In the Shadow of Starbucks

Building
success in the coffee shop industry is about brewing a community environment.
It's one of the qualities of Italian coffeehouses that inspired Howard Schulz
to build Starbucks into a global brand, a brand that many analysts say has come
to symbolize the chain store more than the corner store.

Wes Herman, owner of
The Woods Coffee Co. in Whatcom County, has carved out nine such community
environments (i.e., retail stores) of his own and plans on expanding south in
2010. What started as a single stand-alone shop in February 2002 in Lynden
(population 11,000) quickly turned into a blueprint for success-one that
Starbucks is trying to replicate, says Herman.

Each of The Woods' outlets has
its own community identity. The newest of the three in Lynden is at the base of
a 53-foot windmill in the Dutch-themed downtown. The Ferndale and Birch Bay
outlets, the two most recent additions, feature inside-outside fireplaces and
eco-friendly furniture constructed from local wood. But it is in Bellingham
where Herman created not just a coffee shop, but also a community center.

The
Woods took an old public building in Boulevard Park on Bellingham's waterfront
and renovated it to LEED standards. "It was just a tired, almost 100-year-old
building," Herman says. The 2,000-square-foot store sits steps from the water,
and a roll-up garage door brings the outside in. From there, Herman ties to the
community through sustainability.

With
a public composting center and a four-compartment recycling center, the
community has taken ownership of the building. That is why, Herman says, the
two-year-old store without a drive-through window has boomed into his
highest-grossing endeavor. The Woods shows that community interaction can be
more important than traffic. "The idea that people will drive in, walk in and
walk out [of Boulevard Park] is so foreign," Herman says.

To
promote sustainable standards, The Woods is also the only coffee shop in the
county to offer 100 percent compostable clear and paper cups. He promotes the
use of tumblers for hot or cold drinks as an environmentally friendly practice.
Western Washington University students can even get a free cup of the Viking
Blend by wearing WWU gear and bringing in their own mug on "Western
Wednesdays."

Sustainability
is just part of the culture of business for Herman. "It is involving people and
we want that interaction and participation," he explains. Such interaction
helps create an essence of community, the paramount role in a new store's
success. "In our case, we are connecting with community and trying to be a part
of it ourselves in ways that are unique to

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