How will the owners of J Dubs Coffee, a
new downtown coffee shop, set themselves
apart from the dozens of other coffee shops
on the city’s main drag? The neon orange and
green interior might help, according to the
new owner.
“It’s going to be hard for people to miss
us,” said Jim Whitney, who owns the shop
with his wife, Felicia.
Whitney recently quit his 15-year job with
a wireless company in Massachusetts to open
up the coffee shop and launch his “second
career.”“Coffee is a multi-billion dollar market,”
Whitney said. “People have to get their coffee
every morning.”
Business people downtown have had
no shortage of options for their lattés, with
Dunkin’ Donuts, Gala Café, Ahhsome Coffee
and the Bridge Café – to name just a few
– all less than a block away from Whitney’s
soon-to-open store.
He’s banking on the hundreds of office
workers in the Brady Sullivan Tower and
patrons of the post office within the plaza
as built-in customers – especially when the
weather gets too cold for people to venture
very far from a heated office building.
“They might not want to walk across the
street,” Whitney said. “And there’s a 400-car
parking garage right behind me.”
He’s contracted with A&E Coffee Roastery
in Amherst, which roasts
fair trade beans, which Whitney
will use to create signature
blends. His goal is to have
each customer make a $4 sale,
he said.
The entrepreneur said he’s
also privy to the building
owner’s plans to renovate the
square, which is flanked by
Whitney’s restaurant, Subway,
Thousand Crane restaurant and
a formal wear shop.
“If I get in now, who knows
how much more vibrant it’s going
to be around here,” Whitney
said. “We want to be part
of Manchester’s rebirth.”
The roughly 500 square foot
coffee shop is still in pieces,
as Whitney and his carpenter
need to assemble the counters
and install the coffee machines.
The store will offer a variety
of specialty coffee drinks and
foods, from espresso to pastries,
some of which will come from his family
kitchen in Hudson.
“My wife, who happens to be an excellent
baker, will be making some of it in her spare
time,” Whitney said.
While Jim Whitney will be at the shop fulltime,
Felicia has a full-time job with another
company, he said.
The couple has three daughters, one who
lives a block from the store and attends the
University of New Hampshire’s Manchester
campus.
“She’s my built-in spy,” Whitney said.
“The student demographic is really what
we’re trying to get into.”
Along with his daughter, who will be manning
the coffee counter part-time, the Whitneys
plan to hire one or two other part-time
baristas.
“We want to get involved with the whole
culture of coffee,” Whitney said. “The way
you present it and how it tastes to the beans
you grow – there’s a lot that goes in to it.” ?7?????? My guess...not the "Amazing" Jim Whitney we know from JWN
