PORT ANGELES — After six years of selling her home-roasted coffee at farmers markets, festivals and events, Denise Brennan, owner of Princess Valiant Coffee, has opened a retail outlet in downtown Port Angeles.
Brennan opened the doors of Princess Valiant Coffee and the Best of the Peninsula at 110 Laurel St., in Port Angeles, on Feb. 23.
Her business plan is simple: “Make money, have fun, do good.”
The 1,400-square-foot store is a big step up for Brennan, who has become a familiar sight at local events with the smell of her fresh-brewed coffee wafting through the air.
And after five winters selling coffee at the Port Angeles Farmers Market from a 10-by-10 open tent, “it’s really nice to be out of the cold,” she said.
The unusual name is a homage to Brennan’s car, a 1965 Plymouth Valiant Signet.
Her uncle took to calling her Princess Valiant, and when she started using the car to haul her coffee operation to the farmers markets, the name was a natural choice.
In addition to Brennan’s coffee, the store carries a wide variety of goods from local crafters and farmers.
“I feel more people are realizing the importance of shopping locally,” she said.
“People really like the idea of so much local stuff available in one place.”
The store features items from a dozen local vendors, with more to come.
There are syrups, jam and pancake mixes from Sequim Valley Products; original lithographs; jewelry, cards and hand-bound journals by Melody Charno of Port Angeles; baby quilts and fabric items by Jake and Ruth Clapp of Sequim; handcrafted fabric purses and wallets by Lisa Kendrick of Port Angeles; hand-knit woolens from Eileen Penn of LaPush; landscape photography by Gary Carlson of Port Angeles; lavender sachets by Martha Hutchinson of Sequim; and beaded little girls’ jewelry by Connie Rodibaugh of Port Angeles.
Brennan just got approval from the Clallam County Health Department to sell food, and will soon add fresh eggs from Dry Creek Farm, produce and flowers from Christie Johnston in Agnew, salad greens from Mountain Shadow Greens and honey from the Elwha Apiary.
But the smell that greets customers is coffee, the heart of the operation.
Brennan offers fresh-brewed coffee, but stresses this is not a coffee shop and she has no plans to add an espresso machine or fancy drinks.
‘Just a good cup of coffee’
“In this economy, people are less inclined to pay $4 for an espresso drink. They just want a good cup of coffee,” she said.
It was Brennan’s own quest for quality coffee that led her to the coffee roasting business.
“It started with me looking for a decent cup of coffee,” she said. “I’m the accidental entrepreneur.”
She found a source for green coffee beans online and roasted her first small batch in a table top pizza oven on Valentine’s Day, 2004.
The pizza oven is part of a display at the store, along with the cast iron dutch oven and drum roaster that followed, both of them used over a propane barbecue.
She began selling her coffee beans at the Port Angeles Farmers Market when it was located on Laurel Street, right outside her new store location.
But she couldn’t keep up with demand.
She moved up to a commercial roaster that could handle 30 pounds of coffee beans at a time.
“That was a fork in the road,” she said. She told herself, “Either this is a hobby or it becomes real and I make a serious business out of it.”
From there, “it just flew off the table. People wanted it instantaneously,” she said.
In addition to the robust flavor — Brennan said her customers want “bold, serious coffee” – people like knowing where the coffee comes from.
Organic coffee
Most of the Princess Valiant coffee is organic, and grown responsibly, she said.
Brennan said the “fair trade” certification that many coffee roasters tout can actually eliminate many small farmers who don’t belong to the co-op.
Several of her coffees also help to support good causes.
Tanzania Kahowa is a medium-bodied coffee, with 100 percent of proceeds going to the Maasailand Health Project.
Sumatra Tunas Mandheling, “earthy and smooth,” helps to fund care for an aging Indian elephant in a Tennessee elephant sanctuary.
Brennan also sells a “tempting and bold” Twilight Brew, a nod to the Peninsula’s tourism cash cow, the “Twilight” books and movies.
Princess Valiant Coffee and the Best of the Peninsula is open from 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
Brennan, the sole owner and employee, plans to extend store hours during the summer.
She will have a grand opening later this month, but the date had not been set as of Saturday.
For more information about Princess Valiant Coffee, visit www.princessvaliant.com.
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Features editor Marcie Miller can be reached at 360-417-3550 or marcie.miller@peninsuladailynews.com.