POULSBO — LeAnne and David Musgrove hope more than anything that their new business will be a place where community members meet, chat and stay awhile.

The new owners of Hot Shots Java on Front Street have experienced large coffee chains that push to get customers out the door quickly. LeAnne said she hopes people visit her cafe to get comfortable.

“I guess our biggest thing is that we want people to have a good experience when they come in,” LeAnne explained of her coffee house philosophy. “We want them to have a great cup of coffee and we want there to be no rush.”

Hot Shots opened Oct. 15 at the former site of Ye Olde Copper Kettle English tea room, but it was an idea that was a long time coming for the Musgroves.

They moved to Poulsbo two years ago, after LeAnne had spent four years serving coffee for companies like Seattle’s Best Coffee and Starbucks. Her last job was as the manager of the Coleman Dock Starbucks.

“There were 25 people in line for coffee all the time from May to September. It was crazy,” LeAnne recalled.

The couple met in Florida while LeAnne was a barista and David was a flight instructor. Moving to the Northwest, David pushed his wife to stop working for big chains and open a homestyle coffee shop with him.

“I liked owning my own business and she had a passion for coffee so we decided to do this together,” David explained.

Fresh and high quality is the mantra at Hot Shots, where even the receipts are emblazoned with the quotation, “Life’s too short for bad coffee.” A local roaster roasts all the coffees especially for the shop. The regular drip is called Betty’s Blend, after the owner of Treasure House who helped the couple find the storefront and who is quite the coffee aficionado.

Besides the standard coffee and espresso offerings, including Big Train Chai, Hot Shots offers 12 flavors of Cascade Classic Ice Cream, which can be modified with syrups and fruit additives for shakes, smoothies and other concoctions.

The coffee house also offers a variety of breakfast and lunch foods including bagels, pastries, breakfast quiche, desserts, panini sandwiches and locally made soups.

“It’s better than homemade,” LeAnne said of the soups, which are flash-frozen in the distributor’s kitchen.

And the couple has created a cozy atmosphere to lure visitors to stop and stay awhile. Deep cranberry and amber colored walls are decorated with interesting art and coffee bags. Muted lighting, table games and even a fireplace create a hang-out spot for young and old alike.

“It’s goes in waves, we get our morning crowd and then we get out late lunch crowd and then we get an evening crowd,” David commented on the shop’s customer base. “It’s a pretty loyal crowd and they’re growing all the time.”

The space’s appeal is accentuated by six ports offering free Internet service.

“That’s catching on really fast,” LeAnne said. “We have a lot of people come in with their laptops. We get a lot of teenagers who come in and do their homework.”

And for the less tech-minded, there’s also a 10-foot movie screen showing movies and sporting events through a cable hook-up. The Musgroves are currently looking into copyright laws concerning whether they will be able to show DVDs and videos as well. But even with just cable, the screen has become a popular draw.

“Last Saturday, the football game was on and every husband in downtown Poulsbo was in here while their wives were shopping,” LeAnne said with a laugh.

And that’s exactly what the Musgroves were looking for when they opened Hot Shots — a community gathering place. While they’re already planning ways to deal with expected crowds during next summer’s tourist rush, LeAnne said they hope the meat and potatoes of their business will be customers who come in so often that they know them by their first names.

“Our first goal is to serve the community, the tourists in the summer are a bonus but we want the community members as customers,” she added.By CARRINA STANTON

Staff Writer

POULSBO — LeAnne and David Musgrove hope more than anything that their new business will be a place where community members meet, chat and stay awhile.

The new owners of Hot Shots Java on Front Street have experienced large coffee chains that push to get customers out the door quickly. LeAnne said she hopes people visit her cafe to get comfortable.

“I guess our biggest thing is that we want people to have a good experience when they come in,” LeAnne explained of her coffee house philosophy. “We want them to have a great cup of coffee and we want there to be no rush.”

Hot Shots opened Oct. 15 at the former site of Ye Olde Copper Kettle English tea room, but it was an idea that was a long time coming for the Musgroves.

They moved to Poulsbo two years ago, after LeAnne had spent four years serving coffee for companies like Seattle’s Best Coffee and Starbucks. Her last job was as the manager of the Coleman Dock Starbucks.

“There were 25 people in line for coffee all the time from May to September. It was crazy,” LeAnne recalled.

The couple met in Florida while LeAnne was a barista and David was a flight instructor. Moving to the Northwest, David pushed his wife to stop working for big chains and open a homestyle coffee shop with him.

“I liked owning my own business and she had a passion for coffee so we decided to do this together,” David explained.

Fresh and high quality is the mantra at Hot Shots, where even the receipts are emblazoned with the quotation, “Life’s too short for bad coffee.” A local roaster roasts all the coffees especially for the shop. The regular drip is called Betty’s Blend, after the owner of Treasure House who helped the couple find the storefront and who is quite the coffee aficionado.

Besides the standard coffee and espresso offerings, including Big Train Chai, Hot Shots offers 12 flavors of Cascade Classic Ice Cream, which can be modified with syrups and fruit additives for shakes, smoothies and other concoctions.

The coffee house also offers a variety of breakfast and lunch foods including bagels, pastries, breakfast quiche, desserts, panini sandwiches and locally made soups.

“It’s better than homemade,” LeAnne said of the soups, which are flash-frozen in the distributor’s kitchen.

And the couple has created a cozy atmosphere to lure visitors to stop and stay awhile. Deep cranberry and amber colored walls are decorated with interesting art and coffee bags. Muted lighting, table games and even a fireplace create a hang-out spot for young and old alike.

“It’s goes in waves, we get our morning crowd and then we get out late lunch crowd and then we get an evening crowd,” David commented on the shop’s customer base. “It’s a pretty loyal crowd and they’re growing all the time.”

The space’s appeal is accentuated by six ports offering free Internet service.

“That’s catching on really fast,” LeAnne said. “We have a lot of people come in with their laptops. We get a lot of teenagers who come in and do their homework.”

And for the less tech-minded, there’s also a 10-foot movie screen showing movies and sporting events through a cable hook-up. The Musgroves are currently looking into copyright laws concerning whether they will be able to show DVDs and videos as well. But even with just cable, the screen has become a popular draw.

“Last Saturday, the football game was on and every husband in downtown Poulsbo was in here while their wives were shopping,” LeAnne said with a laugh.

And that’s exactly what the Musgroves were looking for when they opened Hot Shots — a community gathering place. While they’re already planning ways to deal with expected crowds during next summer’s tourist rush, LeAnne said they hope the meat and potatoes of their business will be customers who come in so often that they know them by their first names.

“Our first goal is to serve the community, the tourists in the summer are a bonus but we want the community members as customers,” she added.