::entrepreneurs
Joe Bean Coffee Roasters
Connecting with the Community
Story and Photo By Michelle Macirella
Upon entering Joe Bean Coffee Roasters’ new home on University Avenue I was greeted with wonderful coffee smells, warm décor, laughter from the customers and a bartender with a big grin ready to help me with my order. I felt like I had walked into a popular neighborhood bar, only this one serves coffee instead of cocktails. It was only 11:00am and pouring rain, but the bar was still full of people talking and laughing with each other. I heard one of the men recommend to his friend to let the bartender choose something from the menu for him then said excitedly, “Wait till you see how they make this coffee!” Accompanied by my custom-made cappuccino, I sat down with Kathy Turiano, co-owner of Joe Bean Coffee Roasters. Although this was our first meeting, I felt like I had known her for years. Armed with a welcoming smile and friendly demeanor she quickly made me feel at home. The biscotti samples didn’t hurt either. This is how Kathy strives to make all of her customers feel. And I believe they do. “I’m really big on community and investing back into your community,” she told me. “We wanted our set up to be very community oriented, which is why we did all bar seating and put the servers in the middle of the room so they can function like bartenders and service everyone better around them.” The company also tries to educate people about the benefits of supporting local and puts that into practice itself. The food they carry at the bar is provided by all local companies; and even the ingredients Joe Bean uses, whenever possible, are purchased locally allowing them the opportunity to showcase and support other local businesses. Kathy and her business partner Dena Jones started Joe Bean as a more traditional coffee shop in the village of Webster in 2004. It was very successful, but the more they got involved in the coffee industry they could see there was more competition starting to come in, especially from larger franchises. Kathy and Dena decided they needed to really invest in getting to know their core product better – coffee. So in 2007 they made the difficult decision to take the business in a different direction and learn to be roasters. Kathy also has a lot of experience organizing community art events and has a passion for helping young people. She has done a great deal of leadership training and development with youth and the arts. She is also no stranger to family business. When her children were young she worked at her husband’s advertising business, which he took over
32 september 2011 :: rochesterWomanMag.com
from his parents. And now her son Ben is the bar manager of Joe Bean as well as a co-owner. As I listened to Kathy tell me about her life and her business, her enthusiasm and passion were contagious. And when asked what she’s most proud of with the company, she beamed with pride and didn’t hesitate to say it’s her employees. “I love my team! To me that’s the most fun. I love watching them work, watching them be so passionate about what they do - connecting with the customers and serving people well. I have an awesome team.” And when asked how she feels about coffee – “It’s every aspect of my life. It’s social. It’s community. It tastes fabulous. And it’s global.”