Samiksha Jaiswal (Editor)

The Freaky Bean Coffee Company

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Former type
  
Privately held company

Area served
  
Southern Maine

Ceased operations
  
March 2009

Defunct
  
March 2009

Founded
  
2005

The Freaky Bean Coffee Company httpsuploadwikimediaorgwikipediaenaa3Fre

Industry
  
RestaurantsRetail Coffee and TeaRetail BeveragesEntertainment

Key people
  
Jonathan Stratton, PresidentAndrew Kessler, V.P. Marketing & E-commerceGary Woodworth, V.P. Logistics

Products
  
Whole Bean CoffeeBoxed TeaMade-to-order beveragesBottled beveragesBaked GoodsMerchandise

Headquarters
  
Westbrook, Maine, United States

Parent organization
  
Chug-A-Mug Coffee Roasters Inc.

The Freaky Bean Coffee Company was an independent, Maine-based specialty coffee house and roaster, which had retail locations, a roasting division, and wholesale accounts.

Contents

The company was founded in 2005, and at its peak had six locations. After a series of store closures, the remaining two stores were shut down in March 2009.

History

The company was founded by Andrew Kessler and Jon Stratton, a former member of the US Navy. They started the company in 2005 using $10,000 in microfinancing from Accion USA. The original Freaky Bean shop opened in June 2006 at the Willowdale Place business complex on Route 1 in Scarborough. The company's name was whittled down from about 400 names. Other names considered included Dirigo Coffee, Sublime Coffee, and Waxing Poetic. The folk tale that has been spread about the origin of company's name states that it was created when Jon Stratton's wife had an epiphany while taking a shower. She leaned out of the shower and yelled, "Call it the Freaky Bean!" to Jon.

The company experienced rapid growth in 2007 and 2008, followed by a series of store closures:

  • In March 2007, The Freaky Bean was one of 30 companies honored as “outstanding role models of entrepreneurship,” by The Maine Small Business Development Center.
  • In July 2007, The Freaky Bean opened its second retail location, as well as its headquarters, roasting operations hub and distribution center on Main Street in Westbrook. In addition to being a coffee roastery and distribution center, this location included a public coffee cupping room.
  • In December 2007, the company announced its agreement to purchase Maine Roasters Coffee Company. This purchase included coffee shops located in Yarmouth and Falmouth, as well as Maine Roasters' wholesale business.
  • In May 2008, The Freaky Bean opened its fifth retail location at the newly constructed Scarborough Gateway shopping complex. This complex is anchored by national sporting goods retailer Cabela's. That same month, The Freaky Bean was selected as the Official Coffee of The American Pavilion of the Cannes Film Festival in Cannes, France. As a result of this selection, Freaky Bean would be the only coffee available at the Pavilion.
  • In July 2008, the company opened its sixth retail location on Broadway in South Portland. This location was the first (and only) drive-thru shop for The Freaky Bean.
  • In November 2008, the former owners of Maine Roasters Coffee took possession of the Maine Roasters assets including the Yarmouth and Falmouth coffee shops as partial settlement for loan defaults, reducing the number of Freaky Bean locations from six to four.
  • As of December 2008, the members of the board of directors were Jonathan Stratton, Gary Woodworth, Jon Ricci, Jim Walsh, Jim Talbot, Jim Mclaughlin, and Einar Seadler.
  • In February 2009, the company was forced into involuntary Chapter 7 bankruptcy by its three major creditors. Behind the scenes, this process began the forced liquidation of the company's assets and shutdown of its retail and wholesale operations.
  • In March 2009, the Scarborough Gateway location and the flagship store in Westbrook were abruptly closed, amid reports that the company was having trouble paying its vendors and its employees. Some of those vendors took the company to court in an attempt to recover the money owed to them. Later that same month, the remaining two locations — South Portland and Scarborough/Route 1 — were abruptly closed, with signs posted on the doors stating that the company could no longer meet its financial obligations.

    • The Freaky Bean's round logo is based upon a statue found at the Mayan temples in Central America. Designed by Arielle Walrath, a local Maine designer and illustrator, the stone statue's design was illustrated to show the Mayan character juggling a coffee cup, a coffee bean, and a muffin.

    A second logo was created for use in smaller spaces: it consists of the company's name, with a coffee cup in the middle with steam emanating from it. Both logos were used interchangeably within the company's stores, literature and branding.

    Products

    The Freaky Bean served a variety of coffee-based drinks as well as hot chocolate and organic teas, along with their version of a blended iced coffee drink, the Freakazoid.

    References

    The Freaky Bean Coffee Company Wikipedia
    (Text) CC BY-SA


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