Freddy Bean Roasters sits in a quiet commercial plaza on Wilsey Road, a few minutes down from Maybee Brewing Company—a good spot to grab a lager on a warm afternoon. Inside, sunlight fills the space. Jazz hums softly through the speakers, framed comic book covers line the walls, and a few small tables sit beneath a row of leafy plants on the window sills. The wood-panelled counter up front is dotted with cookies and Halloween décor, giving the place a cozy, lived-in feel.

Jeremy MacFarlane greets us from his office just off to the left as we step inside. After we take a spot, a regular walks up to the counter to chat with Jeremy like they’ve known each other for years. It’s quiet, green with plants, and calm in the kind of way only small cafés can be.

We order the turkey sandwich on ciabatta and the breakfast bagel. The turkey sandwich comes out first—a hefty one. Layers of turkey, cheddar, maple mayo, bacon bits, lettuce, tomato, salt, and pepper, all pressed into a toasted ciabatta. The bacon adds a perfect salty touch, the mayo ties it all together, and the sandwich feels like it could fuel you through a workday. At first glance, nearly $10 might seem steep, but once you see the size, it makes sense. It’s a proper meal.

The bagel follows, warm and soft, doughy in the best possible way. The cheese and ham melt together under a fried egg, the spinach adding a clean crunch, and a faint hint of jalapeño rounding things off with a little heat. It’s rich, comforting, and gone too fast.

Between customers, Jeremy joins us for a chat. Tattooed, relaxed, and smiling, he talks about how he started roasting after more than a decade of twelve- to sixteen-hour shifts. “Might as well be for myself,” he says. Coffee had always been his thing, so he began roasting at home in 2017, later finding a niche in barrel-aged coffee—beans aged in whiskey oak barrels before roasting. The result isn’t boozy, he explains, but subtle: you get the whiskey at the finish, with a trace of oak and char that complements the coffee rather than overpowering it.

His beans come mostly from Latin America, with a touch of Indian robusta added for blends. Over time, Freddy Bean evolved—first through markets, then home deliveries during the pandemic. Jeremy says he hates to admit it, but that period was when business really took off. With in-person markets closed, they quickly shifted to home-based delivery, and it worked. “We actually thrived,” he says.

At some point they bought The Tipsy Muse Café downtown, which still runs today. The roaster operation moved here, to 385 Wilsey Road, in October 2024. It’s now their main production space for roasting, bottling cold brew, and handling online and wholesale orders.

The café’s food menu is simple—a pared-down version of what’s served at the Muse—but everything is locally sourced. Jeremy’s proud of that, even if he downplays it. He laughs when I suggest he’s become a bit of a local fixture. “I’m a dude that makes coffee,” he says.

But that undersells what’s happening here. He’s building something solid, quietly and with purpose. When he talks about the struggles—coffee prices climbing, inflation cutting into margins, shortages of shipping containers—it’s with the matter-of-fact tone of someone who’s seen worse and kept going. He’s focused now on rebuilding his online and wholesale market, getting Freddy Bean’s name back out there, and maybe one day expanding beyond Fredericton.

I’m not much of a coffee drinker, but I can taste why people come back. The brew is balanced, smooth, and rich, with that faint whiskey-oak finish he mentioned. There’s patience in it. Pride. Freddy Bean Roasters might be a roastery first, but it’s also a small, welcoming café where the food stands on its own—simple, generous, and clearly made with care.

Come for the coffee, stay for the breakfast sandwich. And if you drink it black, you’ll make the coffee guru Jeremy extra happy.