Origins: International Coffee & Bakery

January 23, 2020
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Growing up, it was milk and pastries. Over time, it was tea and pastries. These days, it’s typically coffee and pastries.

Now that siblings Nina Lapin, Dina Nikulin and Roman Chebotarev own and operate International Coffee & Bakery together, they offer it all — including Mom’s famous pastries, breads and cakes they have been eating their whole lives. Family recipes are served alongside an array of other treats and menu items with roots in Russia and eastern Europe.

  • From left, siblings Nina Lapin, Dina Nikulin and Roman Chebotarev

International Coffee & Bakery opened in August in the Greenacres Shopping Center, part of a reimagining of the family’s Malinka Euro Market and Bakery that was located three doors down the plaza. Why tweak the business model?

“Everybody asked, ‘Do you have coffee, do you have coffee?’” Nina summarized.

Added Dina: “We used to have people that would come in and get baked stuff from us, and then they would go to the bar and drink coffee at the bar, and so that’s why we decided to add the coffee shop.”

And that’s where brother Roman entered the equation. Roman recently finished four years of business studies at Eastern Washington University.

“I’ve always wanted a coffee shop,” he said, and his work launching this newest facet of the business has been a hit with customers and family alike.

“We’ve got everybody hooked now,” Dina said. “Mom comes in here, ‘Roman, make me my coffee!’”

Mom still does some of the baking, and Nina’s recipes are also featured. The focus is tried-and-true recipes with no additives that the family has enjoyed for years. Oh, and about that family…  

“Our parents have 15 kids — no twins, one mother and father,” Nina said. “I’m No. 6.”

If you’re keeping track at home, Dina is No. 12 and Roman is No. 14. The family has lived in the Spokane area for 16 years, and is heavily invested in the Greenacres Shopping Center. Nina owns and operates Greenacres Cleaners next door to the bakery. Dina and her husband own Greenacres Cabinets a couple doors further down.

Roman’s focus is on the coffee shop. He would love to see the business eventually develop more of a café vibe, with a second location part of his long-term vision.

THE NAME

The bakery and market are truly what put the “International” in the name of this coffee shop.  Whether it’s the pastries and breads, candy and cookies or meats and cheeses, the recipes and the products typically hail from overseas. Russia, Ukraine, Poland, Lithuania, Germany — to name just a few of the many countries listed during a recent tour of the offerings.

Even the Malinka name, which is still used in connection with the bakery and market, is a Russian word meaning “raspberry.”

One of the most popular international products are the teas, with options that cross the map.  

Two Russian family favorites are coming to the menu soon: Borscht soup and Chebureki, a deep-fried turnover that is “kind of like a Russian empanada,” Dina said.

While many customers have Russian or European roots, Nina said she especially loves to help people experience something new. This has led to a “try before you buy” philosophy to encourage shoppers to take a chance.

“When we give people a sample, even with the sausage or something from the food section, they will buy,” she said. “And they come back, of course.”

THE VIBE

When the business moved into the new space in August, it allowed International Coffee & Bakery to combine forces with Malinka, and the layout of the shop followed suit. The entry portion of the deep store looks and feels like a coffee shop, with seating for conversations with friends or working independently on a laptop. The back portion of the space showcases favorite baked goods and European market items that Malinka customers have come to love.

THE TOP PICK

There are several standouts, the siblings said, but perhaps the most popular treats are the Peaches, which look like fruit-shaped pastries but are essentially cookies filled with dulce de leche cream.

On the espresso side, the most popular pick is the white chocolate mocha, starting with the people who unlock the doors in the morning.

“My mom likes it, I like it, she likes it,” Dina said, pointing to her sister.

“And half of our customers like it, too,” Roman jumped in.

If you want to customize your own drink, the house-made pumpkin spice and caramel syrups are go-to choices for regular customers.

THE CULT FAVORITE

While it’s more of a summer obsession, Roman said the shop’s Lithuanian ice cream has an extremely loyal following.

“It’s the legit ice cream from Europe,” he said.

With more of a cream-like flavor emphasis, “it tastes completely different,” Nina said.

THE TEAM

Family and non-family employees keep the business running, and partners like DOMA coffee and Rishi tea attract customers with their high-quality reputations.

THE TIME WHEN …

One of the siblings’ favorite aspects of the new layout is the space for community gatherings. Over the holiday season, they had two events in particular that packed the shop: cookie decorating and a Russian Christmas party (fun fact: Russian Santa doesn’t have to wear red; this one looked smooth in an icy blue suit).

In the future, the siblings have plans for the space to continue to be used for community gatherings, with ideas ranging from sewing classes to setting up a projector to show cartoons.

