Matador Coffee Roasting Company (Milton)

The garage doors are still there. Big, heavy, the kind that used to roll up for oil changes instead of oat milk lattes. Matador kept them and they look perfect.

This is the Milton Road flagship, built inside a converted 1970s auto service garage. Checkered floor. Turquoise accents. A roaster sitting in plain view where a lift used to be. There is even a separate drive thru hut out in the parking lot for anyone who wants their coffee without leaving the car. By the side, a dog friendly patio stays full of locals and their dogs and of travelers working their way down the Route 66 corridor who stopped because the coffee is good and the whole scene feels welcoming.

The story behind it is worth knowing too. The founder trained as a barista in Seattle opened his own shop there in 2000 and then moved the whole roasting operation to Flagstaff in 2015. Two decades of roasting knowledge now lives inside this building that used to house cars. The company stayed independent and family owned under the Martusciello name, with an east side location on US 89 run by a couple who grew up inside the business. A franchise built by family.

This is a high volume operation. Bulk beans move right out of the roastery, wholesale accounts have historically included stores like Whole Foods, and there is even a service department that repairs espresso machines of any brand and runs a loaner program while yours is in the shop. Matador is not trying to be a quiet third wave den. It is trying to keep a whole region caffeinated and it does that well.

My barista was not the most knowledgeable one I have met but he pulled out a folder packed with details on every bean, origin and roast level they carry and let me dig through it myself. I appreciated the effort even if the delivery was not polished.

I was already heavily caffinated so I ordered the Cherry Pie Matcha and it won me over. Very sweet, maybe sweeter than I would normally choose, but the matcha notes still shine through all that sugar and the cherry flavor tastes natural rather than syrupy. A high quality drink dressed up as a dessert.

I also tried the Mixed Berry Smoothie. It tastes real, with actual fruit seeds giving it a little crunch you do not get from the chain version of this drink. It leans thick and milky rather than fruity so if you are chasing a bright fruit forward smoothie this one might land a notch different than your favorite.

Matador calls itself All Coffee, No Bull, and the Milton location backs that up. Big doors, big roasting, big personality, no pretending to be something quieter than it is.

Checkout the other Rt. 66 Matador location in Flagstaff.
View top coffee shops in next door Sedona.