THE IRONY that his sustainability-focused business Amberson Coffee & Grocer operates from inside a former gas station isn’t lost on founder Hugo Cano. On a list of environmentally unfriendly industries, the fossil fuel business ranks near the top. But the coffee business is also a big ecological offender, so from his small corner of Fletcher Place, Cano’s attempting to dial back some of the damage with compost and recycling programs, as well as complete abstinence from single-use to-go cups. Unfortunately, not everyone in Indy is on board.
Born in California, Cano was raised by his family in Mexico City, where they owned and operated restaurants. After returning to California for college, he bounced between Mexico and the U.S., moving here in 2020 to open Amberson. Long before he opened up shop, he knew he wanted to build a low-waste business. “All my life, I’ve known that the world was changing because we’re not being responsible with how we’re using our resources. So I started from a place of how we could create consciousness around how we consume products.”
One of the industry’s biggest offenders are single-use coffee cups, which are rarely recyclable. Even paper cups are lined with a film that thwarts composting, leaching dangerous microplastics back into the environment. Over 50 billion of those cups get used once then tossed in a year, according to a 2024 study from the Cornell College of Business.
None of those cups came from Amberson. “We’ve been doing this for four-and-a-half years now, and we’ve never used a single paper or plastic cup,” Cano says. Instead, to-go drinks are served in a lidded glass jar, similar to one you’d see holding gourmet pickles or artisanal fruit. Patrons pay a $1 deposit for the vessel, which they can return with on subsequent visits.
It’s a program common in many other cities, but Cano says Indy can be a uniquely tough crowd. “I try to make peace with everyone and everything, but it’s not part of the culture of the city, so some customers have been more than a little bit challenging.” Angry patrons have even taken to Google or Yelp, turning an effort to mitigate waste into another front on the culture war.
Another coffee shop that followed Amberson’s glass jar lead, two-year-old Helm Coffee, recently stopped using jars for to-go orders. “People didn’t love the program,” Helm co-owner Jillion Potter says. “It created more issues than positive responses from the community.”
Cano knows his business is pushing back against deeply ingrained behaviors. “There’s going to be a lot of people who oppose it, but if we just keep at it, it’s going to inspire people and make them think, too. When people come up to me and say, ‘One of the reasons why we come and support Amberson is because of your sustainability practices,’ that’s what makes me feel truly fulfilled.”
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