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This Week News wrote
Thursday, October 4, 2007
By GARY SEMAN JR.
The Short North is getting another coffee shop. Cuppy’s Coffee of Fort Walton Beach, Fla., is setting up shop at 849 N. High St. The 800-square-foot store is expected to open in December. The local franchisee is Maj Firouzian. The company was founded last year and already has 40 stores in 18 states. Cuppy’s serves CaffÈ D’arte coffee of Seattle, whose beans are roasted according to the region where they’re grown. There will be limited food service.
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Cuppy’s Coffee Coming to the Short North
By: Walker
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Not apparently – it is open today to 6.
Nice people. Serious about the coffe. They will have Cafe D’Arte coffee beans retail shortly.
Espresso … mezzo – on the bitter side and a bit flattened. Immediately got one from Chester at Luck Bros which highlighted the difference.
Would gladly go again though.
A.
I vote for a CU meetup some Weekend morning (or on the 4th) for some cawfffeeeeee…
Not apparently – it is open today to 6.
A.
I don’t think the two are mutually exclusive. :wink:
Went there this morning to check them out. They’re not trying to compete in the Brioso / Yeah Me Too / Stauf’s world of specialty coffee. I’m not trying to be disparaging — I’m just trying to set the context properly for their business model. Those three places source their beans very carefully, roast their own, have roasters who know the supply chain intimately (in many cases, have even visited the coffee plantations), and so on. When you ask what kind of coffee you’re drinking, you’ll find out not just the country of origin but the region, the plantation, possibly the varietal, and so on, depending on who you talk to. And that fanatical attention to detail comes out in the cup.
When I walked into Cuppy’s, the first thing I noticed was what I didn’t see on the menu: Coffee. There were espresso drinks and iced things galore, but nowhere was there an indication that they actually sold an ordinary cup of coffee. That’s not too unusual, so I asked if they had coffee, and if so, what kind. The initial answer was “Arabica.” Pressed for more details, they said they serve Caffe D’Arte’s “Meaning of Life” blend, though they couldn’t tell me what beans comprise it (nor is the website very forthcoming). They said it was a medium roast. So I ordered a cup.
…
They’re very nice people and I hope they do well.
They’re very nice people and I hope they do well.
I am trying to learn from your example of niceness, tact and generally disgusting, er …, admirable qualities.
A.
When I walked into Cuppy’s, the first thing I noticed was what I didn’t see on the menu: Coffee. There were espresso drinks and iced things galore, but nowhere was there an indication that they actually sold an ordinary cup of coffee. That’s not too unusual, so I asked if they had coffee, and if so, what kind. The initial answer was “Arabica.” Pressed for more details, they said they serve Caffe D’Arte’s “Meaning of Life” blend, though they couldn’t tell me what beans comprise it (nor is the website very forthcoming). They said it was a medium roast. So I ordered a cup.
…
They’re very nice people and I hope they do well.
Actually they do, it’s just near the bottom after all the others are listed. I think they just called it House Blend or something. I didn’t order anything since I am not a coffee drinker and the tea options were limited.
Thanks for a good solid laugh. Definitely made my day.
I stand corrected.
edit for add’l response
I’m in Cuppy’s right now. There’s three other customers in here besides me. There’s a TV screen on one wall but it’s not on. No music either. There were maybe four or five people behind the counter when I walked in – I suspect they’re still learning the ropes. Still, they were nice to me and quite earnest. I’ll be coming in here for the free WiFi, so the coffee doesn’t matter to me. The iced tea is good, though.
Whenever I drink Stauf’s coffee at Stauf’s, I get a really unpleasant burnt flavor. When I drink it elsewhere (i.e., at Cup O Joe, at home, and at my law school when I was a student) it tastes fine. Never understood why :?:
I can only speculate. But I do know that a lot of roasters sell coffee that’s substantially darker than they themselves like to drink it because that’s what their customers want, or claim to want, or are used to.
Shouldn’t taste burnt, though. Tell them. They have a lot of different beans, and although they do knowingly roast the bejeezus out of a few of them, the roasters don’t adhere to the Starbucks “burnt is good” philosophy more generally. They may just not be choosing very good coffees to sell by the cup. Alana’s uses their Baba Budan blend for their press pot coffee, for example, and that’s definitely above the bar.
at the risk of sounding snobby, I have to say that I really do not understand why anyone would open a business, say a coffee shop, especially in the short north, if they didn’t have some sort of passion about coffee. I understand they just opened and are still learning the ropes, blah blah blah, but even if you look at Starbucks – on the first day their training is such that if you didn’t know it was the first day, you might not even know.
I just don’t get why you’d open a business with a product you don’t have passion for.
Hearing others’ experience in no way have made me want to try it out.
I just don’t get why you’d open a business with a product you don’t have passion for.
Hearing others’ experience in no way have made me want to try it out.
I would take it a step further for the coffee business. It is competitive. How are they differentiating? Is their point of differentiation really going to make me go there instead of Starbucks.
People can easily make money elsewhere, other than starting a new business, especially in the food/drink service. Its passion that’s important to see through the grueling long hours at sometimes below min wage if at all, to pursue these kind of businesses. Why risk it all, when you can work for someone else? That’s where that passion kicks in.
