Tacoma Urbanist
Dec. 27, 2007 at 12:33am
Java Bean Coffee Closes : Post Mortem Analysis Conducted
Java Bean Coffee House at 744 Market in downtown has closed.
Java Bean had a great space. Tile. Two whole walls of windows. A ton of space. New bathrooms.
Sad to see a small business shuttered in downtown Tacoma, especially an independently owned coffee shop.
The Beginning
The Java Bean was close to my work so I wanted it to succeed in a big way.
It had a key location downtown right across from City Hall with guaranteed exposure to hundreds of city employees and visitors. The owners obviously spent a great deal on the tile work. The location looked promising as it was right by new developments.
The Tacoma Blogosphere certainly gave Java Bean a boost and a honeymoon period.
On May 23, 2006 07:46, Exit 133 gave Java Bean a huge plug announcing their opening.The Beginning of the End
Java Bean had insufficient and clinical lighting. The TV killed any sense of an atmosphere.
They never carried any whole milk which was is necessary to make a cappuccino even after requesting it over a 6 month period. (They made one anyways with a combination of half and half and 2 percent. Didn't work).
The Attempted Save
Initial reviews of Java been were restrained but still not very good.
On May 24th, 2006 at 2:55 p.m. Exit 133 founder Derek asked reviewers for some leeway for Java Bean to have some time to improve:
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
The End
Its hard to see a local business go down in the heart of downtown. Yet, in the end, Java Bean had no discernable idenity and ended up being a poor imitation of a Starbucks.
After struggling for over a year, Java Bean eventually closed going the way of Winfields.
Epilogue
Tacoma can always use more good restaurants and coffee shops. However, unless you can produce something like Blackwater or Satellite right off, best not to try. The bar is too high.
Did you make it do the Java Bean before it closed? If so, what happended? Were there other factors?
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A ongoing conversation to make Tacoma a better to live and work through better urban design.
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-Erik B.
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