The opportunity in 2016
In 2016, a Dunn Brothers location in Farmington was about to close. The Aylward family saw an opportunity. Not just to keep a coffee shop alive — but to build something better. Something they could call their own. Something where the coffee actually mattered.
They took over the space, kept the talented baristas, and started the slow transformation into what BlueNose Coffee is today.
Why “BlueNose”?
Ask anyone in Minnesota and they'll tell you: cold weather is in our blood. We get blue noses, frozen toes, and we still line up for our morning coffee. The name is a wink at that hometown grit — coffee for people who don't flinch at -20°F mornings.
From café to full roastery
What started as a community coffee shop slowly grew into a full-fledged small-batch roastery. We bought our own roaster. We started sourcing beans directly. We learned the craft. And we built a reputation for serving the freshest coffee in Dakota County.
Today, we roast every bag to order. We never roast more than a few pounds at a time. Every batch is tasted before it leaves the building. That's not a marketing claim — it's just how we work.
What we're building
BlueNose Coffee is more than a café. We're a roastery, a community spot, a wholesale supplier, and a family business that's in this for the long haul.
Every cup we pour and every bag we sell is a small bet on the same idea: fresh, small-batch coffee made by people who care will always beat mass-produced coffee from a warehouse.
We're proud to be part of Farmington. We're proud of our team. And we're proud to say — almost a decade in — we're still family-owned, still roasting in small batches, and still loving every minute of it.
“Best coffee in the south metro. The drive-thru is fast and the beans are always fresh.”
— A regular