The tantalizing aroma of coffee beans roasting once drifted throughout Jacksonville’s downtown. “Having the roaster in town was really romantic,” says Michael Kell, owner of GoodBean Coffee. As his company grew busier preparing coffee blends for distribution across the Northwest, the time came to relocate the roaster—but that hasn’t deterred the flow of residents and visitors who frequent the café to drink in neighborly conversations along with their favorite brew.

Michael hadn’t always associated coffee with romance. But in 1989, the Southern Californian met Mary, the future Mrs. Kell. “I sold my credit insurance agency, and we went on a wanderlust together around the Pacific Northwest,” he recalls. “The odd thing is, during that whole trip I couldn’t stop thinking about coffee. I didn’t even drink it—but I kept remembering a great coffeehouse I’d loved while attending UCLA.”

The couple settled in the Rogue Valley. Mary worked as a salon aesthetician, while Michael daily visited a coffeehouse—where he surreptitiously studied the way the business operated. “I had thoughts of recreating that college experience,” he says. While researching possible locations, he met Ted Vandermeer, who was renting Jacksonville’s historic Table Rock Billiard Saloon building. “Ted ran a shipping business,” Michael explains, “but he also owned this little coffee roaster. We moved into the building, and soon after GoodBean was born—October, 1990.” A friendly coffeehouse was a part of the plan; the other part was to become a distributor of great packaged coffee. Mary took charge of canvassing the Valley, signing up clients. Nearly three decades on, GoodBean uses the same Bay Area coffee broker that Vandermeer introduced them to. “They’re a family business that sources the best beans from all over the world,” Michael says.

In 1995, Michael convinced a local bagel-maker to teach his staff the craft of handmade bagels. Soon customers were enjoying the fresh-daily results, choosing between Cranberry Walnut, Three Cheese, and a dozen additional choices—as well as tasty treats like the popular Morning Glory Muffin. And after years of resisting “going farther with the food thing,” today a very busy grill staff creates breakfast and lunch dishes, from the Breakfast Burrito to the bacon-topped Mac and Cheese. “That grill was my 25th wedding anniversary present,” Mary confides with a grin.

The Kells plan to expand their menu later this year. “Imagine a burger with three cheeses already in the bagel bun,” Michael teases.

With GoodBean Coffee widely distributed across the region, Michael’s hunch has paid off. “We’ve built almost thirty years of good will within the community,” he says. “And I’ve developed a serious love of coffee!”

GOODBEAN COFFEE
165 South Oregon Street • 541-899-8740
Summer Hours: Open Daily 6:00am-7:00pm