Buffy Maguire has been in the coffee business for 30 years, but it’s not where she envisioned herself as a young college student interested in political science and social justice. She even moved to Belfast to attend graduate school and witness first-hand the peace process underway in Northern Ireland. While there, she made a small film focused on people who had lost loved ones during The Troubles, the name given to the conflict that embroiled the country. “I could feel the power of oral history, the need to remember and honor people, even if it happened a long time ago,” says Buffy. 

She herself would face a great loss years later when her young son Kevin died. To cope during his time in the hospital, Buffy started to doodle and daydream. “I created this crazy coffee company in my head,” she says. “It had to be fun and light and escapism, but rooted in something I cared about.” Buffy tucked the idea away for three years so she could focus on “living and thriving” for the sake of her two younger sons. “I knew deep in my soul they would do as I was doing, not as I was saying, so I had to live it. That was always my inspiration.” 

In time, Buffy would launch Lady Falcon Coffee Club, the San Francisco-based brand known for its single-origin blends, distinctive packaging, and colorful, refurbished 1948 GMC bread truck turned coffee truck (Buffy shared the news that a Lady Falcon brick-and-mortar is in the works in the Outer Sunset neighborhood). Don’t miss her conversation with host Kerry Diamond.

Thank you to Kerrygold, Johnnie Walker, and OpenTable for supporting our show. 

Hosted by Kerry Diamond
Produced by Catherine Baker and Elizabeth Vogt
Edited by Jenna Sadhu
Content Operations Manager Londyn Crenshaw
Recorded at Newsstand Studios at Rockefeller Center

Radio Cherry Bombe is a production of The Cherry Bombe Podcast Network. Subscribe to our newsletter and check out past episodes and transcripts here. 

More on Buffy: Instagram, website
More on Kerry: Instagram