Spartan Profiles: Bob Fish & Mary Roszel
BEANERS SPROUTING
Michigan’s fastest growing franchise coffee operation is Beaner’s Gourmet Coffee of East Lansing, first opened in 1995 with a store on Grand River just west of People’s Church. Beaner’s will soon boast 15 stores in the Lansing area and some 67 stores in nine states, from Alabama to Wisconsin, generating $22 million in annual sales. “Our five-year goal is 282 units, which would put us in play to be among the top five in the country,” says Bob Fish, ’88, co-founder of Beaner’s along with wife Mary Roszel, ’88.
“We use the Northern European platform, which means we don’t overdo the roasting. We want to bring out the full coffee flavor and not have it taste like charcoal briquette.” The formula seems to work, considering the 50 percent systemwide revenue growth Beaner’s enjoyed in 2005 alone.
“There’s a lifestyle shift,” says Bob about the popularity of coffee stores. “We provide a sense of community. Once upon a time you would lean over your fence to talk to your neighbor. Now you run into your neighbor at the coffee store. We provide a safe, social environment to meet people, compared to, say, a bar. And we’re not as expensive as a restaurant.”
Bob was born in Germany and grew up in Europe. He entered MSU in 1981 and worked his way through school. “I’m a slow learner,” he jokes, chuckling. “But when I graduated I had zero debt.”
A hospitality business major, he met his wife when he was working at a Flap Jack Shack and hired her to fulfill her required work experience. The MSU experience was helpful, he says, citing John Tarras and Bonnie Knutson as two “awesome” mentors.
Mary, a native of Ann Arbor, handles Beaner’s system development area, working with franchisees. She also lauds her MSU education, citing Chef Nelson and Ron Cichy as two special mentors. “MSU emphasized training, and that is so important,” she notes. “We have emphasized this aspect and it definitely helps us serves our customers better.”
