The last coffee
☕Coffee People | Jim & Patty's
I suppose it was inevitable at some point. Still, that doesn’t make the news this week any easier to bear. But … I’m getting ahead of myself.
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Coffee People
If you lived in Portland in the 1980s and 1990s, you likely knew about Coffee People. It was a beloved coffee shop.
I introduced a college friend to Coffee People in the mid-1990s and recommended what would become our signature drink: the Velvet Hammer. To this day, I don’t know exactly what is in a Velvet Hammer but it has a flavor profile unlike any other coffee drink I’ve ever had.
The best part? Every drink is served with a chocolate covered coffee bean on top.
Jim and Patty
Willamette Week tells some of the Coffee People back story:
Jim and Patty Roberts founded Coffee People in 1983 in an old house on Westover Street in Northwest Portland—it was Coffee Man for 8 years before that—living upstairs above the cafe they founded.
At its peak, Coffee People had more than 40 locations in town, serving up Black Tiger shakes and Velvet Hammer mochas, going public in 1996 with the goal of being No. 2 to Starbucks. But the business crumbled instead, and they were forced to sell.
For a time, Coffee People was a national brand. But in 2007, even that ended. All Coffee Peoples in the country—except five in Portland, owned by local company Stephanie Inc.—became Starbucks.
The end
Then in 2016, the news broke. A June 2016 article in Willamette Week included this quote:
“On January 31, 2007, the big chain closed and there were only five stores. It almost came to an end 10 years ago,” says Laurel Lawrie, manager at one of the five remaining Coffee Peoples in the world, all at the Portland airport. “Now those five are going to close."
The final Coffee Peoples in Portland will all close up shop June 30, says Lawrie.
As it happened, I flew through PDX in June 2016 — and ordered one last Velvet Hammer. It tasted so good! I took a picture to text to my friend.
I wasn’t the only one. Lee wrote of a similar experience on his blog planks and sticks on June 30, 2016:
Today is a day of mourning for me. The last two remaining Coffee People locations will shutter permanently today at Portland International Airport. At the top of their game, circa late 1990s, there were about 40 Coffee People stores and Motor Mokas in the Portland area. The owners slid from the top of their game in 1997 when they sold Coffee People to two large chains in 1997 and again in 1998. The final sale was to Starbucks in 2006. The coffee behemoth dismantled all of the Coffee People and Motor Moka locations, save for the final two airport kiosks.
I happened to fly back from a trip to Chicago today, and couldn’t have planned it better. I landed at 10 a.m. and headed straight to my favorite coffee chain for a final cup of Velvet Hammer (Mexican mocha) before it closes for the final time tonight.
Lee reflects on his impressions on Coffee People and what the brand meant to him:
I wasn’t drinking a lot of coffee in the late ’90s/early 2000s, I was way too poor for that habit. However, I loved a once-in-a-while splurge at the local hippie dippy Coffee People chain. From the typography on the red-and-white sign outside to the playful names of the coffee drinks–Girl Power, Velvet Hammer, Black Tiger Espresso– Coffee People was pure Portland before the onset of Stumptown, Heart, Extracto and numerous others. I loved that I could always count on receiving a chocolate covered espresso bean with my drink. They made their coffee strong and kept their business mantra simple: Good coffee. No back talk.
Has the quality at Coffee People declined? Yes. Do I care if the quality has declined? No. Why, because I’m a sucker for my memories of savoring a Velvet Hammer and feeling really fancy. Remember, I was a 23-year-old just figuring out how to make my way into adult life in Portland. Apparently slurping caffeine was part of my rite of passage into adulthood.
Today there are far superior coffee bars and small batch roasters in town. They’re the type of places that are manned by baristas who can tell you where that single origin bean in the coffee you’re sipping comes from.
I’m definitely not a coffee purist. I’m perfectly content drinking my Coffee People ‘Good coffee. No back talk’ Velvet Hammer while I reflect on a time when Coffee People was the place to drink coffee in Portland.
Goodbye, Coffee People. It really does feel like an end of an era. At least it does for me.
That was June 2016.
What I didn’t know at the time was that there would be another chapter to this story.
Jim & Patty’s Coffee
The next year, my then-girlfriend (now wife) took me to a coffee shop she liked. The name over the door said Jim & Patty’s Coffee but the logo looked a lot like Coffee People.
Was this the AFKAP of coffee shops? Indeed it was.