THE INFO
International Coffee & Bakery
18209 E. Appleway Ave., Spokane Valley
509-321-7479
www.internationalcoffeebakery.com
@international_coffee_bakery on Facebook and Instagram

  • So much fun to laugh and learn alongside siblings. Thanks to Dina, Roman and Nina for sharing your story!
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: FC Barcelona)

While you’re here, would you do me a favor?

If you enjoy articles like this one, join the CoffeeJosh mailing list. It’s hurry-free, spam-free and also free … free. As a thanks, I’ll send you a PDF — you guessed it, free — that has 10 of the best coffee shop orders in the Spokane area. (All 10 are drinks and treats local coffee shop owners make for themselves. In this case, expect to pay for your order and feel like it was totally worth it.)

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Origins: Sams and Coffee

November 28, 2019
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Jake Miller was looking for a day job. After 15 years in the restaurant industry, including a decade bartending most days till 3 or 4 a.m., it was time for less night, more light.

Instead of updating his resume, Jake did what Jake does: He created his own day job.

“Basically, I quit my own business to start this business,” he said of Sams and Coffee, the Spokane Valley sandwich and coffee shop located in the Pinecroft Business Park on Mirabeau Parkway.

Jake still owns Crave, a downtown Spokane sports bar, but his daily presence is now focused on a dream he’s held half his life.

As a teenager, he and a friend were already brainstorming possible business concepts after his buddy’s dad told them he would invest in a great entrepreneurial idea. They landed on a coffee shop, but as high school students, there were too many hurdles, so Jake was forced to file the idea away.

“This was before all of the coffee shops opened,” Jake recalled. “Since I was 15, 16 years old, I’ve been trying to figure out how to start a coffee shop.”

A year and a half ago, the dream became reality. Sams and Coffee opened with a focus on breakfast and lunch sandwiches — “sammies” — and coffee.

  • Jake Miller opened Sams and Coffee in 2018.

Jake refers to selections featured on the flavor-packed, fresh-made menu like he’s referring to old friends: the flavor combination he first experienced while backpacking through Europe; his homemade recipe that regularly converts skeptics into tuna fish disciples; the sandwich he discovered during his self-described “bachelor gourmet” days, when he turned whatever happened to be in the fridge and cupboards into a masterpiece fit for guests.

This has given the menu a flair that is atypical of chain sandwich establishments. Sure, you can order turkey, but there’s also options like BBQ brisket, chorizo or fresh avocado sliced in front of you.

A similar approach is taken to coffee selections, where Jake and his baristas experiment with flavors that rotate through the daily specials. A final element of the Sams and Coffee business model is catering. Located as they are in a business district, Jake’s team is adept at supplying spreads of sandwiches — as well as a slew of additional options — for meetings and events.

THE NAME

Jacob Samuel Miller thought about naming the business “Jake’s,” but he’s reserving that name for a future dream (think even more food options and space enough for a 9-hole mini golf course).

For this establishment, “Sams” doubles as his middle name, but there is no apostrophe because it is also a plural form of sandwiches — sammies … sams … get it?

THE VIBE

Whether it’s a sports bar or a coffee shop, Jake emphasizes a clean, consistent and friendly environment. With ample tables, the space revolves around the kitchen, and customers can sit at a bar and watch their breakfast or lunch be prepared from scratch.

“Honestly, if I could have everyone sit up there while they are waiting for their sandwich and get to talk and hear their story … I just want people to feel like they’re part of the community,” Jake said.

  • A long bar overlooking the kitchen allows Jake to chat with customers.

Taking advantage of the daytime environment, Sams and Coffee is blessed with a flood of natural light through huge windows as well as a patio for outdoor seating. When the weather is right, customers can play cornhole outside. Inside, a pinball machine lights up a corner of the room.

THE TOP PICK

The Sun Burst, a Red Bull infusion featuring raspberry, peach and orange juice, has become a best seller.

The daily special is also a common order, typically featuring a specialty drink from the espresso menu with options as varied as the Payday (caramel sauce, salted caramel, peanut butter) and the White Angel (white chocolate, white coffee, vanilla, coconut).

On the sandwich front, the Smashed BBQ and Old Fashioned Tuna both have regular followings.

THE CULT FAVORITE

Big Jake’s Avocado Sam features smoked turkey, avocado, tomato, Caesar dressing and Jake’s special seasoning on honey wheat bread.

“Most people can eat it for lunch and dinner,” Jake joked of the impressive portion offered for $10.50.

THE TIME WHEN …

The first time I (Josh) walked into Sams and Coffee, the person in line in front of me had an epic beard. Jake was taking orders, sporting the trademark beard that also features prominently on the Sams and Coffee logo and signage.

Interviewing him these months later, I confessed feeling a little self-conscious in my close-trimmed goatee. I mean, was having a phenomenal beard game required if I wanted to, say, add an extra shot to my mocha? Could I even order a mocha? I was suddenly feeling more Pollyanna than Paul Bunyan.

Jake laughed. He gets that a lot.

