That’s right, everybody’s favorite coffee shop has changed hands.
But wait, it’s actually a good thing. After five years of creating a space where hipsters, athletes, parents and professionals can happily sip their mocha-capp-aconos (whoa, that sounds like a fraternity) Kent Chapple and his wife Hazel have sold thump coffee to Jay Junkin, owner of Jackson’s Corner and Bobby Grover, founder of and roastmaster at 11 Roasters Coffee.
This fortuitous marriage of one of Bend’s most beloved cafes and one of its most popular locavore eateries should be a very good thing.
The transfer happened on Monday, Feb. 20, but as you may have noticed, there’s been no perceptible change in day-to-day operations. According to Chapple, the new owners plan to retain the familiar name and vibe.
“Customers shouldn’t see much of a difference,” Chapple said. Junkin, the Jedi-master of creating awesome restaurants that have a comfortable feel (former owner of Parrilla Grill), looks to make the transition as smooth as possible.
“We get how special the place is,” said Junkin, who clearly knows how to create a space that people will go ga-ga for (ever been to Jackson’s on burger night?).
As far as coffee, thump currently uses beans from Stumptown Coffee and “some select beans Bobby has been providing,” said Chapple, who for now will stay on as manager. In the future, though, Grover and 11R will work to create a “thump-brand” coffee bean, said Junkin, also a co-owner of 11R. Grover stressed that there will be no “cannonball” or other big changes to the successful cafe.
As for Chappel’s plans, he’s ready to start a new chapter in life and is expecting a baby this spring.
“We wanted to create a coffee shop like thump, we did that, and know it’s time to do something else,” Chappel said. “It’s time to spend more time with family and Jay and Bobby seem … it just seemed like the perfect opportunity,” Chappel said of the recent sale.
“It’s been a really amazing opportunity and we’ve been so lucky in the way we’ve been embraced,” Chappel added. “Sometimes there’s just this magic chemistry.”
Good luck to you Chappel and thanks for all the carefully crafted caffeine.
This article appears in Feb 23-29, 2012.
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Good on Kent! He and Hazel are lovely people and they’ve done a great job with Thump. Maybe being manager instead of owner will afford Kent a bit more time (and fewer sleepless nights — or at least those caused by being responsible for paying the business’s bills!) to take care of his growing family.
Oh no. Please don’t let the mocha change. its the best in town. don’t change the mocha!!!! I’ll miss kent and hazel too.