About Town: Coffee Shop Owner is a Neighborhood Institution

in Redmond predates Walter Bieri’s tenure as its proprietor, but he’s made his mark here as a hands-on and community-oriented business owner.

Bieri can be seen helping customers, busing dishes in the lobby, or even reminding someone that computer time is limited to one hour.

“Some people like me, some don’t,” Bieri says simply, but it’s in large part his lively personality that gives Victor’s its flair.

Bieri, a longtime chef and restaurateur, has some basic and time-tested principles for running his business. He’s as adamant about customers getting their drinks in a timely and consistent fashion as he is about them following his few simple rules, which ultimately amount to not loitering or offending other customers.

Another principle he follows is sticking to what a restaurant does best. For Victor’s, that means it’s a coffee house first and foremost. When he began operating the rustic joint located just off Redmond Way, Bieri brought in some sandwiches and breakfast items, but he kept his focus on roasting and pouring quality coffee. He uses organic fair trade beans for his blends and espresso drinks.

Bieri says that coffee has improved a lot since his earlier days, when he was an executive chef in hotel restaurants. Back then, he said, even when the price of coffee got high restaurants couldn’t really charge more so they watered the coffee down.

“Now, thanks to Starbucks, we can charge $4 or $5 for a coffee,” and make it a really fine cup of joe, he says.

Bieri bought Victor’s about 11 years ago, after having operated Walter’s Waffles in downtown Seattle for 14 years. He’s a resident of Bellevue, and wanted to escape some of the big-city atmosphere.

“Redmond’s a really nice town,” he says in his Swiss-German accent, still quite apparent even after living in the U.S. since 1974. He holds a dual Swiss and U.S. citizenship. “I’ve lived all over the country, and this is definitely the best place to live.”

Loyalty for the small but iconic spot is strong among both customers and employees, Bieri says. Now, he likes to spend some time travelling and isn’t in the shop every single day, a point he makes by way of sharing another one of his principles: “When you hire some people, let them do the job,” he says.

Bieri often hires young people, and says he insists on professionalism and a consistent product.

“I’m maybe tough with the kids. If I see things I don’t like, I call them on it, but I have a good heart. I try to help them develop a work ethic,” he said.

Bieri has continued a tradition the previous owner started as a way to give back to the community. Every year all of the employees donate a couple of hours of their time along with Bieri to offer a free drink day before Christmas. All of the tips collected on that day are donated to a local charity.

Bieri believes his simple business recipe has been good for the customers, too, noting that about 90 percent of his customers are regulars, some who have been coming in for as many as 20 years.

“I think you get to know a person (when) you interact,” he said.

And sometimes, when you put your heart and soul into a business, other good things arrive too, he says.

Bieri’s significant other for six years now, Joan Perrish, was one of those long-time regular customers. In time she came to be much more. Her children have worked at Victor’s, and her son still comes in to roast the coffee when Bieri and Perrish are away on vacation.