In the world of specialty coffee, where every bean tells a story and every corner cafe feels like a second home, change often comes quietly. That's exactly what happened recently in Milwaukee when Fiddleheads Coffee Roasters, a beloved local staple for nearly three decades, announced its sale to FairWave Specialty Coffee Collective, a growing Kansas City-based group backed by private equity firm Great Range Capital.
Fiddleheads first opened its doors back in 1996 in Thiensville, Wisconsin, the brainchild of co-owner Ray Marcy's daughter Lynn, who dreamed up the idea for a cozy spot where people could gather over great coffee. What started as one small shop quickly grew into something much bigger. Over the years, the family-owned business expanded to eight distinct locations scattered across the greater Milwaukee area, including spots in downtown Milwaukee, Mequon, Shorewood, Wauwatosa, Cedarburg, Grafton, and Menomonee Falls. Each cafe has its own personality, shaped by local architecture, artwork from area artists, and a real sense of community.
The owners always put a lot of heart into the place. They roast their own small-batch coffee, working with beans sourced from farms around the world and keeping batches small—often forty pounds or less—so they can watch every roast closely. Freshness matters a lot to them; bags of beans often ship just a day or two after roasting. And from the beginning, Fiddleheads has been about more than just drinks—it's been a gathering spot, a supporter of local art, and a place where regulars feel like family.
But after almost thirty years, things naturally shift. Co-owners Ray Marcy and Mike Wroblewski started thinking about what the next chapter might look like. Running a business like this for so long takes its toll, and they wanted to make sure whatever came next would honor what they'd built.
“Fiddleheads is our family’s baby,” Marcy said in the press release. “It was really important to us that if we ever did decide to sell, it would be to someone who works in coffee—someone who understands how special Fiddleheads is to us, and how special it has become to the local community here.”
After more than a year of talks, they found that fit with FairWave. The Kansas City company, which started back in 2020 with the combination of local favorites The Roasterie and Messenger Coffee, has been steadily adding other independent specialty brands to its roster. FairWave positions itself as a collective—offering shared resources, industry know-how, and financial backing while letting each brand keep its own identity and local roots.
Fiddleheads marks the 12th brand to join the group. The lineup already includes heavy hitters like Spyhouse and Up Coffee from Minneapolis, Ceremony Coffee from Baltimore, Black & White Coffee from North Carolina, and of course Anodyne Coffee Roasters right there in Milwaukee, which FairWave picked up in 2023. With this latest deal, FairWave now controls a dozen coffee shops in the Milwaukee area alone, making it one of the bigger players around.
FairWave's president of growth, Isaac Hodges, stressed that they didn't rush into this. “We took our time getting to know Fiddleheads’ brand, their community, and their people,” he said. “Central to that exploration was gaining a deep understanding of Fiddleheads’ legacy and place within the community.” He added that the shared passion across the collective for great coffee and growing together as “coffee people” would only make Fiddleheads stronger moving forward.
For now, day-to-day operations at the Fiddleheads locations aren't expected to change much. The plan is to keep the two Milwaukee brands separate rather than merging them. Roasting in the area will focus on Anodyne, while Fiddleheads spots will likely take on more of a bakery role, serving items from both brands. The current owners will stick around to help with the transition, and there's talk of sharing ideas across the wider network of shops.
This move fits a larger pattern in the coffee world these days. Independent roasters and small chains face rising costs, tougher competition, and the pull of bigger opportunities. Private equity-backed groups like FairWave step in with resources that can help these businesses scale without losing what made them special in the first place. Whether that works out long-term depends on how well the new owners balance growth with the personal touch that draws people back to places like Fiddleheads.
For the regulars who've been stopping in for years—maybe grabbing a pour-over before work or meeting friends on a Saturday—it's natural to wonder what stays the same and what might shift. The coffee, the art on the walls, the familiar faces behind the counter: those things matter deeply in a community.
As FairWave brings its experience to the table, the hope is that Fiddleheads keeps being that reliable spot where the coffee is strong, the vibe is welcoming, and the story keeps unfolding. In a business that moves fast, holding onto what works while looking ahead isn't easy—but for now, the folks who built Fiddleheads seem convinced they've found the right partner to carry the torch.
