Up & Coming Weekly

OCTOBER 28 - NOVEMBER 3, 2009 UCW 23 WWW.UPANDCOMINGWEEKLY.COM Business Profile: Village Coffee House by STEPHANIE CRIDER STEPHANIE CRIDER, Staff Writer COMMENTS? 484-6200 ext. 222 or Stephanie@upandcomingweekly.com Village Coffee House has been a cof- fee haven for java lovers in Fayetteville for the better part of a decade. Up & Coming Weekly readers voted them Best Coffee House, Best Coffee Bean selection and Best Coffee in our recent Best of Fayetteville competition. The place is under new ownership, but the owner, Jeff Michaud, says he isn't messing with what works. He loves the shop the way it is and isn't going to change a thing. Michaud started working there more than a year ago as the general man- ager. He was working at Chris's Steak House and Greg Kalevas, the owner of both Chris's Steak House and Village Coffee House at the time, asked if he wouldn't mind running things at the coffee shop during the day for him. Michaud said yes and the rest is history. "I was actually working two jobs. I was working over there at night and over here during the day," said Michaud. "I fell in love with this place and I wanted to buy it, and I made it known. I knew right away— within months — but I worked here for a year and half before I actually purchased it, but I knew right away that I wanted to....." Perhaps Michaud was charmed by the very things that endears Village Coffee house to the community. "Oh yeah, the customers are what makes this whole place," said Michaud. " We have a professional clientele base. We don't have a lot of the alternative kids and skate boarders. We don't do open mic night. We have a more professional clientele here. It is a very quiet, very professional atmosphere and that is something I am proud of and something I would like to keep." And, oh yes, the coffee. There is a great reason that customers find the taste so distinctive — the beans. "They're actually roasted specifically for us and nobody else in the area has this bean," said Michaud. "It is roasted in Burlington, N.C. This bean is a medium roast, so it has a mellow flavor. That is pretty much the se- cret is just a good slow roasted coffee. I order it on Monday and I get it on Wedneday so it doesn't sit on the shelf for months like some other places do. I order weekly, and like I said, they don't send me what I don't need. I call him and tell him what I need and he will roast it on Monday and send it to me on Wednesday and then I grind them as needed." Within a month or so fans of Village Coffee House will have more than one location to choose from. "I am opening up a second location the third week of November — in Hope Mills," said Michaud. "It is right next to the new Millstone movie the- ater. It is also going to have a full kitchen. We'll serve American style diner type food. It will seat about 70 people up front for the restaurant and about 55 people in the back for the coffee house" The new establishment will serve breakfast, lunch and dinner. "I'm gonna have Nathan's hot dogs, cheeseburgers, grilled chicken sand- wiches, and fried chicken sandwiches, soups, salads, fried shrimp baskets," said Michaud. "It is going to be more of a family style over there because of the food. It is all affordable, so it is going to be something that I hope at- tracts the average family." Village Coffee House is located at 3037 Boone Trail. They are open Monday through Thursday 6 a.m. - 10 p.m., Friday 6 a.m. -10:30 p.m., Saturday 8 a.m. - 10:30 p.m., and Sunday 9 a.m. - 10 p.m. For more info give them a call at 484-4515. Village Coffee House staff with owner (front center) Jeff Michaud.

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