Origins: Jack and the Bean Shop

February 6, 2020
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Coffee, like so much of life, was served up differently in the 1990s. Otis Orchards staple Jack and the Bean Shop first sprouted up amidst rows of VHS tapes inside a store called Treasure Aisle Video.

In the early 2000s, the video store and Jack and the Bean Shop both moved diagonally across the Harvard-Wellesley intersection — the coffee shop into the location it is still in today, the video store into separate space next door. (Eventually, Treasure Aisle went the way of all video stores, and a fitness center occupies that space these days).

In 2009, Jeremy and Christa Gray purchased Jack and the Bean Shop from the Guthrie family that founded it. Already invested in the Otis Orchards community, the Grays were looking for new directions following the crash in the housing market. In those days, Jeremy built spec homes through his business, Gray Homes.

“I was literally just wondering what I was supposed to do; I was bidding jobs and just not getting anything,” Jeremy recalled. “I went on Craigslist and came across this coffee shop being for sale.”

  • Jeremy Gray and his wife, Christa, purchased Jack and the Bean Shop in 2009. Pictures of Otis Orchards line the wall behind him.

The Grays were entrepreneurs who loved coffee. Just as importantly, they loved Otis Orchards.

“Being in a community is cool,” Jeremy said. “People know us, and we know them. … You make these connections with people.”

The Grays were purposeful about their increased partnership in the community, investing in their local church and schools. Jeremy admits to being a bit surprised by just how much of a family element exists in a small town coffee shop filled with regulars, whether its joining in a celebration or grieving together over a loss.

“One of the hard parts is the demographic we serve; we’ve seen a lot of our customers pass,” Jeremy said. “That’s a side of it you don’t even think about. You get connected to these people, they come in every day, and then all of a sudden their wife comes through (with news).”

Jeremy, who was in the shop every day for the first couple years after purchasing it, quickly noticed something else about the regulars: They liked most things just fine the way they were. A new name, logo and some coffee-centric changes Jeremy had in mind were eventually scrapped.

“I felt like I wanted to go a different direction almost completely, but as we started to make some of those choices, we really started to alienate the people who had been coming here for 14 years,” Jeremy recalled.  

Today, he has embraced it, noting part of the character and vitality of Jack and the Bean Shop lies in its consistency.

“Still, at its core, it’s probably pretty similar to what it was (when it first opened),” he said.

Meanwhile, the Grays doubled down on their coffee adventure, purchasing a struggling drive through in Cheney eight months after purchasing Jack and the Bean Shop. Bahama Joe’s turned into a popular Cheney shop before closing in 2019, when the property owners decided not to renew the Grays’ lease on the shop and began operating from the location themselves.

Along the way, the housing market recovered, and the Gray Homes business picked up along with it. Jeremy said these days his work is almost completely custom construction.

THE NAME

While Jack and the Bean Shop is a clever name, “I have no idea where it came from.” Jeremy would have changed the name if not for customers liking things just as they were.

“We just decided, is it really worth it?” he said. “It would be expensive to change all the signs and everything. So we just decided to stick with it.”

THE VIBE

The vibe of Jack and the Bean Shop, in two words, would be “Otis Orchards.” This is reflected both in the pictures of the community that line the north wall, but even more importantly in the way Otis Orchards residents have supported and influenced the business over the years.

“There definitely is that small town vibe,” Jeremy said. “People know each other. We don’t get a lot of outsiders. We do get some because of the intersection, but definitely 90 percent of our customers are in the community and regulars.”

THE TOP PICK

Jack and the Bean Shop bakes its cookies, breads and prepares most of its food menu in house. While there are plenty of standouts regulars go back for, Jeremy said the Breakfast Burrito is the best seller. Both the bacon or sausage options are popular picks.

While he didn’t have one standout pick, the 12 varieties of loose leaf Maya Tea coupled with coffee from popular local roaster, DOMA, both create loyal followings.

“That draw of serving the coffee we serve keeps people coming back,” Jeremy said of the DOMA advantage.  

THE CULT FAVORITE

While more of a summer treat, Jeremy said the Frizz Coffee has a loyal following. He recommends adding some root beer flavor — “It tastes exactly like a root beer float.”

On the food side, go with the cinnamon roll coffee cake, especially if you’re fortunate enough to capture it fresh from the oven.

THE TEAM

Currently, a team of eight baristas serves the Jack and the Bean Shop community, and Jeremy said they are the main differentiator behind the success of the business.

“It’s the service,” he said. “We’re fortunate to have employees who care about what they do.”

  • Rosa Kane pulls shots for a drive-through order at Jack and the Bean Shop

THE TIME WHEN …

While it’s become a common occurrence over the years, Jeremy will never forget that truly Otis Orchards occurrence: the first time customers came through the drive-through on horseback.

“It happens often, but the first time was pretty funny,” he recalled. “I was like, ‘What is happening? Where are you going to put this? There’s no cup holder on a horse.’”

THE INFO

Jack and the Bean Shop
4707 N. Harvard Road, Otis Orchards
509-241-3242
@jackandthebeanshop on Instagram

  • Thanks to Jeremy Gray (and Christa in abstentia) for loving the Otis Orchards community so faithfully, and for sharing the Jack and the Bean Shop story with me!
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Huddersfield Town A.F.C.)

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: Pilot’s Coffee House

June 4, 2020
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How do you get your coffee business off the ground in its inaugural year? For Savannah Rutter of Pilot’s Coffee House in Spokane Valley, it’s taken a lot of Runway.

Pun intended: Pilot’s is now moving hundreds of Runway breakfast sandwiches a week, a rock-star menu item featuring bacon, egg, cheddar cheese, fresh avocado and chipotle mayo on a toasted asiago bagel.

