Get ready for more places to fuel up on specialty coffee in the region, with a new merger that paves the way for a Pittsburgh brand expansion and tighter customer service. 

Coffee wholesaler and distributor Kiva Han under parent company Ed’s Beans Inc. took over Crazy Mocha this week, with its founder Ken Zeff remaining the head of retail as the the director of operations for the brand. Ed Wethli, who founded Kiva Han in the ’90s, remains head of the company. The Crazy Mocha headquarters will remain on Baum Boulevard in Friendship. 

For more than a decade, Cranberry-based Kiva Han has been the roaster and distributor for Crazy Mocha. Since it was founded nearly 20 years ago, Crazy Mocha has grown to more than 30 locations — including one that opened about a month ago in the Alcoa Building, Downtown.

But over the past year, Mr. Zeff realized he needed more resources that would allow the company to grow. So he started a conversation with Mr. Wethli about buying Crazy Mocha — which would put money and manpower behind Crazy Mocha, shoring up current locations as well as providing options for expansion.

Mr. Zeff also found that since he’s not a coffee drinker, he’s been at a disadvantage and he needed help.

“To get to the next level, we had to roast our own beans,” he says. Not drinking his product meant he couldn’t calibrate the roasts for optimal flavor.

“I treat beans like a commodity but they really should be treated like fine wine,” he says. He knew he needed to team up with someone who is passionate about coffee, from the source to the cup: Mr. Wethli was a natural choice.

The Kiva Han takeover will allow Crazy Mocha to expand, but it will also allow for internal tweaks.

“The biggest changes are mostly to improve communication,” says Kiva Han employee Gabrielle Johnston. They have plans to shore up marketing, expand a loyalty program, educate customers about where their beans come from and provide more resources for training baristas.

Mr. Zeff says the merger is also an advantage for both purchasing and selling. “We’re in a unique position that we’re large enough that we can go direct to farmers,” says Mr. Zeff, “but small enough to go back and forth with customers to find out exactly what they want.”

Mr. Zeff says that Crazy Mocha will continue to open shops in underserved neighborhoods, with the next location  to open in Braddock late summer. That location in the Cuda Building on Braddock Avenue is 5,000 square feet and will include conference rooms for public use, as well as a prep kitchen where Crazy Mocha staff will make sandwiches and pastries to distribute to all locations.

Mr. Zeff bought his first shop, then called Dancing Goats Coffee, in Shadyside, though he changed the name and kept the mascot. 

Since then, “We opened in Lawrenceville. We opened on the North Side. And we opened in Market Square when there were 12 vacancies around us,” he says.“I am grateful that Pittsburgh has embraced us and allowed us to grow.”

Melissa McCart: mmccart@post-gazette.com; Instagram @postgazettefood; Facebook @postgazettefood

First Published: March 15, 2018, 9:35 p.m.