• Courtesy Of Katie Jean Photography/little Seed Coffee Roasters
• Anthony and Maggie Gerakos of Little Seed Coffee Roasters

When it opens this fall at 24 Merchants Row, Middlebury's Little Seed Coffee Roasters will continue the tradition that started with Carol's Hungry Mind Café, which closed in 2018, and the short-lived Daily Grind, which closed in 2019.

Anthony and Maggie Gerakos knew they wanted to open a coffee business in Vermont someday. But the pandemic rearranged the couple's priorities, and now "someday" will be October 2.

"We saw ourselves ending up in Vermont," Maggie said. "When we came to Middlebury and looked at the space, we just fell in love with it."

Maggie, 31, and Anthony, 33, met in Brooklyn, N.Y.; she worked in nonprofit development, and he was an architect. The couple traveled frequently to Vermont; they were married in Waitsfield in 2019.

"We both grew up around coffee, and it was a part of our daily routines from somewhat of a young age," Maggie said. "When we met, we became closer because of that passion."

Several years ago, they started roasting coffee at home as a hobby, eventually trading a cast-iron pan for a small sample roaster.

Now, a full-size roaster will anchor their coffee shop's main floor. The pair will work with coffee buyers who pay above Fairtrade prices to source beans seasonally. At Little Seed, they'll serve drip coffee, cold-brew, an array of espresso-based drinks, tea, hot chocolate, pastries from area bakers, local yogurts and "little things to have with coffee," Maggie said.

Five percent of proceeds will go to the business' You Sip, We Give initiative, supporting nonprofits focused on education and women's causes in coffee-growing communities.

The café will have plenty of seating for "bustling conversations," Anthony said, while the lower level of the business' space in the Battell Block building will offer a quiet area to study and work, as well as room for coffee education and events.

"We want to make a comfortable space for everyone in the community," he said.