Founded by Army veteran Paul Olsen and his brother Kenny – two self-described “really weird brothers” who shared a lifelong passion for freshly roasted, quality coffee – Weird Brothers Coffee is a coffee experience not to be missed.
Paul always dreamed of starting a coffee company with his brother Kenny. “Coffee is something that my brother and I have always been passionate about, so it was always on the back burner,” he said. After Paul retired from the military, he and Kenny decided to make that dream a reality by creating Weird Brothers Coffee as “an open, inclusive, welcoming space for all, where we could all be ourselves and not just make great coffee . , but have a good conversation.”
The company started with a coffee truck in 2016 before opening its first brick-and-mortar location in Herndon, Virginia, a year later. “We wanted to create something bright, open and friendly, where we could be nerdy and fun and not pretentious, like a lot of other places we’d been before,” Paul explained.
Kenny and Paul (Kenny and Paul)
Kenny died not long after Strange brothers opened their coffee bar in the Roasting Factory, but Paul and the family ensure his spirit lives on with every batch of freshly roasted beans and every drink they create. Kenny’s passion for helping others and putting a smile on people’s faces remains at the heart of everything they do.
Weird Brothers now has three locations in Northern Virginia and offers dozens of unique coffee blends sourced from 11 different countries that are roasted in-house. The company’s creative drink menu features fun flavor combinations and fun names like “Embrace the Dark Side” espresso and the medium roast “Kickstarter,” which recently won bronze medals at the Golden Bean North America Roasters Competition.
Besides the coffee, Strange brothers is deeply committed to community engagement and building connections. “We’re really in the people business. It’s about bringing people together and building those human connections, and, you know, putting a smile on people’s faces. That’s really what we’re all about” , Paul said.
That strong, people-oriented mentality has helped Weird Brothers thrive as a veteran-owned small business. View the Weird Brothers Coffee website or visit them in person and order some of their incredible coffee today!
Weird Brothers Coffee offers a 15% discount year-round for veterans, active duty members and teachers. The company also ships coffee overseas to military members stationed abroad.