New Local Coffee Shop, Ironclad Coffee Roasters, Opens In Lynchburg

Ironclad Coffee Roasters, located at 3700 Candlers Mountain Road, will hold its grand opening Feb. 1, following many months of planning and preparation for its arrival in Lynchburg.   

Ironclad Coffee Roasters opened its doors for a limited soft opening to serve the Lynchburg area Jan. 23 following a successful health inspection Jan. 22. 

Trevor Jaastad, a junior at Liberty University, noted the popularity of the soft opening.  

“It was packed in there,” Jaastad said. 

Ironclad Coffee Roasters is by no means the typical café or coffee shop; it specializes in the craft of “specialty grade” coffee, according to Ironclad Coffee Roaster’s About page. The café’s seasonal drinks are custom made, with nearly every flavoring made in house. Their winter drinks include the Hygge, Dark Chocolate & Peppermint Cookie Milk Latte, Café de Bella, the Winter Steamer, Cousin Eddie’s Egg Nog and Bing’s Christmas Punch. 

Ironclad also specializes in house-made, high-quality pastries. A portion of the ingredients used are locally purchased, such as its milk, which is supplied from Homestead Creamery. Its butter, however, is provided internationally by Isigny Sainte-Mère, a farm located in Normandy, France.  

Ryan O’Rourke, the founder of Ironclad Coffee Roasters, said Ironclad prides itself in quality-first foods and drinks. 

“(It’s) quality first, always. We cut no corners,” O’Rourke said. “And that means spending a lot more for ingredients … a lot more for the coffee itself, … sparing no expense.” 

Aside from exceptional beverages and foods, O’Rourke said customers should expect a superior level of service from its baristas and bakers. The standard for the customer service of Ironclad’s employees was inversely inspired by O’Rourke’s experience in Europe, where customer service did not seem to be a priority.  

“Because of our experience over there, I just want to make this the best service: friendly, warm, above and beyond, caring about quality and all of that,” O’Rourke said. 

Employees were hired in November 2024 and trained at Ironclad’s location in Richmond over the past few months. During the week of Jan. 20, the head barista and head baker from Richmond came to Lynchburg to further train the new baristas and chefs in preparation for the opening. 

O’Rourke said that Ironclad has a zero-tolerance policy with customers who mistreat their staff. He noted there have been a few people who have been banned from the Richmond locations because of their inappropriate interactions with employees. 

“We expect … customers to be decent and to be kind,” O’Rourke said. “We want the staff to treat everyone like gold, and we hope customers will treat staff like gold.” 

O’Rourke had been looking into opening a location in Lynchburg for a few years, which was spurred on by his family’s experience with Lynchburg and Liberty’s family-like atmosphere. O’Rourke wanted a location within walking distance of Liberty, which led to the decision to purchase the location on Candlers Mountain Road. 

O’Rourke admitted that the Lynchburg location doesn’t entirely fit the historic building criteria modeled by Ironclad Coffee Roaster’s original location at Shockoe Bottom in Richmond, Virginia, which was once a firehouse. O’Rourke said the interior design of the new location, however, was designed to fit a classical, early 20th century vintage look.  

O’Rourke said that Ironclad strives to be the best it can be. 

“It’s been such a labor of love … challenging ourselves to make these cafes … intentional in everything we do … and getting better every day,” O’Rourke said. “(We’re) healthily obsessive about getting better every day. … That’s really our goal: pushing ourselves and being our own best competition.” 

O’Rourke said he developed a passion for specialty coffee when he lived in Ireland with his wife for five years.  He tried different specialty coffees throughout Europe — his favorite being from Hasbean in the U.K. — and eventually found himself roasting his own coffee beans at home. The coffee shop owner said he developed a particular taste for coffee during those years, although it was greatly influenced by the senses he inherited from his grandmother, Marcella.  

“I inherited this super sense, insane ability to taste and smell stuff from my grandmother,” O’Rourke said. “… because of that, I’m very particular … about food and the way I prepare things … and the same thing with coffee too.”  

O’Rourke said Ironclad’s approach to its bakery stems from his family history. The art of baking goes back over 80 years on his father’s side; both his father and his grandfather owned their own bakeries. 

When O’Rourke returned to the United States, he decided he wanted to roast coffee professionally — a goal that ultimately resulted in Ironclad Coffee Roaster’s arrival in Richmond, Virginia. O’Rourke said he was glad he did not know the struggles he would face by owning a café, otherwise he probably would not have tried to make his dream a reality.  

“It’s a good thing I couldn’t see in a crystal ball everything it takes … all the difficulty and challenges and problems that come with running a café,” O’Rourke said. “… It’s really hard, but I love it and get up every day and try to be better than we were the day before.” 

Ironclad’s normal hours of operation will be from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m., beginning Jan. 25. For more information about Ironclad Coffee Roasters, visit its Instagram profile @ironcladcoffee_lyh. 

Sturek is the on-campus news editor for the Liberty Champion.