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Origins: The WELL Coffeehouse Pub & Eatery

January 9, 2020
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Natalie Gauvin has no interest in becoming a flight attendant, but her life’s passion follows the script.

“The airlines have it right, you have to put the oxygen mask on you first before you can be available to help others,” she said.

An aspiration to “be well” herself and help others do the same influences every aspect of her family/artist/fitness enthusiast/nutritionist/business owner life.

“I want to put out something positive and good in the world, from my artwork to teaching people how to move in their bodies and how to be comfortable in their own skin, to yoga, dance, Pilates, mindfulness — I’ve been in fitness for 25 years,” Natalie said. “And to nutrition, helping people understand that it’s easy to be well, and your body is a temple and you need to take care of it first.”

Every aspect of this vision is on display Monday through Saturday at the aptly named shop she opened in July 2016 in Liberty Lake, The WELL Coffeehouse Pub & Eatery. In fact, a previous version of her plans for The WELL included a fitness center. When she decided to open in Liberty Lake, she found a location across Country Vista Drive from a place close to her heart, The Mat, a yoga and martial arts studio.

“I just decided to take the food portion of (my business concept) and go with it, cause I live here and this is my community and the Mat is right there across the street,” she said.

An added benefit to opening up close to home is her ability to host community events important to her. Natalie, a trained mediator, thinks people should sit down at tables more often to talk about supposedly taboo topics like politics and religion. This fall, she hosted an event she billed as “controversial movie night” to help people get talking.

  • Natalie Gauvin

The “top dog, biggest priority in my life and world,” however, is her work building a local mindfulness coalition. Mindfulness is simply the ability to be fully present, aware and thereby not overly reactive or overwhelmed by external events. How is it practiced?

“Stand back, listen to your breath, close your eyes, feel that you’re human alongside other humans, and that’s all there is,” Natalie said.

She is particularly focused on getting mindfulness incorporated into the start of the day at local schools. After Central Valley High School went on lockdown in January 2018 when a student brought a gun to school, Gauvin organized a community gathering at The WELL attended by local public officials and concerned citizens to talk about mindfulness.

“We can’t make parents be better parents,” she wrote in an email around that time. “We can’t fortify schools overnight. We can’t change gun control overnight. We can teach mindfulness in every grade, every day, five minutes, overnight.”

THE NAME

While The WELL started out as a name, it has become a reputation Natalie is proud of after 3½ years in business.

Asked about what makes her best customers loyal, she doesn’t hesitate: The WELL is trusted to provide high quality, and “as much as we can, we go local and organic and sustainable.”

“(For example), I don’t use iceberg lettuce, I use really good romaine, and we triple soak it to get off as much of the pesticides as we can,” Natalie explained. “All of these are time-consuming steps that lead to the highest quality of something.”

THE VIBE

Natalie the artist is on display when you enter The WELL, which she describes in five words: “creative, warm, inviting, cozy, inclusive.”

Natalie is a painter, but her artistic talents are diverse. She has designed background sets for theaters, built her own furniture and performed and taught artistic dance.  

THE TOP PICK

Natalie said the Isagenix smoothies, especially Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup and Green Bliss, have developed an extremely loyal following.

“I think it’s a great product,” she said of Isagenix. “That’s something I’m really proud of offering here.”

On the food side, Natalie said the Thai Peanut Chicken Lettuce Wrap and Avocado Toast are both popular orders.

THE CULT FAVORITE

If you go to most coffee shops, it’s possible to order your cappuccino between 12 and 20 ounces – even down to eight in some cases. Except that, well, that’s not really a traditional cappuccino.

“When people come in and ask for a 16-ounce cappuccino, we always educate them,” Natalie said. “You’re just getting a foamy latte, and they are charging more for it probably.”

At The WELL, “we serve it like they do in Italy.” This is espresso topped with foam created by steaming milk, resulting in what is typically a 4 to 6 ounce drink whether people want it prepared wet or dry, she explained. The traditional drink has an intense flavor; that flavor is muted in alternative versions that add milk and foam to fill larger cups.

