Java Bean Grand Opening (23. May 2006, 08:46 by Derek Young) ~ Because I Need More Coffee
Today’s is the first day of business – GRAND OPENING – for Java Bean on Market Street. I happened to be in the area so I dropped by to see what it was all about and grab a cup of coffee (Actually, I dumped out a perfectly good mug of home roasted coffee to test this place out). Java Bean is located in the Marcourt Building beneath the Bridge Condominiums. It’s a large and open space with enough tables and chairs for a substantial contingent of customers. The coffee was decent. The space is nice in that pseudo industrial heavy use of concrete sort of way. I like that sort of thing. There were at least six people in line when I left – so customers appear to be trying it out – but it’ll be good to see more folks sitting about using the wi-fi and doing business in the space. I was a bit surprised by the window tagline “Home of the Panini Sandwich”. I always wondered where paninis came from. Now I know. Market street in Tacoma. Can any place open for an hour claim to be the home of anything? Java Bean opens at 6:30 am.
The question now is what’s next for this neighborhood. We have two coffee shops within spitting distance of each other, several condos, rumors of grocery store down the street. Could this be the start of a true mixed use neighborhood?
Today and tomorrow all food and drinks are 50% off – by the way.
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I was at Jave Bean this morning and ordered a fairly complex drink to try them out.
They did fine, especially for their first day and have obviously done some training.
The layout is nice and the ample window space makes seating great as well.
However, the plasma TV playing loud is not my preference. I do not know of anyplace that does this in Tacoma. Perhaps they think this will make it a kind of like Sea Tac airport, modern and high tech media center.
Another suggest is that they need some hanging decorative lights by the front of the window to designate it as a coffee shop.
Check them out. They are the lone mariners on St. Helens at the Bridge Condos and the first glimmer of life there.
Good luck to you Janabean!
1 | Posted by James | May 23, 10:28 AM
All right – we might be getting a neighborhood over here in my neck of the woods! This plus Blackwater plus the newly-reopened Kickstand might just be too much for me to handle.
2 | Posted by Daniel | May 23, 02:29 PM
I don’t think we have to worry about that.
A single Starbucks takes in many times what these three places take in daily.
Perhaps it will be like 6th avenue and be coffee row.
Kickstand has now opened but they are having a rough time of it. Fortunately for them, they have a killer location.
3 | Posted by Erik | May 23, 03:44 PM
I used to go to the Java Bean in Ballard – it’s decked out with kitsch lodge decor- before the lodge look was “in”
Used to love going there- good hang out spot. The one on Market doesn’t look like what I was expecting – it looks too dark for starters. The only way I could tell they were open was that TACKY “open” sign they have… I hope it’s temporary!
That’s another bug of mine: these places that go out and spend 10’s or 100’s of thousands of dollars decking out a place- and then they go to Costco for the generic “open” sign. What’s up with THAT?!
4 | Posted by morgan | May 23, 11:04 PM
The one on Market doesn’t look like what I was expecting – it looks too dark for starters.
Yeah, it was a little sad.
I didn’t realize that they were a chain though.
Lighting was certainly an issue. They need more of it. They need nice track lighting vs. just the large fluorescent ceiling lights.
You are right about the “open” sign as well.
I am tempted to tell them how to improve but usually such advice is not taken too well.
As mentioned above, Tacoma has some very good coffee shops and an endles supply of Starbucks and Tully like places, you have to be able to beat them to survive.
However, it does look like the 133 Exit posters know their coffee.
One of my favorite cafes in Tacoma is the Metro. The owners are cool and they use Lighthouse beans from my favorite old neighborhood coffee house in Fremont.
6 | Posted by morgan | May 24, 12:37 PM
I stopped by Java Bean this morning and can now confirm that they are not related to the Java Bean in Seattle. The one on Market Street is ran by the same folks who have one over by Lincoln. This might explain the TV and flourescent lights. What is up with Tacoma food establishments and flourescent lighting!?
I would describe the decor as “sparce” – not to be confused with minimalistic…
They are planning on opening other stores in Seattle, which I’m sure will cause a lot of confusion, and another in Bremerton, which is where they get their beans.
Another note: I ordered a Panini and got just a plain old toasted sandwich. I’m not sure if they got the order wrong, but I also did not see any panini bread on the counter. Very curious. And they did not have brie or prosciutto – my most favorite combination in the world.
At half though – at least it was cheap!
7 | Posted by morgan | May 24, 02:29 PM
The TV was an interesting concept. Kind of like a sports bar arrangement I guess.
However, I do not know of another coffee shop with that arrangement and it does not appear to be “working.”
They need a coffee chop consultant to help them soon. There are people who do this for a living.
Now we know why Starbucks does so well. They know exactly what works, where to locate, what kind of music to play and how to lay out the store.
With that said, I rarely go to Starbucks as there are far better places in Tacoma. However, one has to admit they know what the market is.
8 | Posted by Erik | May 24, 03:22 PM
“One of my favorite cafes in Tacoma is the Metro”
Where is the Metro?
9 | Posted by Erik | May 24, 03:23 PM
You know, they’ve almost been open two days. Give them a few weeks and then we’ll see if they apply what they’ve learned after opening. Little things like flow and how people want to use the space should become apparent. Where to put the sugar packets and milk so that customers and staff are more efficient should also be obvious.
Starbucks can do what it does because of consistency. They open something like four stores a day. The stores rarely ever vary in size or retail scope. They have demographics experts on staff to chart out their customers and traffic patterns. There’s a learning curve for smaller chains or one-off shops. The key will be to see how well these folks learn.
Isn’t the Metro the shop in the middle of UWT – by the stairs?
>Isn’t the Metro the shop in the middle of UWT – by the stairs?
That’s the one – “on” the stairs of what used to be 19th street (at Jefferson Ave)
11 | Posted by morgan | May 25, 04:20 PM
Spoke to the Java Bean today and told them about Exit 133.
Funny this is that they indicated someone had discussed it with them beforehand.
After some coffee and coversation, they indicated they were going to try to tweek the place to improve it.
12 | Posted by Erik | May 25, 11:59 PM
Thank you for your Input on Java Bean. Since we have opened we have changed the open sign,We have added a lot more lights. The T.V should always be on mute. We are waiting for a our musack to be installed. Feel free to email me directly @ atmdavis@msn.com with any suggestion.
Thank you
Alonzo Davis
Owner
13 | Posted by Alonzo Davis | May 27, 03:20 PM
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