I do wish them the best though, and may prove me wrong.
I can only speculate. But I do know that a lot of roasters sell coffee that’s substantially darker than they themselves like to drink it because that’s what their customers want, or claim to want, or are used to.
Shouldn’t taste burnt, though. Tell them. They have a lot of different beans, and although they do knowingly roast the bejeezus out of a few of them, the roasters don’t adhere to the Starbucks “burnt is good” philosophy more generally. They may just not be choosing very good coffees to sell by the cup. Alana’s uses their Baba Budan blend for their press pot coffee, for example, and that’s definitely above the bar.
Get the lighter roast. Usually they have a Full City on the menu. Get that and avoid the dark roast. A little bird once told me that sometimes “slightly” over roasted beans make it to the cafe side to clear them out of stock. Not a practice I endorse, and I don’t know how often it happens (if at all anymore).
Stauf’s is pretty decent in general. I’ve not had a problem with their coffee.
I do wish them the best though, and may prove me wrong.
I think passion is a piece of it. Fortunately/ unfortunately it is not always required to succeed. People start businesses for a variety of reasons. Some people are solely motivated by money, which propels them into starting businesses. If I get 1/2 of 1 percent of China to buy my umbrella/ cane I’ll be rich! Then there’s people that are motivated by the recognition and social validation that comes with some types of businesses. Still others are serial entrepreneurs that enjoy the thrill of the startup (I’m in that camp) and start business after business.
I don’t know the Cuppy’s folks behind the Dakota location personally, but my guess it’s more of a lifestyle business/ comfort money gig. Of course, they’re not going to get rich with it, but it might generate some comfort money for the folks behind it.
I just don’t get why you’d open a business with a product you don’t have passion for.
Hearing others’ experience in no way have made me want to try it out.
Well, who knows what their motivations are. But we might get an inkling by taking a look at how Cuppy’s sells itself to potential franchise owners:
If you are interested in getting into the fast paced coffee drive thru and espresso franchise business, we can help! Dreaming of running a coffee business in your local Mall? Need business consulting? We can do that too!
I really don’t know these folks well enough, based on having spoken with them for three minutes, to know what their passions are. But I’d speculate that they like the idea of having a coffee shop — a local hangout where people congregate — as distinct from being passionate about coffee itself. They have lots of comfy furniture, a good assortment of pastries, free wi-fi, etc. I’d also speculate that they see a franchise arrangement as a good way to do that quickly.
Coffee shops like Cuppy’s are kind of a throwback to what ‘coffee shop’ used to mean. Not a place for high-falutin’ coffee snobs (guilty as charged, to head that one off), but as a gathering place where you can get a hot cup and a bite. Chat or be alone in the companty of others. We have fancified out from a pot of Maxwell House into coffee-based drinks, espresso thingies, smoothies, ersatz teas, etc, but it is the same idea. Without the pie.
I am glad they are there. It is one more place to hold impromptu business meetngs, interview people, grab a water or just sit a spell. (I would add ‘have an assignation’, but it is a little too close to home base.)
I might be an ass who snipes at their coffee quality, but I have to look back and marvel how diverse and expansive the market has become in the last 20 yrs that I can snipe at the coffee quality. That is cool.
That said, I am a little miffed that Mr Cuppy feels Starbuck’s sniping is good market positioning, especially on the fuzzy feel and friendliness front.
A.
A few years ago I was in Iowa for work. I pulled into town a little early and decided to grab a cup of coffee before my meeting. I walked into the local coffee shop and immediately cut the age curve in 1/2. The waitress took my order for a cup of coffee, and then poured me a hot mug of Maxwell House from the drip machine. She then asked if that was all I needed. I said yes, and she then told me “fine, the first cup is [color=green:1b85afdfae]free“. I asked how much a second cup is, and she told me “10 cents.” None of the other customers seemed to care about where the beans were sourced, how they were roasted, or if the foam was soy based (even though we were surrounded by soy fields). I had my one cup and left a dollar tip.
A few years ago I was in Iowa for work. I pulled into town a little early and decided to grab a cup of coffee before my meeting. I walked into the local coffee shop and immediately cut the age curve in 1/2. The waitress took my order for a cup of coffee, and then poured me a hot mug of Maxwell House from the drip machine.
On the other hand… I pulled into a very small town in Alaska last summer, got off the train in a little town called Talkeetna and decided to walk around before boarding the shuttle bus to my next stop. Headed for a sign that said “ESPRESSO” (all caps) on what looked to be an unpromising log cabin.
Turned out to be one of the “top ten” restaurants in Alaska: http://www.cafemichele.com/
best cup of coffee I had all month.
Sometimes you just never know what you’re getting yourself into.
Turned out to be one of the “top ten” restaurants in Alaska: http://www.cafemichele.com/
best cup of coffee I had all month.
Sometimes you just never know what you’re getting yourself into.
Totally OT:
Yay Talkeetna! My family used to vacation there when I lived in Anchorage. I think I’ve actually been to that restaurant. Small world, I guess!