Oh, no, it’s not for me. It’s for Jimmy Butler.’

“I quickly remembered, I do have an espresso grinder because it was for freaking Jimmy Butler.”

Hoban connected with Butler’s representatives and received an address in the northern suburb of Mequon to deliver the grinder. He assumed he’d link up with the middlemen and middlewomen for the exchange. He brought samples of his shop’s coffee to share with Big Face’s bigwigs. But the black SUV sitting in the driveway with security nearby set off alarm bells.

Hoban walked inside and put down his grinder. He met the crew as they were installing the espresso machine.

“And then around the corner walked Jimmy Butler,” Hoban said. “I don’t get weird about seeing people much. But when Jimmy Butler walked around the corner, it was, like, ‘Holy cow. It’s Jimmy Butler.’ ”

The two chatted briefly about coffee and the Bucks. Hoban told Butler to take it easy on his Bucks. Butler, Hoban said, told him to tell his Bucks to take it easy on him. For his services, Hoban received a weekly rental fee, although he didn’t do it for the money. He just thought it would be cool to help “freaking” Jimmy Butler.

“We just worked out a little arrangement, which is super helpful for us,” Hoban said. “We’re just a small little coffee roaster and shop. I think all specialty coffee shops have been watching Big Face and what Jimmy’s been up to since the bubble. It’s been really cool to watch.”

Hoban described Butler as “very kind” and “very sweet,” “a really nice guy” and “very grounded.” He also confirmed Butler knows coffee.

“I think a lot of people might think his coffee thing is not very serious,” Hoban said. “But it’s super serious. I think he takes it pretty legit. He’s been to Origin (la Palma y el tucan in Colombia). They’re roasting great coffees, they’re sourcing great coffees from great producers from all over the world. Some of the coffees that Big Face has, Jimmy has gone to some of the same producers and coffee farmers that we work with.”

Hoban has joked with friends all week that he and Butler are boys now.

“I felt like a little coffee tycoon because I was on the golf course texting with Jimmy’s team,” Hoban said, laughing. “I’m just a small coffee roaster, a small coffee shop owner in Milwaukee. It felt pretty cool.”

Until Hoban’s two sons, 11 and 10, just about disowned him.

With an espresso grinder, Butler had just the thing he needed to dominate the Bucks in Game 1 on Sunday. He scored a game-high 35 points with five rebounds, 11 assists and three steals. He made 15 of 27 shots in 43 minutes. He dropped 24 points in the first half.

“I was watching it with my two sons,” Hoban said. “They were pissed at me the whole first and second quarter because Jimmy was just going crazy. And then I just kept getting texts from a couple of people I told the story to. They were, like, ‘This is on you.’ ”

Hoban conceded.

“I told some of my guys, ‘If the Bucks lose, I’m going to take this ‘L’ because I’m helping my boy get caffI have a toothacheted during the series,’ ” he said. “I’ve got to kind of own that.”

Thanks to his grinder, Hoban helped Butler maintain his peace during the most pressure-packed stretch of the Heat’s season. Butler doesn’t buckle under pressure. But his normalcy matters.

“Just being a normal human being and doing what I do on a daily basis, whether it’s home or away, that’s part of my routine,” Butler said of his coffee. “That’s part of being consistent. And it’s part of keeping basketball, basketball and keeping you as a regular person.”

Hoban will pick up his grinder sometime Wednesday. Butler might not be around for him to say goodbye. Hoban is hoping like hell the Bucks win Game 2 — and the series — so he doesn’t get run out of town. A Bucks win Wednesday guarantees a Game 5, meaning Butler will be back.

Hoban doesn’t take the connection, however brief, lightly. Butler might be his most famous customer, but connecting with everyday people through coffee is what Hoban loves most.

“This is what keeps me doing the thing that I do every day serving people coffee,” he said. “It’s the ultimate equalizer, I find. This kind of shows that again.

