Like Goldilocks and her three bowls of porridge, Brian Crehan tasted the espresso served at several coffee shop franchises until he found one that was just right. Once he found it, he and his wife Robin bought a franchise and opened it in January.
Cuppy's Coffee, Smoothies & More is in a strip mall on the northeast corner of West Orange Grove Road and North La Cholla Boulevard.
Crehan worked for the Union Pacific Railroad for 42 years. He took six weeks of vacation, set up the shop, then retired from his position as senior manager of terminal operations.
"I've always liked coffee and I really enjoy talking to different kinds of people," he said. "You don't have grease and you don't have grime. It's a clean business."
The first-time business owner wanted the support a franchise can offer, and the package includes signage, artwork, furniture and millwork.
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"It seems more comfortable than trying to figure out everything on your own," he said.
Iimagine Del Gaudio, 23, and her co-worker, Kristin Riesgo, 22, were sitting at a table at Cuppy's on a recent Friday morning.
The coffee is consistently good, Del Gaudio said, plus, "We always get bagels to go."
The two women stopped in for iced vanilla lattes on their way to work at a nearby bank. Brian is "friendly, works hard and the shop is always clean," Riesgo said.
Cassie McCartney, 20, is Crehan's only full-time employee and has worked at the store since it opened.
"I like working here because he's the best boss I've ever worked for," she said.
The shop has two part-time employees. Robin Crehan, 55, works for Pima County full-time and helps out at the shop when her schedule permits.
The mall owner gave Crehan the option of backing out of his lease after the tenant for the anchor spot pulled out. He decided to stay, but without an anchor to bring in foot traffic, Crehan knew he had to find a way to kick start his business. His coffee shop is across the street from Northwest Medical Center, an area populated with medical offices.
"All the people are at work. Hundreds and hundreds of them," he said. "Once they get to work, they're stuck and they work weird shifts."
He tried to deliver coffee using standard cardboard trays but the trays only hold four drinks. So he devised his own delivery system.
"I took one of our large cups with the dome lid to Home Depot," he explained. He walked around the store until he found a large toolbox deep enough to hold the cup. He bought three. He used PVC pipe to make cup holders and insulating foam to secure the pipe inside the boxes.
"The boxes are made of plastic and easy to keep clean," he said. Crehan's homemade solution enables him to deliver up to 27 cups of coffee in one run.
Stacey Silveira is an office manager for Nursefinders Home Care. She said people in her office order coffee from Cuppy's several times a week.
"Instead of having someone go out and get coffee, we call and get coffee within minutes," she said. "Brian even shows up with a smile on his face."
Coffee delivered just right
What: Cuppy's Coffee, Smoothies & More.
Where: 2040 W. Orange Grove Road.
Phone: 797-5645.
Hours: 5:30 a.m. -6 p.m. Monday-Friday; 8 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday.
Starting prices: Coffee drinks, $1.25; smoothies, $3.75; pastries, $1.50.
Delivery: Three drink minimum within two miles of the shop.
