Herndon's Weird Brothers Coffee Adapts To Coronavirus

HERNDON, VA — Weird Brothers Coffee started as the brainchild of Paul Olsen and his brother Kenny. They grew up in California and always had an interest and passion for coffee and coffee roasting. So, when Paul Olsen was in the Army and stationed in Northern Virginia, he was a little disappointed in his coffee options.

"Most everything around here is mostly corporate," he said. "Coming from the West Coast, we're much more used to lots of different independent coffee places, and especially places that roasted their own coffee."

After retiring from the Army in 2009, Olsen knocked around Northern Virginia as a government contractor for a few years. Then, he and his brother began roasting their own coffee and operating a big coffee truck, before opening Weird Brothers Coffee in Herndon in April 2016.

"Right now, we offer coffee from nine different countries and all the different coffees we offer have very different, unique flavor profiles," he said. "We can do all kinds of different things with the different roast profiles that we do with the coffee."

Although Kenny Olsen died in 2017, Paul Olsen continues to operate Weird Brothers at its original roasting factory and coffee bar at 321 Sunset Park Drive and coffeehouse at 12825 Worldgate Drive.

When Paul Olsen dreamed of starting Weird Brothers Coffee, he always envisioned it as a place where Herndon residents would come together.

"One of the things that was always part of our original plan and dream was to not only to create great coffee and have great coffee options for people around here, but create a community gathering space, a place for people to come together and enjoy coffee," he said.

But in recent weeks, as concerns began to grow about the new coronavirus, also known as COVID-19, fewer people have been visiting Weird Brothers' two locations.

It didn't help when Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam issued an order last week limiting public gatherings to just 10 people and forcing restaurants to close their dining-in facilities. Many restaurants were able to stay open by offering delivery and carryout only. Then, on Monday, Northam issued his stay-at-home order.

Just like many other small businesses in the Herndon, the coronavirus pandemic has hit the Weird Brothers hard.

"Right now, I think we've probably seen about a 50 percent drop in sales," Olsen said. "Obviously, we can't have people come in, sit down and gather anymore, so we've quickly adapted to doing takeout curbside pick up and we also offer a local deliveries in the Herndon-Reston area."

In addition, Weird Brothers continues to bag and ship its roasted beans, so coffee drinkers beyond the Herndon and Reston can enjoy it. They'll even deliver beans to homes in the local area.

"People can come and order for pick ups and take out," Olsen said. "Whatever way people can see fit to help generate business for us and for other local businesses."

This is one in a series of articles Patch is writing about small businesses in the area and how they're adapting to the coronavirus pandemic. We've created a list of Herndon restaurants that are currently open. Small business owners can also add their the name of their business to our list of open businesses in Herndon and Reston.