Mad Priest Coffee Roasters was founded in 2015 by Michael and Cherita Rice in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as both a specialty roastery and a social enterprise. The company operates on a triple bottom line model, and its mission statement, Craft excellent coffee, Educate the curious, Champion the displaced, guides decisions from sourcing through staffing. Mad Priest partners with Bridge Refugee Services to employ and train displaced individuals, and channels sustainability practices through bag recycling, composting, and repurposing grounds into coffee scrub products. The roastery won a Good Food Award in 2022 for a Yemen coffee and has collected Golden Bean Awards alongside recognition from Food & Wine. Both the founders earned SCA Roaster and Green Buyer certifications within the company's first year of operation.