GALION — It truly is a family affair at Three Bean Coffee House in Uptowne Galion.
The Ebner family (Mom Crystal, Dad Ted, kids Ruth, Lily, and Theo) has taken over ownership and operation of the facility located at 125 Harding Way East, which was formerly home to the Candy Bar (owned by Beth Cramblett) and most recently the site of Upper Sandusky-based Beca House Coffee. Three Bean Coffee House held its official grand opening this past weekend.
“We’re locally owned and operated, but we’ll still maintain our relationship with Beca House Coffee,” Crystal said. “We’ve always sold Beca House Coffee here, since I worked for Beth. Our espresso is Beca House. So we’re going to continue our close relationship with Beca House, offering the same products they offer. They’re really wonderful people and great to work with. The idea is not to change things too much, but to give it back that hometown feel of being locally owned and operated.
“I think it’s a natural transition. For many people in Galion, I’m synonymous with this place, so it just seemed like the right time to make the transition.”
Crystal explained how they came up with the name Three Bean Coffee House on the company’s Facebook page.
“I will say when we first brought the idea of running the shop to the kids their first question was — What are we going to name it!?!” she wrote. “We had quite a few names thrown out but one day while filling our hopper with espresso the idea came to me. We use a Three Bean Espresso blend in all of our lattes and I thought of my three little beans (Ruth, Lily, Theo) at home. Everyone fell in love.”
Following the theme of three beans, she has developed a signature drink named after each of her and Ted’s children. Ru’s Red Velvet is named for Ruth. Lily’s Lavender Lemonade is named for middle child Lily. A green “T” frappe is named for Theo, the youngest Ebner.
The biggest difference that customers will notice is the extended hours, Crystal said. Three Bean Coffee House is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday and Sunday from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.
“Hours were the first thing that we needed to address and the most important change that we were going to make to really make this place more successful,” she said. “The thing that people are most frustrated with is not being able to have the chance to stop in and get a drink, because not everybody gets off work by 2 o’clock.”
Ted said he took some time away from his job to help Crystal make the transition. He noted that it was an enjoyable experience.
“Being behind the counter, it was neat to see the same people coming back day after day,” he said. “Crystal knows their orders sometimes even before they get up to the counter and has it ready to go or is at least starting on it. It’s neat to see the regulars coming in. That’s the community part of this that’s really special.”
For information about Three Bean Coffee House, follow the company Facebook page or visit the website threebeancoffeehouse.com. The telephone number is 419-777-0017. The email address is [email protected].
