You must meet these guys. I had the pleasure of speaking with Andre Janusz (pronounced like Janis the mutual fund – as he told me) and I learned about this cool and relaxed coffee house idea. I fell for them and I think you will too.
I asked how they decided to open in Stanley Marketplace. Andre told me, “We had some friends who were a part of the Marketplace and worked with Mark and some of the early developers. They said ‘hey you should talk to them, they are working on something you may want to explore’ – that’s how the conversation started four years ago last month – we decided we are NEVER going to open a coffee shop we are only going to roast – coffee no shops. Then we heard what they had in mind and they said we were going to eat the words ‘never – never’, and I guess we are going to do a coffee shop.”
I did some looking on their website, Facebook and Instagram and even the monthly newsletter. I found a bunch of great stuff to share with you. Excerpts, quotes and interviews…oh my!
“We learned a few things over the years working in
corporate America:
We really like coffee… (ok, we need it)
A great cup was often the high point of the day,
and we don’t think we’re alone.
So, we stepped out to do something new, different,
tasty and what we’re passionate about.”
The Logan House name
“Logan House was the name of Andre’s house in the 60’s and 70’s when it was a small hotel, er… yeah, we’ll call it a hotel. We’re not certain you could get a room by the hour, but we’re [pretty] sure it was not a real nice place. If those walls could talk… That roof line on our logo is a remake of the roof line of the actual house.”
Coffee beans in wine bottles
“Bottles – in the beginning we were looking for a package that was different and recyclable and tossed around a whole bunch of things, he had a party and was cleaning up and had an epiphany we can totally put it in there. We got all our bottles from our customers, they provided enough, we need more bottles. A friend connected us to a winery that they knew – the winery went through a lot of bottles. Once we get the bottles we remove the label and sanitize the bottle in the same process as brewery’s use to sanitize, then, seal with a tasting cork and the same topper as a wine bottle – a heat sealed plastic.”
“We modify a tasting cork,” LHCC Co-founder and Head Roaster Andre Janusz told Daily Coffee News, explaining that they order a certain tasting cork by the thousands from a manufacturer and then modify each one by hand. The result is a clean, sealed wine bottle looking as good as new, handsomely displaying approximately 10 ounces of LHCC’s roasted coffee inside.
Andre goes on to say,
“Fresh coffee tastes best, two-week shelf life –
after that the flavor starts to fall off so just drink it.”
We wanted something different and something recycled (or at least recyclable), and something about bags didn’t seem cool or different enough for us. And you’re getting some serious benefit from having it in wine bottles, they are a self-containing storage vessel for those delicious little black and brown fellows. Each bottle holds about a week’s worth of coffee.
Bean snobbery is not allowed!
Andre and Brooks have a bit of an attitude…about attitudes. Andres and I had a great talk about his views on coffee and snobbery. “The coffee industry in Denver has really blown up in the last few years, a lot of people have set up, and are brewing great coffee. I feel the Pacific Northwest was ahead in the coffee space and coffee is getting a lot better in Denver. As coffee gets better, and as people get better, there tends to develop an elitist attitude around it. Okay, you don’t know the difference between a dry or wet process in Ethiopian coffee – you don’t have to know this! – what do you like? – we can have those conversations.
We want it to be more open and friendly – you can come in and learn about coffee and try some. Maybe African is for you and Ethiopian is not for you. It is important that it remains nice and cool – no coffee snobbery – it is just a cup of coffee we are talking about you don’t have to be snobs and jerks about it.”
How awesome is Stanley Marketplace?
Andre expressed how great it is to be a part of the Stanley Marketplace. He said the environment really raises the bar. Read on. “We are between The Denver Biscuit Company and Rosenberg’s Bagels & Delicatessen – we are surrounded by such great people!”
“The curse part [to being at Stanley] is that it is really hard to bring your junior varsity team to that place. You have to show up with your A game. They are known all over town for having amazing stuff – without a doubt – so we have to deliver on varsity level. We are super pumped about it, and everyone we talk to about the marketplace [says] they are excited about it.”
AND…they deliver!
Why deliver?
- We really want to meet your dog
- Gas mileage in our trucks is amazing
- We need to get out of the shop
… all true but the real reason we deliver is it’s the fastest way to get fresh coffee to you. We’ll bring it by bike when & where we can. Why is fresh so important? My coffee bag says ‘best before…’
We’re pretty sure the tomatoes from your garden don’t have a shelf life as like spam either. The truth is that roasted coffee has a short shelf life. Flavor profiles can start to deteriorate after 2 weeks and by a month you’ll definitely notice some differences from your once freshly roasted coffee. So, what was once a smooth, flavorful roast turns bitter, edgy, and flavorless. Hot, wet, and caffeinated… yes. Smooth, flavorful, and delicious… um, no… that train left the station. We can come by every week or two with the good stuff.
And behind it all
Andre Janusz
Andre is the master roaster and sometime we think his entire existence revolves around finding the perfect beans and roasting them to bring out the most flavor, depth, color, etc. He’s almost like a bean whisperer if there was such a thing.
Brooks Gagstetter
Well, he’s the other guy in our operation. Yep, no roasting for him but holy cow talk about an understanding of the different flavor profiles. His taste buds may have been refined by his old sommelier roommate or from Andre’s incessant demands to taste each of his masterpieces.
They are not natives – but Colorado got them anyway… “I [Andre] moved to Colorado about 15 years ago, and I am very happily stuck in Colorado… when Colorado gets its claws into you you’re done. Brooks was born in Alaska but moved to Colorado before his first birthday – went to Boulder University and then the east coast for business school and came back after business school.”
Stanley Marketplace is the home of many fun, unique and local businesses. Each one of them has their own story and they will impact the community in different ways. Keep checking back as we feature these local enterprises. These interviews and information is being brought to you by Lending Maven Mortgage another proud Stapleton business. Check out more on our blogs for Beeler Park and Bluff Lake.
Tricia Houston
Owner, Lending Maven Mortgage
Colorado native and Stapleton resident