“I tell people it’s not a requirement to have a great beard — a recommendation, but not a requirement.”

The Sams and Coffee branding makes for a great conversation starter as people walk in the door and see the guy on the sign is also the guy at the counter. He likes how it immediately connects people to his identity as a hands-on, local small business owner.

“They say, ‘You’re actually that guy, aren’t you?’” Jake said.

Always the joker, he often likes to play with people: “Nah, the owner just likes to hire guys with beards.”

It’s not a requirement to have a great beard — a recommendation, but not a requirement.

Jake Miller, Sams and Coffee

THE TEAM

A vital part of the success of Sams and Coffee is Jake’s girlfriend, Molly Rainer, a mortgage loan officer who is a steady presence amidst other friends, family members and employees who make the business happen.

Jake credits Cravens Coffee for not only producing a loyal stream of coffee-loving customers but for assisting with his training when he transitioned from bartender to coffee bar-tender.

Not that coffee wasn’t already running through his veins. His father always kept an espresso machine around the house, and he likes to stop by and pull a couple shots in the morning on the way to a work site for his landscaping company. Add in Jake’s mom, who spent nearly four decades as a midwife delivering babies at Deaconess, and the family’s deep community ties add to the support of his business.

THE INFO


12709b E. Mirabeau Parkway #50, Spokane Valley
509-474-0578
www.samsandcoffee.com
@samsandcoffee on Facebook and Instagram

  • Thanks to Sams and Coffee owner Jake Miller for sharing his story with me.
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Minnesota United)

What would Jake select off his own menu?

Sign up for the free CoffeeJosh newsletter  (delivering a story like this one) and immediately receive our “Owners’ Orders” PDF, featuring coffee and food selections so tempting, they are what local coffee shop owners make for themselves.

Origins: Cozy Coffee

February 20, 2020
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Lisa and Ryan Olson live on a Greenacres farm with their four kids, chickens, goats, sheep and alpacas. The acreage reflected the Olsons’ priority for keeping two daughters and two sons (ages 10, 8, 6 and 5) outside and busy.

Outside the house and busy also happen to be priorities for Mom and Dad. As owner of Viking Homes, Ryan has no problem keeping items on his itinerary, but Lisa knew there would be a major void when the youngest started school.

“What I found was when my 5-year-old went into school all day, I was really lonely, and animals don’t talk back,” she laughed. “It took about 5 minutes a day to feed all the animals. And then it was like, ‘Man, what am I going to do?’ There are really only so many classes at the gym you can go to.”

Lisa found the answer in a longtime ambition. She bought a local coffee shop.

  • Lisa Olson in the “cozy corner” of Cozy Coffee

At 514 N. Barker Road, Cozy Coffee was located just blocks from home, allowing her to put in a full shift and still be out the door by 2:30 to pick up the kids after school. A Realtor friend inquired with Raymond Siegel, the founding owner of Cozy Coffee who developed the property in 2011 and opened to customers in early 2012. He was open to the sale, and the transaction was made in 2019.

Lisa couldn’t be more thrilled. While she has training and appreciation for great coffee, it was never about the product but about the people. She knows the vast majority of the customers by name.

“I absolutely love that,” she said. “It’s super fun for me, and that’s exactly why I bought (the business). When I leave here, I don’t want to leave. I could be here from the minute it opens to the minute it closes.”

Lisa said she strives for a Cheers-like environment. Her cast of regulars provide not only camaraderie but a sounding board for feedback and fresh ideas — whether it’s suggestions and insight from Alex and Gordon or taste-testing a new ginger latte with Keri and Diana, who play cribbage at Cozy every Wednesday and host a book club on Thursdays.

“I love everyone’s sense of humor,” Lisa said. “I love that everyone is able to josh around and have a good time. It’s so fun.”

The conversations, vibe and environment typical of coffee shops were her pull into the business, even if the coffee wasn’t. A tea drinker, Lisa said she actually loves coffee but is aware of its addictive qualities, something she is sensitive to after “a bit of an alcohol issue” many years ago. As a mother of two girls and two boys ages 10, 8, 6 and 5, she said she is extremely careful about anything that could create dependencies.

“Knowing myself and that habit – that addiction habit – I don’t want to suffer from coffee withdrawals or migraines or just wanting to have to have it,” she said. “I drink (coffee) for quality control, but when I drink it, I love it, so I know that I just can’t at this time. I don’t want to turn one addiction into another, even if it is just coffee.”

That’s not to say she doesn’t know her coffee. Lisa attended a week-long training for coffee shop owners at the Seattle Barista Academy, and she and her entire team have been through the local training provided by Cozy Coffee’s wholesale supplier, Thomas Hammer.

THE NAME

Lisa anticipated her coffee dreams long before they had four walls and a street address. Two years ago, she registered a business, Cream & Sugar LLC, with the Washington Secretary of State.

