The best things start at the gate.

Starting Gate Coffee was born right here in Louisville, Kentucky. Horse country, Derby country, and the kind of place where community means something. We're a small-batch online roastery with one big belief: a great cup of coffee has the power to bring people together.

A brand built on connection

Starting Gate Coffee is the sister brand to Finish Line Realty, and just like in horse racing, we believe the gate is where it all begins. Whether it's the start of your morning, the start of a conversation, or the start of something new in your community, we want to be right there with you.

We're not a coffee shop you walk into. We're the coffee that shows up at your door, freshly roasted in small batches, ready to be shared. Because the best things in life, a great neighborhood, a great home, a great cup, are worth doing right.

Every detail is intentional, right down to the bag

We're the kind of people who geek out on getting things right. Our logo and brand colors were inspired by traditional jockey silk color combinations. Look closely and you'll spot the green and gold palette that wouldn't look out of place in the paddock. Even the label on our bags is a nod to the track: it was designed after the betting slips you get at the race, complete with 11 columns of rectangles at the bottom. A little detail that says you placed a winning bet.

Next time you pick up one of our bags, look at the bottom. Those 11 columns are our way of telling you that you made the right call.

Small batches. Real precision.

Our signature Super Hi-5 blend is named after one of horse racing's most exciting bets, picking the first five finishers in a race. A winning Super Hi-5 bet on the Kentucky Derby this year would have turned $1 into $741,018.90. Just saying. It's a Full City roast, meaning it sits in that rich medium-dark zone that coffee lovers reach for every morning.

Here's where we really nerd out: every batch we roast is measured with a spectrophotometer, a tool that reads the precise color of the beans to ensure consistency from roast to roast. A Full City roast lands between 45 and 55 on the color scale. Our most recent batch came in at 48.6. That's not an accident. That's craft.

We made this to give back

From the very beginning, Starting Gate Coffee was designed to do more than taste good. We built this brand as a community tool, one that schools, sports teams, nonprofits, and neighborhood groups can actually use. Our coffee is a natural fit for fundraising, gifting, and supporting the people and places you care about. Because great coffee should do more than start your morning. It should start something.

Meet Scott & Liz Hack

Starting Gate Coffee is a family endeavor, co-founded by Scott and Liz, the same team behind Finish Line Realty. They're your neighbors, and this coffee is their way of investing in the community they already call home.

Scott Hack

Co-founder

Liz Hack

Co-founder