While it’s far from the most popular drink on the menu, The WELL’s commitment to serving the traditional cappuccino has developed a small but enthusiastic following, she said.

THE TEAM

In addition to Isagenix, Natalie lists Evans Brothers Coffee Roasters as one of the key partners in her pursuit of offering the highest quality products to her customers. Among the team members that make the shop run, Natalie listed her sons and her longest-tenured employee, Aimee Fassbender.

I want to put out something positive and good into the world.

Natalie Gauvin, The WELL

THE TIME WHEN …

A couple walked in holding hands just as Natalie was closing the store for the day.

“I said, ‘I’m sorry, we’re closed,’” she recalled. “And they said, ‘Oh. OK, well do you mind if we just look around for a little bit.’”

Natalie agreed, and the couple huddled in the corner, “making googly eyes and talking sweet to each other.”

As she picked up some context clues, Natalie began to ask about their story, learning that exactly one year prior the couple had met at The WELL on a blind date after connecting online. The woman said she had picked The WELL as a safe spot and promised herself a short date and that the two would leave separately.

“She said, ‘I don’t know if you remember us, but we sat here for four hours, and then I felt so comfortable I got into his car, and the rest of the date we just drove around and talked, and we ended up having dinner. It was a 13-hour date, and we haven’t been apart since,’” Natalie recalled.

THE INFO

Josh’s update (5/23/20): Natalie has updated her business model to include coworking space. For complete details of updated cafe hours and opportunities at The Well, consult the information below.


The WELL Coffeehouse Pub & Eatery
21980 E. Country Vista Drive, Liberty Lake
509-474-1187
facebook.com/libertylakecoffee
@thewellatlibertylake on Instagram

  • Thanks to Natalie Gauvin (at left and alongside employee Aimee Fassbender) for sharing the story of The WELL with me!
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Seattle Sounders 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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Origins: Crush Coffee Bar

June 22, 2020
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At Crush Coffee Bar, the lid chooses the customer. That’s the honest truth as experienced by mother-daughter ownership team, Nichole Decker and Jazlyn Breesnee. There’s just too much evidence that the brief, handwritten messages penned on each individual coffee cup lid exit through the window into the very hands they were intended for.

Take the daily devotee who pulled up recently to Jazlyn’s window and reported a particularly long day.

“We just joke with one another all the time, and I said, “Oh, maybe your lid will say, like, ‘Keep pushing through,’” Jazlyn said.

What it actually said: “You are enough.”

Jazlyn regularly enjoys light-hearted interactions with the customer, but this time the woman drove away with tears in her eyes.

“I needed to hear that today,” she said.

The relational nature of coffee is why Jazlyn and Nichole do what they do.

“We want to make sure there is a really clear message that is going to uplift people — right now more than ever,” Nichole said. “We’re really careful with our words, and we get a lot of messages from people saying, ‘You just have no idea how this made my day.’ … We have some that will drive from the north side — it blows my mind — just for the conversation and the encouragement.”

Nichole said she and Jazlyn pray over the lids, and the team is regularly trained to watch for ways to be an encouragement. Some members of the Crush crew are people of faith and some aren’t, but Nichole loves how the entire team is purposefully relational and uplifting.

Nichole said she is often surprised by the reactions of customers. For one thing, she said men tend to look at their lid immediately — even moreso than women, although the messages even get to her from time to time.

“We write them, and I can still get mine and say, ‘Wow, I needed that today,’” she said.

And the reactions from young people consistently inspire Nichole to pen more messages of hope.  

“Sometimes they literally just need a couple of words just to feel like, ‘OK, I can make it through this day,’” Nichole said. “I’m shocked by the number of young kids coming through looking for that. We’re clearly missing that in this generation, because so many of them will just stop and take a look at those lids.”

Nichole and Jazlyn took over ownership of the business last fall from founders John and Stephanie Blanton. Both were attracted to the relational nature of the business and the team already in place — which included Jazlyn, who worked at Crush while a student at University High School before her graduation in 2019. The familiarity made the decision an easy one, coupled with Jazlyn’s desire to pursue real-life experience over going the college route.

