The family behind two locations of the Portland, Oregon-area coffee shop chain Jim & Patty’s Coffee People launched a $250,000 Gofundme campaign to save the business as it faces mounting debt.
The crowdfunding campaign is the latest chapter in a coffee story that dates back more than 50 years, when Jim Roberts and Patty Cates Roberts tasted their first sips of fresh-roasted coffee at Jeff Ferguson’s The Coffee Bean (later to become Coffee Bean International).
The married couple would eventually go on to lead Coffee People, a beloved Northwest coffee chain throughout the 1980s and 1990s that became a major regional competitor to Starbucks.
After selling coffee people to former Second Cup subsidiary Gloria Jean’s, Jim and Patty launched Jim & Patty’s Coffee People in 2002, growing to four neighborhood coffee shop locations around the Portland area.
Jim Roberts, who is also often credited with creating the first drive-through coffee shop in the U.S., died last year at the age of 74.
Today, there are two company-owned Jim and Patty’s locations, one on Fremont in Portland and another in Beaverton. A third location in Forest Heights is owned by a separate entity and is not associated with the fundraising campaign.
“Our two stores are running well, and we have the sweetest, hardest working team in town,” the campaign states. “We lost our beloved Jim, but his vision still guides us, and Patty is back in the stores. Every day our tables are full and the vibes are good. But if we can’t trim overhead and debt soon, we will be forced to close our doors… Our family is determined not to let this happen without a fight.”
As of this writing, the Gofundme to save the family coffee business had accumulated just over $26,000 towards the $250,000 goal.
Comments? Questions? News to share? Contact DCN’s editors here.
Related Posts
Nick Brown
Nick Brown is the editor of Daily Coffee News by Roast Magazine.
Comment