On any given day, Cool Beans Cafe is the place to meet and socialize. Offering breakfast items, sandwiches, salads, and wraps, they are known for their innovative and fun options. The event space is a great room to host birthday parties, cooking classes, and meet ups for groups. They are also a great place to get information on local events and happenings. As leaders in the community, they spearhead fun activities like the sign wars and movie nights on the Square. 

103 W. Liberty Street
Medina, Ohio 44256
330-723-7174

Bill Lamb, a former Mayor of Medina and current city council representative, wanted to have a local place for people to gather so he opened Cool Beans Cafe in 1993. Over the years the business had a couple different owners and in 2010 it was purchased by Laura Cavey. As a young person Laura always knew she wanted to own her own business, but wasn’t sure what it would be. She spent her early career in sales and web design but was always looking at restaurants and thinking of ways they could improve their business. When the opportunity came around to buy Cool Beans, she hadn’t planned to buy a business but knew it was too good to pass up. She got together the resources and has now taken it to the next level. 

This environment is very fast-paced and requires people who can stay cool under pressure. We are also a small team so they need to be very responsible and able to see what needs to be done, and do it. As we are open 7:00 am – 8:00 pm Monday through Saturday and 8:00 am to 7:00 pm on Sundays, we have a lot of hours to cover. It is always challenging to find people who fit in our team and are good at the job. We are also dealing with rising costs as food and supplies continue to go up in price. Finally, we have to stay ahead of trends. Being a locally owned business we can customize drinks and food for people more easily than chains, but we also have to be able to do what they do.

We have suppliers all over the world. The vegan cheese we offer is from South Korea and our avocados are from Mexico! But most of our supplies come from Northeast Ohio. Coffee beans themselves come from all over the world but they are roasted in Medina at Just Brew which is one of our two coffee suppliers. Our customers are generally local and often well known to the staff but we definitely get visits from all over the country.

Sustainability is very important to our team and our customers. We have removed all styrofoam packaging and plastic bags from our business. All of our to go packaging is paper-based. If you bring in a reusable cup, select refills are just $1. And most recently we are now selling compostable K-Cups for home use. They can be put in a composter and become a soil additive to help improve growing conditions. We are always looking for ways to be even more sustainable.

We are in the process of adding a second location in Brunswick, Ohio. We have interacted with zoning rules and regulations and various individuals in the city government. They want to be sure we are doing things in a way the residents will be happy and we are appreciative of their advice and help to make this location everything it needs to be. 

All of our positions are posted on our website and we say, “join our team” because it really is to become a part of a team. Customers also recommend people come and work here which is very flattering. Sometimes people contact us directly and ask if there are openings and we are happy to have them apply online. 

Why do employees like to work here?

 Every day is different. This job also offers an opportunity to be very creative. The staff creates all the specials and many menu items so they enjoy the opportunities to bring new things to the customers. Also when a customer wants something unique, we have almost 50 syrups alone so they can make exactly what the customer wants. Making people happy is also a big bonus of what they do. When you serve someone something and watch them enjoy it, you get a very special satisfaction from your work!