It was to be the name of her future coffee shop, “but when I bought Cozy, it really was the right name for it,” Lisa said. “It’s just cozy.”

As she talks, she is sitting in a nook immediately to the left when you enter her shop. She catches herself with a “no pun intended” laugh as she describes the “cozy corner” she redecorated and purchased new “cozy furniture” for.

THE VIBE

While the word “cozy” fits the overall vibe, Lisa has found herself adding flourishes that accentuate the feel of the business as opposed to making large-scale shifts.

“I didn’t change much when I first took ownership, because Ray did a nice job,” she said.

Other than updates to the aforementioned “cozy corner,” she painted a wall, updated the logo and menus and added shelving and an eating bar using natural wood from a craftsman she admires from the Liberty Lake Farmers Market. She also plans to add a firepit among upgrades to the patio. Unlike many coffee establishments, Cozy Coffee is open till 7 p.m. and serves beer, wine and evening appetizers like nachos and quesadillas.

  • Pesto Turkey Flatbread
  • BBQ Pork Ranch Salad
  • Keto Turkey Rolls
  • Nachos
  • Local Honey

THE TOP PICK

Among a robust morning menu of muffins, bagels, burritos, wraps, biscuits and scones, the breakfast sandwiches are the most popular.

“We send a lot of sandwiches out the window, lots of sausage, egg and cheese on croissants,” Lisa said.

The meat of choice is grilled – not microwaved – in Cozy’s small kitchen.

“I’m very specific in the ways those are created,” she said.

While Lisa said she is still working on a signature drink, the daily special is a clear best seller, typically a 16-ounce latte with a rotating cast of flavors.

THE CULT FAVORITE

On her way back from the Seattle Barista Academy, Lisa scheduled a girls weekend with her sister in Winthrop, chosen in part because of a tip from a friend about a great organic roaster: Lariat Coffee.

She liked it so much, she now keeps a Lariat dark roast drip and, for fans of an organic cold alternative, “I just have a nice, smooth, dark cold brew on tap” that has a devoted following.

With the popularity of Lotus as a healthier energy drink alternative, Lisa has also developed a special partnership with Bob Burgess from the Seattle Barista Academy, who has his own energy drink similar to Lotus that she has branded as the Cozy Kicker Energy Spritzer.

On the food side, Cozy’s Bento Boxes have been embraced by the soccer mom crowd. The healthy snack features four containers featuring boiled eggs, cheese, almonds and grapes.

  • Egg Bites
  • Fiesta Crispy Salad
  • Beet and Turmeric Lattes with Biscotti
  • Plentiful options from The Republic of Tea

THE TEAM

True to her people-focused theme, Lisa emphasizes not just the product, but the great relationships provided by partners like the aforementioned Thomas Hammer, Lariat and Burgess. She finds a similar connection to everyone she does business with, from the staff at URM (“like a second family”) to bread provider Franz (“it’s like a friendship”) to the Scone Ranger, where she admits a personal weakness for the cherry almond.

As her drink of choice, the ample tea lineup she offers from The Republic of Tea was selected with purpose.

Her favorite business relationships, though, are the ones forged with her staff, all of whom stayed on from the previous owner.

“I couldn’t do it without them,” Lisa said. “Even though they could all be my daughters, their input and suggestions (are so valuable). … And we have a good time. We have fun.”

  • The ‘El Gordo’ Burrito

THE TIME WHEN …

If you’re a regular with excellent input, you just might inspire your own menu item – or two, in the case of Gordon.

“Gordy comes in every day,” Lisa said.

He inspired “Biscuits and Gravy Supreme” when he suggested adding some of Cozy Coffee’s burrito mixture to the biscuits before topping with gravy. But a certain 2.5-pound burrito stuffed with hashbrowns, crumbled sausage and gravy has literally become his namesake.

“The El Gordo is huge,” Lisa said. “If someone is going to pay $8.50, I want it to be a burrito!”

A burrito forged from input from a not-so-anonymous customer.

“I do like to have everybody taste and I love the input, so it’s great when I can attribute something to him, because he was a big part of it,” Lisa said.

THE INFO



514 N. Barker Road, Spokane Valley
509-891-7334
@cozycoffeegirls on Instagram and Facebook

  • Thanks to Lisa for sharing her Cozy Coffee story with me … and a delicious latte … and that Lariat organic cold brew … and … just check this place out.
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Sydney FC)

While you’re here, would you do me a favor?

If you enjoy articles like this one, join the CoffeeJosh mailing list. It’s hurry-free, spam-free and also free … free. As a thanks, I’ll send you a PDF — you guessed it, free — that has 10 of the best coffee shop orders in the Spokane area. (All 10 are drinks and treats local coffee shop owners make for themselves. In this case, expect to pay for your order and feel like it was totally worth it.)

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