Thirty years ago, Brian Fernandez was in Kenya on a humanitarian mission with the United States Air Force when he had a cup of coffee that changed his life.

He didn’t know it then. It was several years and a couple of careers down the road, but he can still remember how unique it tasted.

Robust and full-bodied, he recalls, before admitting: “I didn’t know those terms yet.”

Fernandez spent 23 years in the United States Air Force in active duty and the reserves. Everywhere he went – and he went a lot of places – he tried the coffee.

“The coffee community has always been fascinating to me,” he said.

After the Air Force, Fernandez spent 20 years as a Phoenix Police officer before finally pursuing his lifelong dream of owning his own business.

“I always had that itch to scratch,” he said. “I always felt confident I could do it.”

Brian’s original plan after retiring from the police department was to open solely as a wholesale coffee business, so he learned to roast coffee and got to work trademarking a name.

Yellow Spruce Roasters is a nod to both places Brian calls home – yellow represents the 300-plus days of sunshine found in Arizona and spruce for the trees found in his birthplace of Colorado.

But when the time came to launch Yellow Spruce Roasters, the world was in the middle of a global pandemic. Businesses were boarding up temporarily or closing for good.

“I didn’t have any customers to sell coffee to,” Fernandez said.

So he decided to open his own coffee shop instead. Fernandez scouted locations all around the Valley and when he found a spot available in the heart of Old Town Scottsdale, he jumped on it.

Yellow Spruce Roasters opened its doors at 3902 N. Brown Ave. near Scottdale and Indian School roads in September 2020.

“With a lot of restrictions,” Fernandez said.

Despite the risk of opening a new business when much of the world was shutting down, Fernandez didn’t just survive the pandemic, he has since expanded operations to two more locations.

Yellow Spruce Wine Bar opened just next door to the coffee shop in October 2023. It offers an extensive wine list, specialty drinks, local beer and small bites.

And this September, Fernandez opened a second coffee shop inside Scottsdale’s Civic Center Library at 3839 N Drinkwater Blvd.

Brian’s wife, who is also a veteran and former police officer, has joined the business post-retirement as well.

It was his love of coffee and community that led Fernandez to Yellow Spruce Roasters.

He said owning a coffee shop – especially one in a city that welcomes 11 million visitors a year – has been a special experience.

From first dates to study sessions and early morning fuel-ups, Fernandez said now he gets to be a part of some of the best days and moments in people’s lives.

And who knows, maybe one day a customer will come in for a cup of Yellow Spruce coffee that will change their life.