Background
Romancing the Bean began as a dream between the sibling team of Jeannie Pershin and Terry McElhaney in their hometown of Littleton, Colorado. When they learned of the 125 year old D&RG depot being moved to the town's new light rail station, they jumped on the chance to create a memorable stop along the light rail line. In July of 2000 they opened up shop the same day as the light rail and have been serving outstanding espresso, coffee, pasties, breakfast burritos and smoothies to the commuters and locals ever since.
Keys to Success
Besides being housed in a (now) 132 year-old stone train depot, we serve outstanding, locally roasted Silver Canyon coffee. Our staff consists of only the owners and one (ocassionally two) other baristas to in order to assure that our customers come first. We pride ourselves in not only serving up the best traditional espresso beverages, but in our ability to create one-of-a-kind beverages particular to our customer's special orders.
Special Events
We are a favorite stop on the "Haunts of Littleton" walking ghost tour every year put on by the South Metro Chamber of Commerce (www.bestchamber.com) and are also a favorite stop for locals cruising for Christmas decorations as you can see from the photo above.
Target Customers
Our target customers are, of course, the business and student commuters as well as our locally (and some not-so-locally) residing friends and neighbors who pull up to the shop just for the brew.
Challenges Faced
Parking... since we are located at the downtown Littleton light rail station, the parking lot fills up rapidly in the morning. We have had to train our customers to the fact that they can pull up to our curb and park briefly in order to come on in.
Time crunch... since much of our customer base are commuters, we specialize in getting people in and out quickly in order to catch their trains and busses on time. We have the to-go cups on the counter ready to be grabbed and filled by the customers themselves so they don't have to wait in line. We even have a "quick cup" coffee pot commuters can throw their money into to make it that much quicker. (...and we have very, very few people who take advantage and don't pay).
Where We're Headed
Our goal is to create a stable, self-perpetuating business where our children (and theirs) can come back in 50 years and be able to say..."I remember when my mom/dad or grandwhatever started that shop and I used to play right there on the floor," and it still is an active part of Historic Downtown Littleton, our hometown.
Other Info
If you are ever in the neighborhood, please stop in and introduce yourself. We love to meet people from all over the world and the web is an incredible source of future friends. Please check out our web site, and check out www.downtownlittleton.com the website of Historic Downtown Littleton.
