Virtue Juice and Coffee
When Anthony Panacci and his family opened Virtue Juice and Coffee in 2019, their mission was clear: "We wanted to become a local option with healthy offerings," Anthony shares. Nestled in the heart of Vacaville, California, Virtue quickly became a beloved community hub, known for its commitment to health and sustainability. Offering a diverse menu that ranges from cold-pressed juices and acai bowls to specialty coffee, Virtue has carved out a unique space by prioritizing quality, innovation, and values-driven practices. Their decision to embrace in-house coffee roasting with Bellwether has elevated their impact, allowing them to deliver fresh, ethically sourced coffee while staying true to their mission of doing what’s right for their customers and the planet.
“We’re Offering a Product People Enjoy” – Top Freshness and Quality
Freshness and quality have always been central to Virtue’s mission. “Coffee is such a big part of our identity along with health,” Anthony says. “And we've been really excited to go on a journey of roasting our own coffee.” By roasting in-house with Bellwether, Virtue ensures their coffee is always at its peak, with beans roasted to perfection just before brewing.
Virtue’s ongoing commitment to excellence resonates deeply with their community, making every cup a testament to their values. “Coffee has been a core offering since day one for us and something that our customers have really enjoyed. And it's also been growing quite rapidly year over year.” Anthony notes. “I think even our customers have seen the growth for us in the quality of our product." Customer feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. “We've had some customers say that we have the best coffee in town, and they ask about our process. When we tell them, they're really impressed that we're able to roast coffee and offer it so quickly and that it's not mass-produced,” Anthony shares. He also highlights the versatility of their blends and single origins: “Even the roast profiles, like our house blend or our single origins from Ethiopia and Peru, fare really well across all coffee-making methods, whether it's espresso, pour-over, or French press. Customers take home beans and are really happy with them.”
The freshness of their coffee, thanks to roasting just 3 to 5 days before serving, plays a significant role. “The roast date has everything to do with that. It really increases the quality of the coffee itself,” Anthony notes. He also reflects on their journey with pride: “It’s really nice to know that we're offering a product people enjoy, and it just makes sense for us to do it ourselves. Even though it's not the most hands-on operation, our quality is high among the greats in the industry.”
“The Cost of Green Coffee Is Substantially Lower.” – Economic Flexibility to Your Business
Economics played a pivotal role in Virtue’s transition to roasting with Bellwether. Initially, Virtue sourced their coffee wholesale from a local roaster. “We were paying around $10 to $13 a pound of roasted coffee, based on the origin we would get,” Anthony shares. While this worked for a while, the family’s passion for coffee inspired them to consider roasting in-house. “Switching to Bellwether gives us a lot of freedom to acquire new clients through coffee and also to serve a really great product on our bar. And the cost of the green coffee is substantially lower,” he adds. The savings from sourcing green coffee have empowered Virtue to invest in staff training, community outreach programs, and other streams of revenue, such as wholesale and e-commerce while positioning the business for future growth. “It’s a great investment,” Anthony notes. “Not only through alignment but in having long-term flexibility to roast our own coffee at a reasonable price from sourcing green coffee ourselves.”
Anthony explains Virtue’s plans for the future. “For coffee specifically, we want to really dive into offering more wholesale options to other cafes in our area.” With established relationships with Bay Area cafes through their juice products, Virtue envisions creating “a two-in-one solution” for new cafes, offering both packaged beverages and bulk coffee bags.
The switch to Bellwether has also opened doors to e-commerce opportunities. “We’ve launched our granola product on Amazon this year, and we’d like to repackage our coffee product with more branding, adding our story, why we do what we do, and offer that on Amazon as well,” Anthony shares. In addition, Virtue aims to expand its footprint. “Even though we’ve grown our coffee program substantially this year, I think we see it being even larger than that,” he said. “We’re trying to ramp up our wholesale operations first, with the production facility as our hub and the cafes as the spokes. Opening more cafes is definitely part of the long-term vision.” By leveraging the flexibility and savings afforded by Bellwether, Virtue is poised to grow both its coffee program and its presence in the region.
