PRHTHE MENU by JANE ROSER
from Gilmore Girls to coffee entrepreneur photos by MICHAEL BECKER
Scott Patterson serves up Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee
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onzios was always the go-to diner when I was growing up there but there were diners all over the place. There were more of them back then and they were spread out all over the state.” Scott Patterson is reminiscing about his time growing up in South Jersey with jaunts into Philadelphia to see concerts at The Spectrum or the Philadelphia Flyers at the Stanley Cup Championship Parade. The area’s diner culture also helped shape his vision for Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee, which Patter-
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son launched this past November. Best known for his iconic role as diner owner Luke Danes on the hit (and addictive) series Gilmore Girls, Patterson’s late mother was his main inspiration for going into the coffee business. “We would sit in the kitchen and drink coffee and talk about the future, talk about life, just discuss all of the problems that an adolescent faces,” Patterson says. “That’s what sort of sealed the deal for me when I was thinking about starting my own coffee company and how to honor her. The longer she’s been gone, the more I see how her influence has been ingrained in me and I see it in my son, as well.” It was important to Patterson that his son see him build something while he was growing up, as opposed to just reading press clippings about his days playing baseball or his days in Hollywood. “I want him to see me fighting those battles,” Patterson says, “and I think it’s important for a child to see that. So it really is a bonded family lineage that inspired this company - past, present and future.” Scotty P’s bestseller is the signature Breakfast Blend that Patterson describes as a lighter blend with little acidity. Bright and well-rounded. “The one thing I wanted to do with all of my blends was to make sure they were reminiscent of the diner coffees that I grew up with, which were actually pretty good - a little on the stronger side, perhaps. So I just tried to remove the bitterness and smooth
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| ROWHOME MAGAZINE | April / May / June 2018
it out. But you can still taste its earthiness. Coffee’s as complex as wine, if not more.” Patterson’s focus was on providing a specialty, quality coffee experience for half the price while delivering exceptional customer service. This has clearly been achieved. Read his consistently stellar customer reviews (one client mentions that “coffee has never disappeared this quickly in my house” while another took the time to write from Salzburg, Austria, after having a bag shipped to her there). “If they’re paying their hard-earned money, customers expect a positive experience and I’m going to give it to them,” Patterson says. “If I’m going to gain their trust, I owe them that much. We try to go above and beyond and I think we’re doing a great job at achieving that.” In October 2016 Netflix sponsored several Gilmore Girls themed pop-up Luke’s Diners in select cafes across the U.S. to promote the show’s highly anticipated four-episode revival. The fans came out in droves, including to Comoncy Cafe in Beverly Hills where Patterson surprised everyone and helped serve up hot cups of joe. “That was rock-starish,” Patterson laughs. “We pulled up and there were about a thousand people lining the street. It was just really something. It was a very celebratory atmosphere and just a lot of fun, you know? Fans are fun but I’m not saying they were coming to see me. I think they just wanted the free coffee!” PRH Scotty P’s Big Mug Coffee can be purchased at www.scottyp.com gohomephilly.com