The Whatcom Independent - April 29-May 5, 2005

Small Business Briefs

The Black Drop Coffeehouse

By Paul Hood

Teri Bryant and Alexarc Mastema opened The Black Drop Coffeehouse on a Friday the 13th two and a half years ago. A lucky meeting over the Internet brought them together, meeting in the flesh for the first time at the now-defunct Stuart’s, not fifty yards from their 300 W. Champion street location downtown. A combined 25 years of coffee and espresso experience did not prepare them for the 115-hour workweeks they each put in for the first three months in business, but they still found time to give their younger customers a ride home at 1:30 a.m. Some of those customers became employees, but Alex and Terri still hustle to deliver arguably the finest coffee and espresso in Bellingham.

Raised by entrepreneurs, Alex says he is “great at not working for other people.” Teri says that “being your own boss means everybody is your boss,” but she’d rather be a small business owner than a corporate employee any day. Customers and employees are like family here.

Alex just returned from judging the United States Barista Championship, and he believes that this little coffeehouse will win national awards for coffee excellence. Great coffee, conversation, and a warm, welcoming atmosphere are the secrets to success at The Black Drop. There is no live music or poetry, and Starbucks is not considered competition. In fact, Terri and Alex appreciate the ancillary business that the so-called “McDonalds of espresso” sends their way; it gives them new customers to convert.

The Black Drop is the place for community connections, and Alex said, “If you can’t find connection elsewhere, you can find it here.” This is the core idea at the heart of The Black Drop. All their coffee is either fair-trade or relationship-based, the brewing equipment is immaculately clean, and the flavor is as fresh and big in the cup as their unique cartoon logo on the corner of West Champion and Grand.