“Jimmy Butler needing to find an espresso grinder on the road during the playoffs. And me being able to help him and serve him in that way, this is what I love about coffee.”

[Uncle Rico]

MILWAUKEE — Before he boarded a plane leaving Miami, before he arrived in Milwaukee and assembled his Game 1 masterpiece, Jimmy Butler needed an espresso grinder.

He doesn’t do anything before coffee.

With the six-time All-Star stationed in Milwaukee for five days for the opening two games of the Miami Heat’s first-round playoff series, Butler had to have his customary cup.


“Coffee is everything, man,” Butler told The Athletic on Tuesday. “Coffee. My friends. My family.”

In that order? Perhaps. Butler is that serious about his beans.

He is the founder of Big Face Coffee, a brand that specializes in high-end coffee but offers other goods and merchandise. He launched the company in 2020 from the NBA bubble in Florida, where he charged his pro basketball brethren $20 a cup. He’s watched the company flourish ever since.

Jimmy knows joe.

He just needed a grinder for the week while battling the Bucks.

“I’ve got one at the house,” Butler told The Athletic. “It’s just we take our machine and we take our beans and we take our cups. But a grinder is heavy. It’s hard to travel with a lot of the time. So if you can find somebody to let you borrow one no matter what city you’re in, that’s always a good thing.”

Even during the playoffs.

Butler put his people on the prowl. His team called around Milwaukee looking for a machine. Their search led them to Ryan Hoban, 38, owner of Interval, a quaint little shop hugging the corner of N. Jackson St. and E. Pleasant St., sitting a mile away from the shadows of Fiserv Forum on the city’s East Side.

Hoban almost botched the best transaction of his eight-year career in the coffee business.

He was on the golf course, enjoying a pleasant respite in Milwaukee’s unpredictable April weather last Saturday. By hole No. 3, his phone began buzzing non-stop. Another local coffee shop owner who previously had worked with Butler’s baristas had been commissioned to help. He reached out to Hoban.

“I thought it was for his shop,” Hoban said. “I was, like, ‘Hey, man, sorry. I don’t have one.’ Then he texted me back. I said, ‘Is yours down at the shop?’ And he said, ‘Oh, no, it’s not for me. It’s for Jimmy Butler.’

“I quickly remembered, I do have an espresso grinder because it was for freaking Jimmy Butler.”

Hoban connected with Butler’s representatives and received an address in the northern suburb of Mequon to deliver the grinder. He assumed he’d link up with the middlemen and middlewomen for the exchange. He brought samples of his shop’s coffee to share with Big Face’s bigwigs. But the black SUV sitting in the driveway with security nearby set off alarm bells.

Hoban walked inside and put down his grinder. He met the crew as they were installing the espresso machine.

“And then around the corner walked Jimmy Butler,” Hoban said. “I don’t get weird about seeing people much. But when Jimmy Butler walked around the corner, it was, like, ‘Holy cow. It’s Jimmy Butler.’ ”

The two chatted briefly about coffee and the Bucks. Hoban told Butler to take it easy on his Bucks. Butler, Hoban said, told him to tell his Bucks to take it easy on him. For his services, Hoban received a weekly rental fee, although he didn’t do it for the money. He just thought it would be cool to help “freaking” Jimmy Butler.

“We just worked out a little arrangement, which is super helpful for us,” Hoban said. “We’re just a small little coffee roaster and shop. I think all specialty coffee shops have been watching Big Face and what Jimmy’s been up to since the bubble. It’s been really cool to watch.”

Hoban described Butler as “very kind” and “very sweet,” “a really nice guy” and “very grounded.” He also confirmed Butler knows coffee.

“I think a lot of people might think his coffee thing is not very serious,” Hoban said. “But it’s super serious. I think he takes it pretty legit. He’s been to Origin (la Palma y el tucan in Colombia). They’re roasting great coffees, they’re sourcing great coffees from great producers from all over the world. Some of the coffees that Big Face has, Jimmy has gone to some of the same producers and coffee farmers that we work with.”