“We always wanted a coffee stand, and we always talked about how it would be fun to do that,” Jazlyn said. “Then I ended up working at Crush, and it just went from there.”

A Realtor with John L. Scott, Nichole also brings a wealth of coffee experience from bygone days when she managed the Spokane Valley Rocket Bakery location.  

Both love coffee and coffee culture, but the fit had to be right. Nichole said the relational culture already in place at Crush as well as the team they inherited made the decision an easy one.

“The original baristas like Angela, Kayla, Riley and Traci were so positive with the sudden change of hands,” Nichole said. “They delivered the same incredible service they had for years and were amazing mentors to the handful of new baristas, as we quickly increased traffic at both locations.”

  • Tess and Anabel
  • Chloe
  • Jazlyn, Riley and Sierra
  • Kayla and Angela
  • Jazlyn and Traci

THE NAME

Nichole said among the many things that didn’t need tinkering when inheriting a new business: the Crush Coffee Bar name itself.

“We were super blessed to inherit a name that we loved and liked the logo and face behind it,” she said. “(We also) love the idea of ‘#crushinit’ for our hashtag, as we could use that to inspire people to Crush their day, going along with our positive, inspirational message and vibe.”

THE PRODUCT

Crush partners with a familiar name in the local coffee industry, Brian Ellsworth of longtime Spokane roaster, Waverly’s Coffee. Jazlyn said working with Waverly’s to dial in an original blend — one that has been refined by the discerning taste buds of Jazlyn and Nichole — is a fun talking point customers appreciate.

The Crush menu includes an array of specialty drinks such as the popular Caramel Crush mixed in with all of the standards.

Moving through the menu offerings, Nichole emphasized, “We do local everything.” De Leon Foods provides the breakfast burritos. Desserts by Sara provides treats, including hundreds of specialty cookies for fundraisers like Hugs for Jade. Feel Good Fuel provides healthy options.

“We chose all Valley businesses because we are in the Valley,” Nichole said. “One of our big missions is the giveback factor we can have in supporting local businesses.”

THE TIME WHEN …

Nichole and Jazlyn took over the Crush location on Sprague in October and the one on 32nd in December. The traditionally slower winter months would help them ramp up to when business typically blasts off in March.

Then COVID-19 happened. While Crush was allowed to take precautions and remain open, there were many who assumed it was closed.

That’s when the owners of a Spokane Valley promotional item business, Hill Billy Bling, surprised Crush with a complimentary sign that said, “Yes, Crush is open.”

Known for her big personality, barista Traci Russell hopped in a dinosaur costume, grabbed the sign and began dancing down the East Sprague Avenue sidewalk. From passing traffic to social media video, let’s just say it didn’t take long for people to realize Crush was, indeed, still open.

Nichole said that is just one example of how local businesses have helped one another out during COVID. Crush and Waverly’s partnered to bless the Valley Hospital night shift with coffee. Even so-called competitors in the Spokane Valley coffee network are really more of a community, and now more than ever.

A friend of Nichole’s owns the Shotzy’s location on Pines.

“We called each other when all of this fun stuff started and said, ‘OK, are you low on this? Do you need sugar? OK, I have an excess of that.’” Nichole said. “They are right in between my two stands. We could compete against each other or be like, ‘Well, I hope you run out of that.’ Instead, we both reached out to each other. She went to my stand to support us. …

“I just think there are some really amazing small business owners in this town, and even though we are in the same industry and are technically competitors, we get to work together and just have a different vision for everyone and not just selfishly for ourselves.”

THE INFO



13411 E. 32nd Ave. and
16923 E. Sprague Ave., Spokane Valley
www.facebook.com/CrushCoffeeBar
@crushcoffeespokane on Instagram

  • Thanks to Jazlyn and Nichole for sharing their inspiring daughter-mother adventure with me. #crushinit
    — Josh Johnson (soccer jersey: Huddersfield Town AFC)

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.)

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.)

1 Comment
    Rob Hartman says: Reply
    January 9th 2020, 9:26 pm

    Written by and about people I love—awesome!!

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