Some websites claimed it was fake.

And yet, shortly after 9/11, I was forwarded this email from multiple sources.  The email went like this:

“Guess I will not be drinking Starbucks any more.  Recently Marines in Iraq wrote to Starbucks because they wanted to let them know how much they liked their coffees and to request that they send some of it to the troops there.

Starbucks replied, telling the Marines thank you for their support of their business, but that Starbucks does not support the war, or anyone in it, and that they would not send the troops their brand of coffee.

So as not to offend Starbucks, maybe we should not support them by buying any of their products! I feel we should get this out in the open. I knwo this war might not be very popular with some folks, but that doesn’t mean we don’t support the boys on the ground fighting street-to-street and house-to-house for what they and I believe is right.

If you feel the same as I do then pass this along, or you can discard it and no one will ever know.”

As we move through this next month of September, we’re going to cover how we decided Newhall Coffee would break away from corporate America, and not be afraid of the war. Instead, we did something to support the people in it.

We showed how a freshly-roasted cup of morale goes a long, long way.

- Mitch.

Exactly two years after I opened Mitch’s Java ‘n Jazz, there were already five Starbucks coffeehouses in town.

Competition was fierce and I needed to take action.  I made two decisions in the winter of 1995. First, I decided it was time to expand and open another location.  Due to the success of my first two years, I was able to sign a great lease in a prime location in the heart of Valencia.

That location was a dream because it already had plenty of foot traffic. No longer would I have to lure people to my destination, they would already be there. A large movie theatre, restaurants and high-end retail stores were within walking distance of the new location.

Second, I got my first bank loan and bought a coffee roaster for my coffeehouses. The purpose was to offer fresh-locally roasted coffee, a product Starbucks and other independent coffeehouses could not.

A business was born out of the need for competitive advantage and differentiation. In order to give the coffee its own special identity, I started a new business and named it after my hometown… Newhall Coffee Roasting  Company.

Now all I had to do was repeat the formula that worked so well at the original coffeehouse and showcase our unique, fresh and locally-roasted coffee.

- Mitch