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Whatever Happened To The
Trade Deal That Was Supposed To Bring Costa
Rican Exporters To Cleveland?
By Robert L. Smith, Cleveland.com
The first results are raising the caffeine
level at the West Side Market.
Walter Casas, the steward of a Costa Rican
coffee family, is selling gourmet beans from
a stand at the lonely end of the produce
section. You can step up for a free sample
of hot coffee and leave with a pound of pure
Costa Rican, which many coffee aficionados
consider the world's finest.
Right now, Volio International Coffee stand
-- across from A&G Produce -- is the only
place outside of Costa Rica where you can
buy Cafe Volio, one of Costa Rica's oldest
and most admired brands.
Casas, the company's sales manager, hopes
this is only a beginning.
"We want Cleveland to be our headquarters to
expand through all the United States," he
said. "This is our storefront. This is our
start."
He met a trade delegation from Cleveland
about three years ago. The Cleveland
Foundation led city officials on an effort
to entice Costa Rican exporters to connect
to Midwest and Canadian markets through the
Port of Cleveland. In April 2008, Mayor
Frank Jackson signed a trade deal with a
Costa Rican group representing a dozen
exporters of specialty teas, cereals,
pineapples and coffees.
So far, only Cafe Volio has arrived, and its
presence amounts to Casas, one local
employee and about one ton of coffee a
month. The hoped-for trade office has not
materialized.
Casas blames the recession and a change of
presidential administrations in Costa Rica.
He said three other Costa Rican exporters
plan to join him here soon.
Chris Warren, Cleveland's economic
development director, said he expects the
other Costa Rican exporters to watch and see
whether Cafe Volio succeeds at breaking into
the U.S. market through Cleveland. He said
it's difficult to evaluate the trade mission
because the city did not know what to
expect.
"We'd never done this before," Warren said.
"We're in it now. We're really pleased
Walter Casas is here. We'll see how it plays
out."
Cafe Volio's Cleveland operation amounts to
more than a market stall. The company is
moving its Internet distribution center from
Miami to a warehouse it leased on
Cleveland's west side. Casas said he might
one day open a roaster here.
For now, he flies in roasted beans and picks
them up at Cleveland Hopkins International
Airport and trucks them back to his stand,
where he blends and grinds them for
in-the-know coffee lovers.
"We sell 350,000 pounds a month in Costa
Rica, so we can afford to do this," he said.
The commute is a challenge. The 42-year-old
father of two splits his time between San
Jose and Cleveland. But he likes the city,
even in winter, and he loves the market.
"Here we can talk, listen to the people,
hear how they feel about our coffee," he
said. "This is the heart of the city. We can
do it in a different city, but people here
are just so warm."
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