The Beginning
Marcus Webb grew up in Kinston, North Carolina. He and his wife Deja started looking for a place to open a coffee shop, and Greenville made sense in a way nowhere else did.
Deja was the coffee person. She'd spent three years as a barista in Raleigh before moving home. Marcus was the builder — commercial construction in Pitt County for four years.
They found the building on Fire Tower Road in March 2018. Former ranger outpost, then a landscaping storage unit. Windows boarded. Floors cracked concrete. A decommissioned fire tower from 1952 standing behind the property.
"The building cost $12,000 to lease for the first year. We had $14,000 to our names. Deja said yes before I finished the sentence."
Marcus Webb, Co-Founder
Marcus spent six weeks on the build-out himself. Poured the bar countertop. Put in the plumbing. Deja sourced a used La Marzocca Linea Classic and a Mahlkönig grinder she'd had in storage since Raleigh.
They opened on a Tuesday in October 2018. No social media announcement. No press. Just a handwritten sign that said "Coffee. Open."
Why Firetower
There's a real fire tower behind the shop — rusted steel, about 80 feet tall, built in 1952 for the NC Forest Service to spot wildfires. Decommissioned in 1986. Still standing.
Deja said a firetower is a place you go to see further than everyone around you. You climb it because the view is worth the effort. That's what good coffee does — gives you a moment of clarity before the day catches up.
The tower is visible from the front door on clear mornings. Some regulars have never noticed it. Some come specifically to look at it before they order.
The First Year
600 square feet. Four tables, eight seats, a patio with two mismatched chairs from an estate sale. Deja worked every open shift. Marcus kept doing construction work to cover the bills. His cousin Ray worked weekends and became their fastest barista within three months.
By spring 2019 they had regulars. A man named Curtis showed up every day at 6:02am with his own thermos, ordered drip, and left by 6:20. He hasn't missed a day in over five years. They still save him the first cup.
The shop turned its first monthly profit in April 2019 — $218. Deja printed the P&L sheet and taped it to the back of the bar cabinet. It's still there.
"We made $218 our first profitable month. I printed it out and taped it to the cabinet. Marcus cried a little. He still won't admit it."
Deja Webb, Co-Founder
Growing Up
The pandemic hit in March 2020. They closed the dining room for 10 weeks, switched to takeout-only. Deja started posting daily on Instagram — not to promote, just to share what she was making. The videos found an audience. People in Greenville who'd never heard of Firetower started showing up. When they reopened fully in June, the line stretched out the door.
Three new baristas in 2021. The food program launched in 2022 with Harvest Bakehouse. Delivery launched on DoorDash in 2022, then Uber Eats and Grubhub in 2023. Delivery is now about 30% of daily volume.
The shop itself hasn't changed much. Repainted in 2022 — same color, just fresh. Four patio seats added. Better lighting. The cracked concrete floor is still there. So is the P&L sheet from April 2019.
Where We Are
Six years old. Team of nine. Marcus and Deja still run it together. Three bean importers — two East African, one Central American — rotating origins every four to six weeks. A new seasonal drink every Monday that Deja treats as the creative part of the job she refuses to give up.
They've been approached about a second location twice. Both times they said no. The shop works because it's one thing, in one place, done with full attention.
The fire tower is still there. Slightly rustier. Still visible from the front door on clear mornings. Curtis still comes at 6:02am. Some things don't need to change.