Slingshot Coffee offers a different sort of big-box relief for December

We all know that winter is coming, but gray skies and dropping temperatures have little impact on consumers who prefer a glassed of chilled coffee to a mug of hot java.

Jenny Bonchak of Slingshot Coffee Company is counting on those dedicated fans from Massachusetts to Florida to make the Raleigh's business' seemingly off-season debut—a new, 64-ounce container of cold-brewed coffee, with its own tap—a success. Packaged like boxed wine, Slingshot's new format holds four times as much coffee as their 16-ounce bottle. And at around $15 for the box and $4-5 per bottle, it's value packaging that will a stay fresh for up to six weeks. 

"Who wouldn't want their own personal Slingshot tap in their refrigerator?" says Bonchak, who launched the company in 2012 and is on track to produce as much as 10,000 gallons of cold-brewed coffee this year. "Bottles are great to grab on the go, but the box creates an option to enjoy at home."

Bonchak and her husband, Jonathan Bonchak (formerly of Durham-based Counter Culture, whose beans Slingshot uses exclusively), spent a lot of time this year considering options for selling a larger-capacity version of Slingshot. She believes they currently are the only producer of cold-brewed coffee in the U.S. packing their product this way for home use.

While boxed wines still carry a certain stigma of cheapness or low quality, Bonchak says they opted for the format for several reasons. Notably, it preserves the fresh taste of their high-quality brew for an extended period. With the exception of the hard plastic tap, the package is entirely recyclable, too.

This marks the second major product introduction this year for Slingshot, which collaborated with Durham Distillery to create Damn Fine Coffee Liqueur. It would seem that a boxed version of Slingshot's popular Cascara Tea—referenced this week by NPR's The Salt, which examined the growing popularity of the beverage—would be the obvious next step. But Bonchak says they are in no hurry.

"We're just focused on getting the Slingshot box into stores and filling holiday orders," she offers. "We're still a really small team. We'll take things on step at a time."

The boxed option, meanwhile, will be available starting today at local Whole Foods stores and many independent retailers, as well as online through the Slingshot website. Orders guaranteed for Christmas delivery will be taken through Dec. 11. 

This post first appeared in Indy Week.

Weekend: Slingshot opens a morning hangout

This post first appeared in Indy Week.

Rain fell steadily the Friday night that Slingshot Coffee owner Jenny Bonchak welcomed fans and friends to her new Raleigh headquarters at 1420 N. Brookside Drive. She and husband Jonathan Bonchak couldn't show off the comfy sofa and chairs purchased for its new outdoor coffee shop, Weekend, but no one seemed to care.

Jenny Bonchak, the founder and CEO of Slingshot,
makes a pour over. (Indy Week photos by Jeremy M. Lange)

Supporters gladly crowded into the 1,000-square foot production room and gamely stood under a canopy of trees on the new patio to admire the sylvan view of a stretch of Crabtree Creek. They simply were too busy enjoying themselves, drinking coffee and beer, nibbling pork or vegan barbecue sandwiches, and listening to Stu McLamb of The Love Language perform a solo set.

The party is over, but the coffee continues to flow. The aptly named Weekend is open from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturdays and Sundays. Patrons appreciate the opportunity to have bean options and hot pour-over coffee made by Jonathan, who works for Counter Culture Coffee in Durham. Jenny pours cold Slinghot from a series of taps topped with actual slingshots.

"This is a chance for Jonathan and I to do something we've dreamed about for years—standing beside each other, making coffee in a coffee bar. Our coffee bar," she says.

In the coming weeks, Weekend will feature new menu items, such as herbal infusions and granita-like coffee slushies. They also serve baked goods from Yellow Dog Bakery, their North Person neighbor, including scones and Pop-Tart-inspired pastries.

Bonchak started brewing Slingshot two years ago in a now-closed restaurant during its off hours. A few months later, she moved to a 150-square-foot production room inside Oak City Cycling. The new location, which she thinks will also allow for future growth, was made possible by the company's first significant investor: John Replogle, president and CEO of Seventh Generation, a maker of environmentally friendly household products.

A customer enjoys a leisurely
sip on Weekend's patio.

"It's been amazing to have someone like that who not only is providing resources, but is providing a sounding board for me to talk through things," Bonchak says. "With his advice, I really feel like we're able to take a huge step forward."

When Bonchak launched Slingshot just two years ago, she would leave her day job and work through the night to bottle one batch and start brewing another. As a Valentine's Day gift to herself, she quit that job on Feb. 14. She now has three part-time employees, including one in Atlanta, and distributes Slingshot to retailers from Pennsylvania to Florida.

For this venture, Bonchak knows that her spouse is more than the average supportive husband. "You don't win the Brewer's Cup regionals twice in a row, and place at nationals, unless you really love making the very best coffee for people," she says with pride. "It's great to be able to do all this side by side."

