Robert Rodriguez
Head Roster | Night Shift Coffee | Boston
september 2020
Robert Rodriguez preferred coffee loaded with cream and sugar. The caffeination helped him slog through the long workdays in the fashion industry in Florida. Craving a change, he moved to Boston in search of graphic design and photography work. Struggling to find a job, he landed at Barismo Coffee Roastery in Cambridge. He spent the next year packaging coffee, before becoming a manager of one of their outlets. Having the opportunity to see the many varied facets of the coffee industry, including production, Rodriguez became fascinated by the business. Enlightened with a new perspective, his personal taste in coffee evolved along with his career.
Rodriguez moved on to Redeye Roasters in Hingham, where he was introduced to the roasting process. After six months, he left Redeye to help open Loyal Nine, a Colonial-era inspired cafe. Although Rodriguez loved working as a barista at Loyal Nine’s third wave coffee concept, he continued to search for a company that would allow him to grow. He found just that at George Howell Coffee. During his three and a half year tenure, Rodriguez went from cashier to head roaster. In 2019, Rodriguez joined the Night Shift Brewing team, learning more about sourcing as well as mindfulness and nuance as the company launched coffee production. Now as the head roaster of Night Shift Coffee, Rodriguez lets the coffee speak for itself, offering a range of single origins, specialty blends, and coffee subscriptions, mostly light to medium roasts, at the Everett taproom and Lovejoy Wharf cafe (cream and sugar, optional).
