Crimson Cup Welcomes Greenbean Coffee House in Altoona, Pennsylvania

Columbus, Ohio Coffee Roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea recently welcomed Greenbean Coffee House to the group of independent coffee shops, cafés and bakeries it supports in 36 states. The shop at 720 6th Ave. in Altoona, Pennsylvania held its grand opening in October.

“We’re excited to welcome owners Katy and Travis McCabe and their team to the Crimson Cup community,” said Greg Ubert, founder and president. “Helping entrepreneurs put their unique stamp on their own businesses is a big part of our success as a coffee roaster and coffee shop franchise alternative.”

The McCabes learned how to open a coffee shop through Crimson Cup’s 7 Steps to Success coffee shop franchise alternative program, which is based on Ubert’s Book, Seven Steps to Success in the Specialty Coffee Industry.

“As a coffee roaster and coffee shop franchise alternative, Crimson Cup believes that our company only succeeds when our customers do,” Ubert said. “As a result, we support coffee shop owners at every step – from scouting a great location and writing a coffee shop business plan to choosing equipment, hiring staff and providing comprehensive training.

“To support customers’ ongoing success, we supply award-winning wholesale coffee beans, coffee shop supplies and marketing support,” he added. “Our coffee-buying team travels more than 25,000 miles annually to bring back the finest coffee beans available to our customers.”

As the owner of two franchise-based cleaning businesses, Katy McCabe was intrigued by Crimson Cup’s model, which offers all the support of a coffee shop franchise without the associated costs. “Tired of paying franchise and royalty fees to others, I absolutely wanted to do my own business this time around,” she said. “Crimson Cup made it easy, and we’re off to a great start.”

Green Bean Coffee House sold a record 1,545 $1 drink specials during its October 18 grand opening.  The opening featured live broadcasts from local news and radio stations, face painters, live music, costumed characters, and a Tumble Bus toddler playground built onto an old school bus.

“Imagine yourself in a comfortable nook, surfing the web (Free Wi-Fi), holding a business meeting, hanging out with friends, listening to great music (sometimes LIVE), admiring local art, catching some rays on our patio, participating in open mic night, hearing a poetry reading, going through our drive-thru for a quick cup of joe before or after work and you will understand the draw and excitement of the Greenbean Coffee House,” Katy McCabe said.

The new coffee shop serves a full menu of hot, iced and frozen espresso drinks – including mochas, lattes and cappuccinos – as well as iced coffee and tea, cold-brewed coffee, hot chocolate, fruit smoothies and other custom drinks. Its signature drink is the Green Bean Mocha, which melds white chocolate, caramel and steamed milk with an espresso base. Gourmet muffins and other treats round out the menu.

The shop’s interior features many personal touches of the McCabes, including a piece of décor representing each of their children, and a wall where Travis displays a rotating selection of his comic books.

Through its 7 Steps program, Crimson Cup has helped hundreds of independent coffee shops develop into thriving businesses over the past 26 years. It currently supports shops in 36 states, Guam and internationally in Bangladesh.

 About Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea

 Columbus, Ohio coffee roaster Crimson Cup Coffee & Tea is Roast magazine’s 2016 Macro Roaster of the Year. Since 1991, Crimson Cup has roasted sustainably sourced specialty and craft coffee in small batches, which it sells directly to consumers and as wholesale coffee beans. The company also teaches entrepreneurs to run successful coffee houses through its coffee franchise alternative program, which includes a coffee shop business plan. Crimson Cup coffee is available through a community of more than 350 independent coffee houses, grocers, college and universities, restaurants and food service operations across 36 states, Guam and Bangladesh, as well as the company’s own Crimson Cup Coffee Houses. To learn more, visit crimsoncup.com.