Acme Coffee owner continues his fight against “corporate coffee,” and against trendiness.

In 2005 from the emptiness of a garage, a Seaside institution was born. OK, its inception was not that dramatic. But coffee roaster and owner Larry Thurman and his crew at Acme Coffee Roasters have been hard at work for 14 years pushing their “Resist Corporate Coffee” message, while also roasting and serving popular coffee and espresso drinks.

Weekly: Why did you open up shop in a garage?

Thurman: I come from a long line of shop workers. It was something I could see myself in and build from the ground up. It was also on edge of things, not in downtown, so it wasn’t in the way – I liked that idea.

You also come from a long lineage of Italian roasters. What did you take away from that?

I think mostly I was given a style, which is really old-school. I’m more traditional, whereas you see nowadays that people are expanding and experimenting.

What lesson do you want to pass on to the next generation of roasters?

A work ethic that matches up to the appreciation for a craft. That can be roasting coffee or it can be anything in your life, like building a house.

Why doesn’t Acme have Wi-Fi?

Because you don’t need Wi-Fi while you’re waiting for your cup of coffee!

What’s a coffee trend you hate?

Overpricing things. Coffee doesn’t need to be expensive; price things for their quality, not how much you can. Twelve-ounce bags, too. It goes hand-in-hand with overpricing things. It’s why we kept our one-pound bags (16 ounces).

Does everybody at Acme have tattoos?

Ha! It’s just coffee culture, man. Show me a barista who doesn’t have tattoos and I’ll buy them a cup of coffee.