A new beginning
As Willamette Week reported:
The one bright spot in their odyssey came when the five-year non-compete agreement signed in 1997 expired and they found a sweet spot in Beaumont Village. They're starting all over again with Jim and Patty's Coffee, featuring good coffee, no backtalk...and killer sour-cream coffeecake.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. There it was on the menu: the Velvet Hammer! I excitedly ordered one and we splurged on a sour-cream coffeecake, too. I was so amazed I had to take a picture of this rare sighting.
In the ensuing years, Jim & Patty’s would become a special treat for us.
We also shared it with others. When some of my wife’s cousins came to visit, we started our day at Jim & Patty’s. I told my college friend (who now lived out of state) about the reincarnation of Coffee People as Jim & Patty’s.
When the pandemic hit, it was hard for so many small businesses and Jim & Patty’s launched a Go Fund Me. My friend texted me in 2020: he had made it to Jim & Patty’s! They survived. And we kept going.
In 2022, my out-of-state friend texted me a picture outside Jim & Patty’s.
In 2023, he and I met at Jim & Patty’s and enjoyed a conversation over a pair of Velvet Hammers. So much has happened in the three decades since we first met. One constant: Velvet Hammer.
A new ending?
In August 2024, Patty Case Roberts (the Patty of Jim & Patty’s) launched another Go Fund Me. As Daily Coffee News explains:
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.
“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.”
319 people chimed in on Reddit, encouraging support. I shared the news with my out-of-state friend who managed to make a visit in September. He sent me a picture of him inside Jim & Patty’s once more, worried this might be his last Velvet Hammer.
The response to the Go Fund Me was positive. Here is an update from August 30:
Happy Friday everyone! It's been a week since we launched this fundraiser, and we're blown away by your generosity and kindness. We are very aware that we aren't the only business that is struggling to stay open, so it is humbling to say the least that we have had such a great response.
With each update, it seemed as though progress was being made. Here is part of an update a few weeks later, on September 19:
We have continued to make payments to landlords; our line of credit balance is dropping; we've paid off one credit account entirely. Our payrolls are clearing smoothly with no sleepless nights for me. Afternoons have been getting busier, especially on weekends, so starting October 5th we'll be open until 2 pm on Sat/Sun. It feels so good to be making progress. But what's the end game look like?
On October 7, she posted this final update:
Friends, it's time to close our fundraiser. We have been so blessed by all of you. Your kind words have given us such a lift, and your dollars have brought some relief and stability to our situation. But in light of what's going on in Appalachia, we want to withdraw. Our concerns are nothing compared to what those folks are going through. Thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
The Go Fund Me had by that time raised $40,702 towards an original goal of $250,000.
The news
On Tuesday, November 5 just after 5pm, I saw the news: KOIN was reporting that Jim & Patty’s was closing for good. I immediately texted my wife and my friend. Two minutes later, he texted back: “Oh, man!! It’s over!!”
Jim & Patty’s had announced its closing earlier in the day in a Facebook post:
The closing even made Eater.
My wife and I made plans to get coffee the next morning.
My final visit
Here are a few pictures to capture my final visit to Jim & Patty’s.
Despite the strip mall location and the suspended ceiling tiles, stepping into Jim & Patty’s still manages to exude its quirky indie coffee shop pedigree.
A few years ago, they changed their menu signage. When I first visited in 2017, the Velvet Hammer had a description. Now it’s hidden discreetly in the second row of a bunch of bullets in the middle of a busy sign. Regulars know. Anyone else would probably never know to try it.
Rather than 8, 12, 16 and 20 ounces, at Jim & Patty’s each size has a name: Beaver, Wally, June and Ward. In a very blond moment, I just realized as I wrote this that these are named after characters in Leave it to Beaver, an American sitcom that ran in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
I usually order a Wally (12 ounce). Today, knowing this is likely my last Velvet Hammer, I go large and request a June (16 ounce).
While I wait, I notice the thank you sign scrawled on the chalkboard in front of the barista.
And then my final Velvet Hammer arrives on the bar. I notice the chocolate covered bean is missing on top and inquire. They’ve already run out, I’m told. The end is near.
I take a sip. It’s just as I remembered. So good.
If you’ve never had the opportunity to visit Jim & Patty’s, here are a few more pictures to convey the vibe.
A collection of old mugs from the Coffee People days remain on display.
