Valkyrie Coffee Roasters to open a new set of doors

Valkyrie Coffee Roasters is expanding beyond the shop in downtown Village of Chester. On Sept. 6, the business will be opening a new location in the old train station building in Sugar Loaf, which was formerly Anne Marie’s Deli.

Proprietor Dakota Rudolph bought the property from longtime owner Ed Mullins, including the famous caboose, which was recently renovated. The caboose will be used for storage for now, but Rudolph doesn’t count outfitting it for a commercial use in the future.

Valkyrie’s new location will be open every day from 7:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. and offer all favorite coffee classics including espresso, latte and cappuccino. Rudolph said he eventually hopes to offer brunch at the location.

A grand opening celebration will be held in late September, Rudolph said.

Rudolph got his start in coffee roasting in college. He went to a small, private Christian college and due to their religious beliefs, the school did not have an alcohol scene. What they did have was a vibrant caffeine scene with coffee at the center of it.

“It was the right environment to get better at it,” he said.

Rudolph grew a passion for roasting his own coffee beans and started to enter competitions with his work. He opened Valkyrie in downtown Chester one week before the pandemic. Since then, he has survived and has thrived.

Originally from the Finger Lakes, Rudolph said he’s had to build relationships in Chester in order to prosper. He now lives in the town and has many friends who own stores in Sugar Loaf. He said he always had his eyes on expanding to the artisan hamlet.

“I didn’t realize how much the locals loved this building,” Rudolph said. Before it was Anne Marie’s deli, it was a bar. Once upon a time, it was a train station. Mullins rehabbed the historic caboose on the front of the property in 2024.

Rudolph said he has a special relationship with the farms that provide his beans. He imports coffee from 11 different countries directly from the farms with no middleman, which is a pretty unique set-up.

“It’s hard work, but it’s so rewarding,” he said.

The name Valkyrie harkens to Rudolph’s Swedish heritage. The logo for his shop features a horse as is the mascot for the Chester Academy.

Away from Valkyrie Coffee Roasters, Rudolph is active in his local church, formerly serving as youth pastor and now volunteering as on of the church musician.