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Capitola Coffee Roasters

There's NO Excuse For Bad Coffee!!!
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Capitola Coffee Roasters: There’s no excuse for bad coffee – by Jim Johnson
If coffee café owners are supposed to be as energetic as their drink, Cathy Bentley is the perfect owner.
Bentley, who has owned Capitola Coffee Roasters since 2003, is as energetic as they come, operating her business with a hands-on style that keeps her busy for nearly 80 hours per week, and still finding time to get involved in a wide variety of community causes that are her passion.
Bentley doesn’t just serve shots of espresso. She is one.

And, her work shows in every facet of the ultra-popular Capitola Coffee Roasters café that has become such an essential part of the Capitola Village community. Tucked next to Stockton Bridge, across from the entrance to the Esplanade, Capitola Coffee Roasters has turned into a community gathering place, hosting book clubs and knitting clubs, and Pictionary and Trivial Pursuit competitions, opening early for Begonia Festival and Art and Wine Festival volunteers, sponsoring fundraisers for local schools and other community organizations, among other activities.

“It’s a gathering place,” Bentley said. “We’re like the Cheers of Capitola.” And, that’s just how she likes it, exactly what she envisioned when she bought Capitola Coffee Roasters a few years ago. A bookkeeper for nearly a decade who had just finished up her Administration of Justice graduate degree, Bentley decided she wanted to do something that would allow her to interact with her community. Through Capitola Coffee Roasters, Bentley was able to operate a highly social business, employ college
students, use her business, marketing and business skills in a cash-based business, and contribute
to her community.

“I wanted to do something more proactive with our kids and our society,” she said. “I wanted to get
back to something where I could give back to the community that has given me so much.” Part of Bentley’s effort to become more accessible, and more visible, to the community was moving from the Capitola Mercantile, where the business was started, into her current location, which is much more visible. That suits her just fine.

“Customers have told me I have the best view of everything happening in the Village,” Bentley said. “It’s bigger and brighter here, with outside seating, and we’re much more visible. I love being by the beach and I love seeing the familiar faces of my customers every day and being part of a great community.”
Bentley said she did plenty of prep work, with plenty of help from family and friends, on her business plan before opening Capitola Coffee Roasters, and it shows.

Capitola Coffee Roasters is the only roastery in town, one of the only cafes that roasts its own coffee beans on-site. And, since the roaster is centrally located behind the counter in full sight of customers, they can watch the beans turn a rich, dark brown that all coffee lovers appreciate. Bentley buys her top-quality coffee beans, all Arabica, from all over the world, including South America, Africa, Indonesia , India , and elsewhere. There are seven private blends and more than 15 traditional coffees to choose from, all organic, shade-grown and bird-friendly.

In addition to serving the traditional coffee drinks, including the “best latte in the Bay Area,” according to one customer, Capitola Coffee Roasters also offers original concoctions such as the Coca-Mocha, the Caramel Latte, the Gingerbread Latte, and the seasonal Egg Nog Latte, among others. And, there’s iced coffee and smoothies during the summer, organic loose leaf teas, organic moo and soy, an assortment of locally baked goods, a collection of unique coffee boutique gift items – including shirts, greeting cards,
and magnets - and the ever-popular gift certificates. Bentley also packages her coffee for sale in her
store, and ships to customers all over the country. In the future, Bentley plans to install an oven and a
small kitchen, and offer fresh-baked goods including cinnamon rolls, muffins, cookies and candies
based on family recipes.

While Bentley acknowledges that her business benefits from the visitor trade, her focus is on her local clientele, the ones who frequent her establishment on a regular basis. It is for their sakes that she devotes so much time and energy to her work.

“I always keep my locals in mind,” she said. “They’re definitely the strength of my business. I’m here every day, and they like knowing the owner is here, putting as much love and energy into every cup possible.”
It’s that kind of attitude that has motivated Bentley’s community involvement, too. In addition to serving on a range of community organizations, including the Capitola-Soquel Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors, the Village Master Plan Advisory Committee and the Business Improvement Area board of directors, she is heavily involved with nearly every local event and issue, especially those related to business.

Then there’s the Capitola Book Club by the Sea, which meets on the first Wednesdays of the month, and the Capitola Knitting Club by the Sea, which meets every Thursday. And, of course, the newest addition
to her long list of community activities, the coffee bag fundraisers that offer local students a chance to earn money for their programs by selling Capitola Coffee Roasters coffee and keeping half the proceeds.
It’s all about staying active for Cathy Bentley, in her business and in her community.