Culinary arts graduate opens ‘Cool Beans’ coffee shop in Cordova

When Alfredo Garcia was a student in the culinary arts program at Southwest, he and instructor Chef Steven Leake used to say “cool beans” to each other in class all the time.

Now, that phrase has taken on a whole new meaning for the 2012 graduate. Garcia recently opened a gourmet coffee shop inside of the Cordova International Farmer’s Market called – what else? – Cool Beans Café  ̶  and is putting the training he learned at Southwest to good use. “Southwest Tennessee Community College and Chef Leake taught me the skills I need in management, customer service and food preparation that helped me to open my own business,” Garcia said.

Garcia, who is originally from Mexico City, grew up around restaurants watching his mother make deep fried quesadillas and other traditional Mexican dishes. He dreamed of one day opening his own food business. “All my life I have been interested in restaurants,” Garcia said. “I just never imagined it would be a coffee shop.”

Not being much of a coffee drinker, Garcia learned the business in part by visiting other cafes, tasting their different kinds of coffee, and watching how the coffee was prepared and served.  He practiced by passing out samples to his co-workers at the market. In the process, he discovered that coffee is not just a bean. “Coffee is like people,” Garcia said. “It has different feelings and personalities. The secret is how you prepare it. That’s how it gets its flavor.”

Cool Beans serves up three kinds of coffee from Ethiopia, El Salvador and Costa Rica that are roasted locally in Memphis. He also serves flavored teas along with a selection of pastries that are locally sourced from La Baguette and La Espida. “We wanted to get our coffee local, order our teas local, and get our pastries local,” Garcia said. “Quality is what we are looking for.”

Cool Beans is also a labor of love for another more deeply personal reason. Garcia uses his contact with customers as a way to share the word of God. A Bible verse from John 14:6 is featured prominently on the Cool Beans logo. “My idea was not to just have a business, but to share Jesus through the business,” Garcia said. “And that’s a key element to this shop.”

Leake, who frequently shops for ingredients for his class at the International Farmer’s Market, said he is proud of his former student and enjoys stopping by to see how business is going. “It’s awesome,” Leake said. “He’s a fine young man. It really does my heart good to see how my students have grown from the time they enrolled in the program to after they graduate. It’s just so exciting.”

Garcia said he is very pleased with the results. While the days are long, the response from customers has been great. And, at 30 years-old, he says he is already living his dream. “It’s been everything I have hoped it would be. It’s a lot of work, but it is a lot of fun.”