It’s the type of coffee shop that still has a community bulletin board. I smile reading the “Hello? Is it me you’re looking for…” poster on bottom left (an old Lionel Ritchie lyric).
Jim & Patty’s has photos from its Coffee People days (and maybe before) on the walls. Seeing them brings back memories of my first “fancy” coffees downtown oh so many years ago.
For as long as I can remember, the slogan has been “Good Coffee. No Backtalk.” So it’s only fitting that the Wi-Fi password is GOODCOFFEE.
Here are a few more pictures from the past.
It’s still early this morning. Some people are working on laptops. Others are enjoying a solo cup of coffee. This group was reminiscing and having a spirited discussion of the history of airline mergers.
The back wall has this lovely mural, complete with a tiger.
Jim & Patty’s has six varieties of coffee. I remember the Backtalk blend from the 90s. Some are obsessed with Black Tiger. Today, all that is left is Our House blend.
I decide to pick one up as a souvenir.
As I leave, I see the line has grown. Clearly, I’m not the only one who will miss Jim & Patty’s.
They close for good on Monday, November 11, 2024.
If you’re local (or want to make a last minute trip), here are the two locations closing: Beaverton | Portland.
More backstory
I shared some of the backstory of Coffee People and Jim & Patty’s, but there’s actually more. Here is how Jim & Patty’s tells it on their beans today:
In the course of researching for this post, I came across a fascinating interview with Jim Roberts that discusses their earliest beginnings in the 1970s through 2011 and the many ups and downs of their lifelong entrepreneurial journey, and conveys the unique spirit and poetic charm of Jim Roberts. It’s the first link below and highly recommended. It’s an engaging, entertaining, sobering and encouraging read.
The first link under Jim & Patty’s below, which is a 2024 article in the Beaverton Valley Times, also has some nice color and anecdotes. (bold = highly recommended)
Go deeper
Jim Roberts
Forty years of highs, lows and everything in between: Jim Roberts, one of Portland's original "Coffee People" (Caffeinated PDX)
Portland Coffee Legend Jim Roberts of Coffee People Dies (Roast Magazine)
Coffee People
Farewell to Coffee People (planks and sticks)
One of the Oldest Names in Portland Coffee Is Closing All Locations This Month. (Willamette Week)
Jim & Patty’s
Good Coffee, No Backtalk at Jim and Patty’s Coffee (Beaverton Valley Times)
Return of the Coffee People! (Willamette Week)
Closing
Portland coffee mainstay calls it quits after fundraising attempts (KOIN)
Sign of the Times: Eponymous Portland Coffee House Turns to Fundraising to Stay Afloat (Portland Mercury)
This beloved Northwest coffee chain is closing for good next week (The Oregonian)
Jim and Patty's Coffee plans to close for good (Restaurant Business)
🎵 Musical embed
As I was writing this, two songs kept running through my head: “Thank You For the Music” by ABBA and “Closing Time” by Semisonic. They convey what I’m feeling.
Thank You For the Music by ABBA
So I say thank you for the music, the songs I'm singing Thanks for all the joy they're bringing Who can live without it? I ask in all honesty What would life be? Without a song or a dance, what are we? So I say thank you for the music, for giving it to me
-Thank You For the Music lyrics (Source)
Closing Time by Semisonic
Closing time, every new beginning Comes from some other beginning's end
-Closing Time lyrics (Source)
Thank you for indulging me in this remembrance.
Next week we’ll shift our focus to the approaching American holiday of Thanksgiving.
I hope you have a wonderful weekend.
Be well,
-Bryce
Postscript: When I started writing this post, jimandpattys.com was still a live website that looked like this:
By the time I finished writing, the site was no longer live:
I didn’t link to it in the body of this post because the site was already gone. But in cleaning out my tabs, I discovered I still had a cached version of the home page and so have gone ahead and included it in this postscript for posterity.
This looks like such a great place. I’m nowhere near Portland, yet you make me feel like I’ve been there for the entire ride. Someplace to drink coffee and just hang out. I’m sure you had a real sour feeling walking out for the last time.
I remember the days when Caribou (which I liked better than Starbucks, then they abandoned Chicago) and Starbucks were places to do the same…hang out and drink coffee. The atmospheres were calm and relaxing. Now, the attitude is gimme your money, wait 10 minutes for your drink and get the hell out. When I see independent shops like you’ve been able to experience, I’m there, even if it’s just for a quickie.
I’m sure your emotions are quite bittersweet right now.