Meet Tudor Montague | Founder & Roaster, Spirit Mountain Roasting Co.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Tudor Montague and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Tudor, what do you want people to remember about you?
I would like to leave behind a successful company that continues to provide economic opportunity and inspiration for my community. The main purpose for my decision to move back home to the reservation just a couple of years after starting the business, was to grow it at home. I figured, if I can build it here, the community can benefit from any success we see as well. Benefits (in my mind) from creating a successful business on the “rez” would be; job creation for community members, a new, safe space that people can come to get some quality drinks (and eats), and a space that they can be proud of when they walk in. As with many rural and/or underserved communities, there are not a lot of options for people to come together and just enjoy some time while having access to healthy and delicious offerings. Finally, during my time on this journey, I hope to inspire members of my community to try something they may have been dreaming about. If I can do that for even one person here, that would be the icing on the cake for me.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Before starting the company, my previous career was working in the environmental field for tribal communities. I spent close to 15 years doing this work and I think it helped me to bring this perspective into the company. For example, we are aware of how much impact our actions can have on the environment and the planet as a whole. From the packaging we choose to the suppliers we work with, we make decisions with these potential impacts in mind. We use compostable packaging, our main importer/green coffee supplier is a certified B-corp, and the coffees we select from their portfolio are organic & fair trade certified. We also select coffee from growers that are either women grown/co-op produced or produced by Indigenous communities in Central and South America.

Personally, I have a genuine passion for taking raw materials or ingredients and working with them to create something that people can enjoy. Once I decided to jump into the coffee roasting rabbit hole, I was hooked! I used some of my savings to purchase a small roaster and began practicing roasting. After a couple of years, I started the business and decided to move back home to the reservation to grow it there. It was difficult to find a location on the reservation to set up, so initially, I was storing the roaster at a friends place and would have to set it up, roast and then break everything down and put it back into storage. I had a couple of wholesale accounts by this time and this was definitely not a sustainable way to be operating. So, in 2018 I secured a small business loan which allowed us to built out our small roastery, purchase a larger 12kg roaster and attend professional roasting training.

Things started to look up as we began growing our accounts rapidly and then, COVID hit. We lost all of our wholesale accounts within the span of a week, it was a devastating feeling for sure. Luckily, we had our website running which allowed people who were stuck at home to order fresh roasted coffee and that’s literally what kept us afloat. Needless to say, things started picking back up after awhile and we are back to running at full steam. Now, we are in the process of preparing to open a cafe here on the rez so that is pretty exciting. This as been the dream ever since moving back home and now it’s finally happening.

The COVID experience, especially hitting at that time it did was really tough. I guess I would say that even if the obstacles in front of you seem impossible to overcome, just keep putting one foot in front of the other and continue to move forward. no matter how crazy things seem. Try to position yourself so you have some flexibility in your model, so you can pivot if necessary. The fact that we had our wholesale and a web store as revenue sources is what allowed us to stay in operation. Now here we are today.

If you had a friend visiting you, what are some of the local spots you’d want to take them around to?
So, we have some amazing local places we would visit just across the Colorado river in the city of Yuma. Starting the journey out will be a visit to one of the most awesome cafe’s in Yuma, Cafecito. We have been working with them since the beginning, as they use our coffee exclusively. They have a beautiful space with a beautiful garden/seating area and several indoor seating locations indoors as well. They have a cold brew called the Basic bee which uses lavender flowers as a topping on the espresso-based cold brew. From there, we would stop next door to visit the Red Moon Alehouse. This is a super-cool arcade themed restaurant and draft house. Awesome menu, good craft beers and live music in the evenings. Their Tetris tots are one of the definite starters to try.

These local joints are all located in the historic downtown area of Yuma which has a lot of history and the vibe of the old west still lingers in the buildings. Another cool spot is a place that has been around for decades, called Lutes Casino. In fact my father used to go there when he was little so it has a long history in the historic area. Their Lutes burger and potato tacos are where it’s at. We’d also visit the Pint House and Prison Hill brewing Co. to finish out our tour of the historic downtown area.

Next up, would be a trip to the actual Prison hill, where they give tours of the old prison that is still standing. It overlooks the Colorado River that runs through the town and serves as the border between CA and AZ. We would walk the trails along the river and take in the beautiful scenery. We would definitely have to do a couple of nights camping further north along the Colorado near the Picacho state recreation area which on our side here in California. The river is much larger and more “wild in this area so it is a must see. And before they leave, we have to visit Mr. G’s for some killer rolled tacos!

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Ah, the shoutout, this is tough because there have been so many important people that have been a part of this journey thus far. Of course, to start, I have to give a big shoutout to my wife, Maria for being by my side and fully supporting this crazy idea since day one. My mother and father of course for guiding me in the right way. There is a small circle of people aside from them that have been with us since the beginning and they know who they are.

I also want to mention my community, the Fort Yuma Quechan Tribal council and the Economic Development Administration within the Tribe which has been very supportive of my move back and have been an integral part of helping us move on to the next phase of opening a cafe here on the reservation.

I want to mention New Mexico Community Capital’s Native Entrepreneur in Residence (NEIR) progrm which helped me greatly to learn and navigate some of the early obstacle in the business startup. Vicki, my mentor in the program (and founder of Prospera Partners) is an amazing person and helped me make some important contacts in the orasting industry.

Native Capital Access, thanks Dave and the team for believing in the vison and taking a chance on funding phase 1 of this journey.

Website: www.spiritmountainroasting.com

Instagram: @spiritmountainroastingco

Image Credits
Main headshot: Paul Markow, Tudor sitting in the roastery on coffee bags, Coffee layout with french press on table: Unheard Harmony Woman with logo shirt – New Mexico Community Capital