When Coffee Becomes a Battleground: Brick Road’s Gabe Hagen Speaks Up in Washington, D.C.
Dec 05, 2025
On November 5, 2025, Brick Road Coffee and Prism Coffee Lab co-owner Gabe Hagen traveled to Washington, D.C., along with Small Business for America's Future (SBAF), to deliver a message on behalf of small businesses nationwide: the current coffee import tariffs are unsustainable, and they’re pushing independent roasters to the brink.
For Brick Road Coffee, the impact is stark. A single pallet of green coffee beans (the essential lifeblood of our café) has doubled in price.
As Gabe told lawmakers and media outlets, costs like these are not theoretical. They’re immediate. They’re devastating. And for many small roasters, they’re impossible to absorb.
“Coffee isn’t, shouldn’t be political,” Hagen said. “But right now, small business owners across America are struggling to make ends meet."
Watch the full interview here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6l2aT0Ssc6g
Gabe Hagen is a member of the Small Business Council for Small Business for America's Future (SBAF).
