Located in the heart of Dundee, Blue Line Coffee advocates for fairness and justice through the selling of certified fair trade products. 

After earning his degree in Philosophy and working as a business and professional ethics professor for universities around the United States, Omaha native Chris McClellan decided to open the doors of Blue Line Coffee in July 2003. 

During his years as a student, McClellan felt attracted to coffee houses and bookshops, which inspired him to open his own. 

McClellan is an advocate for social justice. He explained that the coffee sold in Blue Line Coffee seeks to promote fairness for everyone, not only for consumers. The variety of roasts sold at the Dundee café is grown and mainly distributed by small-farmer alliances from Ethiopia, Guatemala and Mexico. 

“For decades, farmers were being paid about 30 to 40 cents per pound,” McClellan said. He is convinced this is an effect of the American consumerism culture. 

McClellan said that paying more for the coffee they distribute is Blue Line Coffee’s way of demonstrating that businesses can be successful while being ethical at the same time. 

The environment of the café is characterized by the sound of jazz and the use of natural light. These features are attractive for many students from local universities, according to Creighton Law School student Amparo Perez-Arda. 

“The place is great for studying and spending time with friends,” University of Nebraska-Omaha student Barbara Pereira said. 

McClellan’s interest in massive transportation motivated him to name the shop Blue Line Coffee, after the blue line of the Parisian metro. The political connotations of the color also influenced his decision.

Blue Line Coffee is also based in 14th Street Downtown Omaha, which features an extended version of the food menu. 

Blue Line Coffee is still growing. McClellan is currently developing a building on Cass Street to create Jefferson Square Café in honor of Omaha’s first park. The park had been replaced to build a highway, but Blue Line Coffee refuses to lose the tradition, added McClellan. 

The new breakfast lounge and café will tentatively open its doors the spring of 2017.

Blue Line Coffee, in addition to brewing a variety of different fair trade roasts, also offers a delicious café menu, which includes quiche among other dishes. Blue Line Coffee currently occupies two locations in the NoDo and Dundee areas of Omaha. 

John Henry Theisen / The Creightonian