“When we started, we did maybe 10 a week, so to be up to that volume is so awesome to see,” Savannah said. “It’s crazy all the trips to get supplies and how much it’s grown.”

When Pilot’s Coffee House opened April 6, 2019, Savannah knew it would take even more than serving great DOMA coffee to get people to try a brand-new establishment.

“Coffee people are very loyal to the places they’ve always gone,” she said. “To get them to try something else, it’s easier for them to try a food item than it is for them to switch their coffee stand right away.”

With so many coffee drive-thrus serving warmed-up sandwiches pulled from packaging from the same vendors, Savannah decided to go all in on fresh-made sandwiches. There are four on the menu plus a build-your-own option featuring a selection of three meats grilled to order, six breads, three cheeses and standout add-ons like avocado, spinach or chipotle mayo.

“It’s never microwaved, because we literally don’t have one,” she said.

The strategy has paid off. Even the sacrifice in speed was neutralized by an emphasis on call- or text-ahead ordering for people who don’t want to wait the extra five minutes required for a quality sandwich. Served all day, the sandwiches have even attracted a rare niche for a coffee stand: catering clients and other large call-ahead sandwich orders.

Savannah worked for seven years at another Valley coffee location, Whistle Stop Coffee Shop, and even continued to take weekend shifts after she landed a marketing job out of college “because I loved it so much.”

“I knew it was something I would always want to do because it was such a fun job, but I eventually knew I would want one that is my own, that I could put my own twist on and have it themed the way I wanted to,” she said.

It happened sooner than she might have anticipated. She and her fiancé, Scott Stone, knew they would want to open a business together at some point, but when she came across the opportunity to transform a stand for sale in her hometown, the couple decided to make the leap.

Not only does Savannah lack regrets, she hopes her venture motivates others to follow their passions.

“To anyone who’s ever thought about opening a business, you should just go for it,” she said. “I’m pretty young, and I managed to make it through a first year. If I can do it, anyone can do it.”

Savannah admitted a soft spot for the largely blue-collar, hard-working clientele that frequents her East Sprague business. Alongside the bustle of morning commuters shuttling downtown, she said Pilot’s emphasizes quick, exceptional service that treats every customer the same.

One of the passions behind the Pilot’s venture is job creation. The idea of providing an earning platform for people to achieve their own dreams is “something that’s really important to our business.”

“The first year is a lot of changes and a lot of just going with the flow, and our team of girls have all been awesome,” she said.

  • Engaged couple Scott Stone and Savannah Rutter own Pilot’s Coffee House.

THE NAME

Co-owner and fiancé Scott is a pilot, and the couple enjoys flying privately out of nearby Felts Field. As such, it’s reasonable to think the stand received its name from …

“I reiterate: Our business is not based off of (Scott),” Savannah said. “I love him, but it’s based off our dog.”

The name of the couple’s Goldendoodle? Pilot.

The namesake of Pilot’s Coffee House? Pilot, the Goldendoodle — not Scott, the pilot.

Got it.

Not that Scott and Savannah’s aviation expertise doesn’t influence every aspect of the stand’s brand and menu. Where else in Spokane can you order a Layover Latte or find your energy drink menu labeled “Jet Lag Fix”?

“When we first began, I was like, ‘OK, what are all the aviation words I know. Let’s incorporate all of those but also try to make them like a level 1,’” Savannah said. “We want aviation nerds like us to come in, but we don’t want to do very distinct parts of a plane where most people are like, ‘I don’t know what that is.’”

THE PRODUCT

The aforementioned Runway breakfast sandwich is “by far the most popular,” Savannah said. While the focus on food as a gateway was a large part of her strategy for attracting customers, she knew incredible coffee was key to retention.

To this end, Savannah was quick to latch onto a partnership with DOMA Coffee Roasting Company of Post Falls. DOMA-infused specialty drinks like the Red Eye (featuring salted caramel and cinnamon sprinkles) and the Milkyway (chocolate sauce, sweet vanilla and caramel) top the list of favorite drink orders.

  • Savannah, left, celebrates Pilot’s one-year anniversary with Julia, a team member since day one.

THE TIME WHEN …

Savannah looked forward to Pilot’s one-year anniversary as a real milestone for the business. To celebrate, she planned giveaways and a dollar-coffee promotion, but then an unimaginable obstacle surfaced to threaten everything.

“In business, you have super-high highs and super-low lows, but we definitely didn’t anticipate an outbreak of COVID to happen right around a year of opening,” she said. “We didn’t know what would happen with business; we didn’t know if people were going to stop coming. We had no clue, and we still wanted to do this dollar anniversary day, just for us. Even if nothing happened after that, just to celebrate all we had done in the past year.”

As it turns out, they didn’t celebrate alone.

“We were slammed all day,” she said. “We had so many people that, one, were excited to get out of the house, and, two, were there for the dollar coffee and to come out and support us.”

From gift card purchases to the unending flow of cars through the parking lot, Savannah said the community support meant so much during a time of true uncertainty.

“With all the negative that was going on and not knowing what was going to happen next, it was such a cool feeling getting to celebrate with people of the community and our friends and family who were there,” she said. “I think that was a day we will always look back on.”

THE INFO


7807 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
509-227-9300
facebook.com/pilotscoffeehouse
@pilotscoffeehouse on Instagram

  • My thanks to Savannah Rutter for sharing the Pilot’s Coffee House story — and for providing so many glorious opportunities for aviation puns. While writing this post, it was more difficult than usual to stay grounded.
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Seattle Sounders FC)

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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