The Bonchaks view Weekend's comfortable setting as an extension of their own nearby home. It's also pet friendly, with water bowls and a jar of dog biscuits next to the station with cream and simple syrup.

"Frank the beagle wouldn't have it any other way," Bonchak says of the couple's gregarious pup, who has his own Twitter account. "We love to be outside and entertain with friends, and we wanted the same feel for Weekend. We hope people will want to hang out here, enjoy some coffee, read the paper and just unwind."

Hannah Elmore stopped by with her husband, Jack, and their 2-month-old son, Roy, on their way to the State Farmer's Market. They got two coffees and a bottle of chilled Cascara Tea to go, along with a pair of Slingshot T-shirts. "We follow Slingshot on Instagram and were so excited when we heard Weekend was open," she says. "We love great coffee, so we'll definitely be back."

North Person business district gains steam by focusing on its neighbors

This story first appeared in Indy Week.

Once home to desolate storefronts and a handful of struggling shops, the area that bridges the established Oakwood and Mordecai neighborhoods near downtown Raleigh transitioned during 2013 into the thriving business destination many always believed it would become.

It even attained its own destination name: North Person.

Several new businesses have opened in the low-key district in recent months, including a new Niall Hanley pub—The Station Bar, located in a former gas station on Person Street—in November. This week, assuming all permits are finalized, the long-awaited second location of Wine Authorities will open around the corner in the Person Street Plaza on East Franklin Street.

At least three additional openings are anticipated for early 2014, including the previously announced Person Street Neighborhood Bar at the plaza. John Holmes of Hobby Properties, which manages the plaza, confirms that a new restaurant will be announced in coming days.

The third new venture will be a "speakeasy cantina" set to debut in March on Person Street next to PieBird, which has enjoyed steady growth since it opened in 2011. The long-vacant location served as a pop-up ice cream shop for a few months during the summer.

"We had been looking at spaces in the neighborhood for a long time and we jumped when we learned this was available," says Lily Ballance, who will operate the as-yet-unnamed bar with her husband, David Ballance. The Ballances signed the lease three weeks ago.

The couple was formerly involved with Calavera Empanadas and Tequila on South Blount Street near City Market. Since the new site is not large enough for a kitchen, Ballance plans to collaborate with PieBird owner Sheila Duncan to provide empanadas and other nibbles.

"I grew up in Mexico City and want to try to re-create the feel of the great neighborhood bars there," says Ballance, who currently works at Five Star, an Asian restaurant in the warehouse district. North Person "is so cozy and great. The people are so friendly and supportive. There's a buzz starting and we really feel like it's the place to be."

A decade ago, before he settled on Durham for the first Wine Authorities store, Craig Heffley considered launching his business in the North Person area.

"I have a friend who lives in Oakwood, and I always through it would be a great place for a wine store," Heffley says. A year ago, when he was scouting locations for a second store, he drove by Person Street Plaza and saw a sign seeking tenants. "I stopped the car and called right away," he says. "We're thrilled that the emphasis is on small, independent operations that serve the community."

Niall Hanley agrees. "Our goal is to cater to the neighbors," says Hanley, who created a large patio at The Station with freestanding outdoor fireplaces to offer the neighborhood a communal living room. His chef, Scott Jankovictz, worked at the now-closed Market Restaurant. "I think you will see a scene being developed here that will be strongly controlled by the neighborhood, which is fine with us. That's what builds longevity."

At least one North Person start-up already has gained national attention. Slingshot Coffee, which sells hand-bottled, cold-brewed iced-coffee beverages, has gone from off-hours production in the former Market Restaurant location on Blount Street (now home to the very popular Stanbury restaurant) to its own space within Oak City Cycling on East Franklin. Its products have been singled out for praise by Southern Living and Imbibe magazines and included in upscale holiday gift guides promoted by Real Simple, Gear Patrol, Time Out New York and Provisions, the online retailer affiliated with Food52, a respected cooking resource.

After working around the clock for months, owner Jenny Bonchak finally gave notice at her day job last week.

"I'm still the only employee, although I do have some help with local deliveries and in-store tastings," says Bonchak. "I will be going full-time in January and I couldn't be more excited to take this next step."

Turning dreams into caffeinated reality

Slingshot Coffee will be featured throughout this weekend's 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival and from 2-5 p.m. today during a special pop-up bar at The Longview Center, 118 S. Person St., Raleigh. Additionally, Capital Club 16, 16 W. Martin St., Raleigh, will spotlight a special cocktail - The Hot Shot, made from Slingshot Coffee and Fireball Whiskey.

A few years ago, Jenny Bonchak planned the perfect wedding, complete with a dream honeymoon in Hawaii.  But while most newlyweds return with souvenirs and sunburn, Jenny and her husband Jonathan surprised friends and family by coming home with an ambitious business plan.

