Kaffmandu Looks To Make Coffeehouse A New 'Home' In Beverly

BEVERLY, MA —The name of the game in coffee officially changed this week when Om Shrestha opened his third Kaffmandu location on Cabot Street.

Shrestha, who operates successful locations on Maple Street in Danvers and at Mass. General Hospital, gave away free beverages on Monday as a way to welcome new and old patrons to the former Cafe Gusto location.

"The people who come into my shops aren't just customers," Shrestha said. "They're my friends."

A native of Nepal, Shrestha opened the Danvers location eight years ago this week and scheduled the grand opening of the Beverly location to line up with that anniversary. His shop offers a selection of dark roast, organic, fair-trade coffees and specialty espresso drinks, including Annapurna Express, Buddha's Dream and Himalayan Brew.

Kaffmandu features a different genre of music each day with Monday's grand opening being "Oldies" day.

Shrestha came to the United States to attend college at Northeastern University and developed his passion for the promotion of fair-trade coffee practices — which encourage farmers to establish sustainable and healthy farming that is free of pesticides and supports living wages for those in the farming community.

Shrestha credits his success in the coffee business to the inspiration and support of his wife, Jackie, and his daughter, Shanti, as well as his dedicated staff.

"It's the great team at Kaffmandu that carries forward my vision of creating a place where old friends can gather, new friends can meet, and everyone can share a little smile together," he said.

Shrestha said he and his staff are quick to learn customers' names and he wants them to know him as Om as well.

"I want them to feel like a guest in my home when they come in," he said.

(Scott Souza is a Patch field editor covering Beverly, Danvers, Marblehead, Peabody, Salem and Swampscott. He can be reached at Scott.Souza@Patch.com. Twitter: @Scott_Souza.)