“We Saw the Machine and Were Really Intrigued By It” – Accessibility and Technology That Makes a Difference
“The barriers to entry are high,” Anthony recalls, reflecting on their initial hesitation. Traditional roasters required significant investments in gas lines and training. However, Bellwether’s technology has made coffee roasting accessible in ways Anthony didn’t imagine. “We didn’t have gas lines at our facility, so we never thought coffee roasting was an option,” he shares. “Knowing that Bellwether had an all-electric option piqued our interest because we really pride ourselves on doing as much as we can in-house as possible.” Bellwether’s ventless design eliminated this barrier, allowing Virtue to integrate roasting seamlessly into their operations. “We did a site visit at your Berkeley location and we got to see the machine, the innovation, and we were really intrigued by it,” Anthony shares. “Everything clicked for us that it would be a really cool opportunity to be involved in this,” he added.
Flexibility has been another key advantage for Virtue. “Having the Shop Roaster here at our production facility allows us to do different roasts and create our own solid workflow,” Anthony explains. Currently, the team roasts a few times a week, servicing their own café and a small number of wholesale clients. “We’re able to fire up the roaster and have an employee use it while they’re doing other tasks in our facility,” he adds. Bellwether’s automation features have been transformative for their small business. “With the auto-loader capability of the Shop Roaster, we can set our production schedule and trust the roaster to execute all of its algorithms and roast to our liking each time,” Anthony explains. This has allowed the team to multitask without sacrificing the quality of their product. “As a small business, any day could bring a new challenge, and you don’t want the quality of your product to decline because of that,” he notes. Bellwether’s reliable technology ensures they can maintain high standards even during busy or unpredictable days.
“The Bellwether Green Coffee Marketplace Aligns With Our Brand and Values” – Transforming Sustainability
Sustainability is at the heart of Virtue’s mission. “We hold ourselves to a high standard,” Anthony says, explaining how their efforts go beyond coffee. From donating juice byproducts to local animal sanctuaries to sourcing green coffee through Bellwether’s ethically curated marketplace, the family-owned business is committed to reducing its environmental impact and giving back to their community. “The all-in-one feature of being able to bring on a roaster easily and also source green coffee from a marketplace were two big factors for us to choose Bellwether,” Anthony notes. “The more we do in-house, the more opportunities we find to partner with others in our community.” For example, Virtue’s decision to produce their own granola not only ensured quality control but also led to collaborations with local school districts. “It’s another way to strengthen our roots here in Northern California and reduce our environmental footprint,” he explains.
This philosophy extends naturally to their coffee program. By sourcing through Bellwether’s Green Coffee Marketplace, Virtue ensures that every bean is ethically sourced and aligned with fair wage practices. “Working with Bellwether and working through the Bellwether Green Coffee Marketplace helps us align our brand with values we care about in an easier and more accessible way,” Anthony emphasizes, reinforcing their dedication to environmental and social responsibility. Through these thoughtful efforts, Virtue Juice and Coffee proves that even small businesses can lead by example when it comes to sustainability and community impact.
The ability to source coffee transparently and support fair wages for farmers reflects Virtue’s dedication to doing what’s right. “We named our shop Virtue for wanting to do things not because they’re easy, but because they’re the right thing to do,” Anthony explains. “Offering healthy and allergen-free options, and then spreading that through everything we do—finding excellence in coffee, staying in juicing, and sustainability—those are really big pieces to our company.”
“A Partnership with Bellwether Only Made Sense”
Virtue Juice and Coffee has not only elevated its coffee program but also deepened its commitment to the community and the planet. “A partnership with Bellwether only made sense the more we aligned it to our own mission,” Anthony says. Together with Bellwether, Virtue Juice and Coffee is proving that great coffee can drive meaningful change—one cup at a time.