Jenny Bonchak of Slingshot Coffee Company

“We hung out on the beach and thought about where we’d want to live and what we really wanted to do. We liked Pittsburgh, but we wanted to be close to the beach and the mountains, and Raleigh kept coming out of top,” she said. “Our families thought we were nuts.”

They don’t think so anymore. Jonathan, who became a coffee aficionado while working as a barista his senior year of college, is a sales manager at Counter Culture in Durham, one of the country’s best-known purveyors of sustainable, fair-trade coffee. And Jenny, whose marketing experience helped her land a communications job, has parlayed her own passion for coffee into Slingshot Coffee Company, a Raleigh-based, cold-brewed beverage business that launched on May 31.

Jenny favors a hands-on role to producing the smooth-sipping drink. This often means working long hours before and after her day job to single-handedly brew and bottle cases of product several days each week – in addition to constantly testing beans for ideal grind and steep combinations.

While reluctant to hand off the hard work to anyone less obsessed with the brewer’s art, Slingshot’s trajectory already has forced her to find a larger production facility. Currently, Slingshot is brewed in off-hours at Chef Chad McIntrye’s The Market Restaurant, 936 N. Blount Street. By October, it will relocate nearby in unused space at Oak City Cycling Project, 212 E. Franklin Street. While Slingshot will not have a storefront presence, the product will be sold in the bike shop.  

“I thought it could work, but never in a million years did I think it would be like this,” Jenny said from a bench at Escazu Artisan Chocolates, her first client, which sold out her first batch in just two days. Several area sellers stock both the 16-ounce ready-to-drink and concentrated versions – the only items in the current product line.

“I did a special syrup once with Escazu cocoa nibs and we’ll probably have T-shirts soon, but we are never going to have blueberry coffee or anything like that,” she said with a shudder. “Slingshot will never be flavored. To me, Slingshot has to be synonymous with the highest quality ingredients available.”

The self-taught coffee connoisseur has developed a keen palate for determining which beans are best suited to cold brewing, as well as a chemist’s clean sense of balance in developing the right recipe for Slingshot. While consumers may not notice, Jenny will be making subtle changes in the blend throughout the year to maximize the inherent qualities of seasonally available beans. Her current stock, grown in Ethiopia, provides “a floral, incredibly juicy Meyer lemon front that people really want this time of year.

“It’s such an honor that Counter Culture wanted to work with me, and I feel strongly about treating these beans with the respect they deserve,” added Jenny, who credits growing up on a family farm with her deep appreciation of seasonal ingredients.  “It’s not like wine, which might improve over a period of years. They work with growers from seed to cup, which allows me to extract all that fresh flavor.”

If you try to mimic her cold-brew methods at home with most commercial coffees  –  which may be freshly ground but likely roasted months earlier from warehoused beans  –  you may be be disappointed with a flat flavor that can be masked only with sugary syrups.

“The longer coffee sits, it loses all the beautiful things it could be,” Jenny said. “Honestly, the first time I had really amazing coffee, it changed my life. I became enthralled with it, and that just doesn’t happen if you don’t start with the very best ingredients. I want others to have that experience, too.”

Also delicious with a glug of milk.

The simplicity of fine ingredients, and the round-the-clock care she provides to produce Slingshot, accounts for its price of $5.99 for a bottle of ready-to-drink and $10.99 for the concentrate.


“The fact is, there’s a lot of bad, cheap coffee out there,” said Jenny, lamenting that American consumers tend to place higher value on a low price tag than the intense labor involved in growing, exporting and roasting truly exceptional beans. “When you taste really good coffee, you get it. It’s a lot like discovering what makes fine wine great.”



Not many people got to taste Slingshot before it hit shelves as its development was a tightly guarded secret. Only a handful of friends and family knew what the novice entrepreneur was up to, including the graphic designers who helped transform her ideas into the brand’s distinctive package. When Slingshot debuted at a tasting party and quickly sold out, friends and colleagues were as stunned as she was.

“I felt it was important to keep it under wraps until I was certain it was the best it could be,” Jenny said, admiring a bottle with the sort of dreamy gaze some people reserve for beautiful babies. “It was essential for me that whoever tried it, someone with a great coffee palate or someone who was just curious, had a truly incredible experience.”

Jenny has added clients in and around Raleigh on a weekly basis ever since and recently picked up new accounts in Charlotte and Greensboro. This weekend, she is a sponsor of several events at the 2012 Hopscotch Music Festival, where her elixir will be available to bands that perform. She has prepped more than a dozen cases of ready-to-drink and gallons more to fill coolers for free samples – enough for a bona fide coffeepalooza.

Though stressed out in the days leading up to the festival, Jenny said, “It is so worth it. I love music and I love coffee, so bringing all this together is like the perfect marriage.”