Hoban has joked with friends all week that he and Butler are boys now.

“I felt like a little coffee tycoon because I was on the golf course texting with Jimmy’s team,” Hoban said, laughing. “I’m just a small coffee roaster, a small coffee shop owner in Milwaukee. It felt pretty cool.”

Until Hoban’s two sons, 11 and 10, just about disowned him.

With an espresso grinder, Butler had just the thing he needed to dominate the Bucks in Game 1 on Sunday. He scored a game-high 35 points with five rebounds, 11 assists and three steals. He made 15 of 27 shots in 43 minutes. He dropped 24 points in the first half.

“I was watching it with my two sons,” Hoban said. “They were pissed at me the whole first and second quarter because Jimmy was just going crazy. And then I just kept getting texts from a couple of people I told the story to. They were, like, ‘This is on you.’ ”

Hoban conceded.

“I told some of my guys, ‘If the Bucks lose, I’m going to take this ‘L’ because I’m helping my boy get caffI have a toothacheted during the series,’ ” he said. “I’ve got to kind of own that.”

Thanks to his grinder, Hoban helped Butler maintain his peace during the most pressure-packed stretch of the Heat’s season. Butler doesn’t buckle under pressure. But his normalcy matters.

“Just being a normal human being and doing what I do on a daily basis, whether it’s home or away, that’s part of my routine,” Butler said of his coffee. “That’s part of being consistent. And it’s part of keeping basketball, basketball and keeping you as a regular person.”

Hoban will pick up his grinder sometime Wednesday. Butler might not be around for him to say goodbye. Hoban is hoping like hell the Bucks win Game 2 — and the series — so he doesn’t get run out of town. A Bucks win Wednesday guarantees a Game 5, meaning Butler will be back.

Hoban doesn’t take the connection, however brief, lightly. Butler might be his most famous customer, but connecting with everyday people through coffee is what Hoban loves most.

“This is what keeps me doing the thing that I do every day serving people coffee,” he said. “It’s the ultimate equalizer, I find. This kind of shows that again.

“Jimmy Butler needing to find an espresso grinder on the road during the playoffs. And me being able to help him and serve him in that way, this is what I love about coffee.”

He’ll have plenty of time for coffee after the Bucks beat the Heat.

[withoutbias]

We gonna boycott this guy's coffe shop like we are the Mecca, er nah?

[real chili 83]

The day Bucky has a JFB type player on their roster.....

Aint gonna happen.

[Lennys Tap]

JFB is an amazing guy.

[The Hippie Satan of Hyperbole]

Interesting that he was staying at a house up in the Quon. Do they to stay away from the team hotel when they have a longer stay?

[withoutbias]

🤐

[Uncle Rico]

🤐

A lot of people kept their mouths shut about JFB

[cheebs09]

Interesting that he was staying at a house up in the Quon. Do they to stay away from the team hotel when they have a longer stay?

I don’t think that’s common. I feel like usually they are at the Journeyman or Pfister, even for a series. I’m fairly certain there were tweets during the Celtics series from those hotels.

For comparison sake, I know baseball teams stay at the Pfister, which would be a comparable timeframe.

Maybe he was with 4ever.

[lawdog77]

Interesting that he was staying at a house up in the Quon. Do they to stay away from the team hotel when they have a longer stay?

I heard he was staying at Buzz's old house because he left a couple of skeletons in a closet that he needed to pick up

[Hards Alumni]

A lot of people kept their mouths shut about JFB

Not bias, he hates him.

[withoutbias]

A lot of people kept their mouths shut about JFB

Correct.

[rocket surgeon]

probably afraid the pfister ghosts would take his coffee

[The Lens]

LeBron and Wade rented out apartments on Prospect Ave. for the Bucks / Heat series back in 2012 (or so).  This year the team is at Journeyman but Jimmy (like Bron & Wade) gets some special privileges.