{"id":193278,"date":"2015-03-06T04:00:23","date_gmt":"2015-03-05T18:00:23","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/?p=193278"},"modified":"2015-03-06T04:00:23","modified_gmt":"2015-03-05T18:00:23","slug":"java-joes-turns-10-years-old","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.saipantribune.com\/index.php\/java-joes-turns-10-years-old\/","title":{"rendered":"Java Joe\u2019s turns 10 years old"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Java<\/a>
Java Joe\u2019s owners Manju Pandey, left, and her husband, Mahesh Thapa. (Contributed Photo)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Java Joe\u2019s celebrates its 10th anniversary this Saturday with free refreshments offered from 9am until closing time.<\/p>\n

The beloved coffee shop in Dandan will also offer 10-percent off on all drinks in March. They will also hold a raffle for $10 to $15 gift cards from customer receipts at the end of the month.<\/p>\n

Aside from their customer favorite \u201cAlmond Rocca\u201d and their other regular flavors, the coffee shop has new flavors for their blended drinks like avocado, aaro, vanilla bean, green tea, mint chip, honeydew, cantaloupe, coconut, melon, watermelon, blueberry frost and buko pandan.<\/p>\n

Another new addition is their bubble tea\u2014a freshly brewed green or black tea with tapioca and a customer\u2019s choice of flavor, from raspberry, strawberry cherry, mango, peach, kiwi, and more.<\/p>\n

Manju Pandey, who runs Java Joes, bought the coffee shop in 2007, and has been there since.<\/p>\n

\u201cI really didn\u2019t have a clue,\u201d she said of her beginnings. \u201cBut over the years we learned.\u201d<\/p>\n

The coffee shop is run with the help of Kathleen \u201cKath\u201d Tolentino, and Pandey\u2019s husband, Mahesh Thapa, who brings over 20 years of experience in the hospitality industry in the U.S. and Australia to the coffee shop. He has worked with restaurants and hotels, serving burgers, wings, breakfast, many of which are also served at the shop.<\/p>\n

Thapa said they aim to make their coffee shop a \u201csecond home for customers,\u201d where they can feel cozy and relaxed. \u201cWe never compromise with our service,\u201d he said. \u201cFrom when we opened up until today.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tolentino has been with Jave Joe\u2019s even longer than Pandey, as a barista since it opened in 2005.<\/p>\n

Pandey calls Tolentino \u201cone of the best around.\u201d She\u2019s good with everyone, she said. \u201cI can depend on her.\u201d<\/p>\n

Tolentino said working in coffee shops is her passion, as she was a barista in the Philippines even before she moved to Saipan.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s one of those things where even with my eyes closed, I can do,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

For all three of them, they know that the coffee shop leans on the loyal customers and staff throughout the years.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are willing to go the extra mile to meet their needs,\u201d Thapa said.<\/p>\n

Pandey added that they were the \u201coriginal\u201d coffee place on island, and are \u201cstill here,\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur best assets are our staff,\u201d she said. \u201cWithout them we wouldn\u2019t be here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pandey said since they\u2019ve opened they\u2019ve had the same range of customers, from kids to seniors, government professionals, to lawyers and police, among many others.<\/p>\n

They tell her and Thapa that the \u201cmusic is relaxing\u201d and \u201cnot noisy.\u201d Thapa says your behavior will change once you enter the coffee shop. \u201cLike entering the cinema,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

Pandey points to their \u201cold-school\u201d music jukebox that they let pick the music for the shop itself. Its jazzy, mellow, and soft sounds go well with the smell of their coffee beans freshly gathered from the island crop.<\/p>\n

Thapa says that as soon as their Marianas coffee is roasted, it is at the shop. \u201cIt gives it that aroma,\u201d he said<\/p>\n

Java Joe\u2019s has been a regular participant in community and school events, donating gift certificates to many fundraisers.<\/p>\n

And all through this time\u2014for the most part\u2014they\u2019ve kept their prices the same, even through some of the rock bottoms the island has hit economically over the years.<\/p>\n

Pandey says they\u2019ve had the same prices for their items since 2009.<\/p>\n

She said costs for raw materials have risen but \u201cwe managed to be able to keep prices the same. We don\u2019t want to turn away students\u201d or other customers, she added.<\/p>\n

Tolentino said her bosses, Pandey and Thapa, also \u201cdo everything.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey help,\u201d she said. \u201cUnlike other bosses, they don\u2019t sit down, just observing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Pandey and Thapa said maintaining their prices and keeping the shop open is all about \u201cputting in the extra time\u201d and dedication.<\/p>\n

This, Thapa said, increases efficiency. \u201cWe are doing what we do, while people are raising prices and cutting corners. We are putting time in it, our hands in it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked about growing competitors around the island, especially the large Mango Six that opened across the street, Thapa and Pandey said sales have interestingly been busier.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur product is out there and customers love it. We don\u2019t worry,\u201d Manju said.<\/p>\n

She said they always ask for customer feedback.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not a competition,\u201d she said. All the coffee shops on island offer something no one else does, she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope we\u2019ll make it another 10, 20 years,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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