Off the Beaten Bean

Welcome

Welcome to our first weekly article. We are Sophia Stephens, of Sophia’s Confections, and Kjeld Lindsted, of Lindsted Composition. Through this blog we’ll be sharing our favorite culinary finds from the Pass and Greater Yucaipa areas (and occasionally from slightly further away) along with general tips on food, dining, wine, and more. We hope you enjoy our posts and we encourage you to provide feedback. Leave a comment, send us a recommendation, or request a visit to your local food-related business.

This week, indie coffee at:

The Queen Bean Caffé | 5^th Street and Yucaipa Blvd in Yucaipa | www.QueenBeanCaffe.com | The Queen Bean on Facebook

Off the Beaten Bean

To learn more about what it takes to challenge a corporate chain – ahem, Starbucks, ahem – we sat down for an interview with Josh Conroy, co-owner of the Queen Bean Caffé (a title he shares with his mother Jen, “like Yin and Yang”). Over a Green Goddess for me (a vegetarian sandwich filled with wonderfully fresh ingredients) and a Granny’s Apple Pie crepe (made with fresh apples and real whipped cream) for Kjeld, Josh revealed his business secret.

The trick to running a successful local enterprise is due diligence says Josh. Before Josh ever began drafting a business plan, he did his homework.

Millennial at work

Josh, a 29 year old L.A. native, attended college in Portland Oregon where he majored in English. “The degree didn’t matter, anything to learn critical thinking” laughed Josh. After graduation, Josh wandered for a while searching for the right business opportunity. Around that time, his family purchased the 5^th street shopping plaza across from the Yucaipa Sheriff’s station and public library. After initiating an ambitious remodeling and expansion project, the family was hit by the economic downturn of the late 2000s and had difficulty renting out the new spaces. Josh jumped on the opportunity and decided to become his own tenant.

Due diligence

Learning from the many revolving local restaurants (the kind that stay open for only 6 months before being replaced by a look alike – sure to meet a similar fate), Josh decided to figure out exactly what local residents actually wanted. He spent months researching the ideal Yucaipa business model, even sitting in front of Stater Bros taking public surveys. Local residents, “asked for a Dairy Queen and a safe local hang-out”. Josh started with the Dairy Queen three years ago.  In early 2012, the Dairy Queen was going strong and Josh was ready to take the next step; developing a local hang-out. Banking on the existing Dairy Queen franchise, the Queen Bean Caffé was born. Opened less than a year as of this publication, the Queen Bean has thus far been a raging success. Visit on a slow day and you’ll find more guests than some busy Starbucks.

For the people

The secret is giving the people what they want. A millennial himself, Josh has been able to tap into the growing demand for socially conscious local businesses. For starters, the Queen Bean is all local all the time. Everything is locally sourced; the furthest supplier hails from Riverside. Josh admits that this poses some challenges. For example, he can get fruit only when in season and has to deal with ten plus vendors rather than order from one consolidated source (driving up costs). Josh, however, stands by his choice. He tells us that his rapport with vendors more than makes up for their small size and the marking advantage he gains from his all-local-branding offsets the costs.

Local sourcing isn’t the only thing the Queen Bean does for the community. A major event spot, the shop is almost a patron of the arts. A brief look at the schedule on the website shows how busy the Queen Bean likes to stay; art-night, open-mic-night, and movie-night are just a few of the choices. Through these events, the Queen Bean is reaching out to locals and helping to drive the area economy.

In addition, the shop holds for sale several pieces by local artists. “We don’t take anything, it’s our way of engaging,” Josh tells me when I ask about his cut from the painting sales.

Back to basics

What really drives the Queen Bean’s popularity; however, are twin restaurant basics – menu and atmosphere. The shop is the kind of place that makes just hanging-out an activity of its own. It’s not pretentious; just fun. Before meeting with Josh, Kjeld and I stopped by on a weekday evening to scope out the shop.

While we waited for our coffee, two teenage girls drew on the events chalkboard and giggled over their drinks while a local band tested their instruments on the patio, warming up for an evening performance. Across the lounge a college student was hard at work over some papers and in the corner by the window two older ladies enjoyed a personal conversation.

The menu, much of it created by Josh’s uncle, a renowned L.A. chef, is first rate. The place even serves wine, which we sadly didn’t discover until after we had already ordered; perhaps next time...

Final verdict

So what did we think?

Josh called the Queen Bean a cross between Starbucks and Panera bread, but better than both. We couldn’t have said it better ourselves. Check out this great local find, and know that you’re adding to the entire local economy while enjoying your next breakfast crepe or cup of gourmet latte.

See you next week!