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Permalink Reply by Denise Smith on July 11, 2009 at 1:17pm

If Blackwater is what you like you just educate your customers. We will always have to answer to our name. The Celtic Cup Coffee House. It is pronounced with a K sound not like the Anglicized (British) C sound. It is from the Keltic people of the seven Keltic Nations. One of our signature sandwiches is our Celtic Club on an Egg Kaiser roll.

To me with, I wouldn't associate the word blackwater with sewer... I would have asked what American Indian tribe & nation it was associated with... after all your are in the Blue Ridge mountains.
Good Luck, plan well, don't give up!! Your new (almost 4 months now) business neighbor over in Tennessee.

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Permalink Reply by Denise Smith on July 11, 2009 at 1:18pm

Off Topic... I prefer the education and comedy of Altan Brown.

Jonathan Amos said:

Who needs Bobby Flay when you could have Paula Deen?

wait, wait.. Paula Bean.

That's the sound of striking gold right there.

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Permalink Reply by John Berkness on July 11, 2009 at 3:22pm

Ive always wanted to call the shop (Suck It Coffee!)

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Permalink Reply by Denise Smith on July 12, 2009 at 8:37pm

My husband liked:
JUST COFFEE...
We Know Beans about Beans!

Don't serve anything that isn't coffee, period. But in our town Just Coffee would have meant Just dead because it is the food end of our place that is sustaining our wonderful coffee end.

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Permalink Reply by Jason Shipley on July 13, 2009 at 8:07am

How about
"Chuck Farbucks Coffee"

You could have Chuck be a world traveler who scours the globe looking for great coffee. Maybe do a where's waldo kind of thing with him.

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Permalink Reply by Dawn E Donson on July 14, 2009 at 3:03pm

I like Blue Notes...I will pass it on. Thanks

Kelly Wright said:

Blue Notes Coffeehouse

Blue Notes Cafe

Blue Notes Coffee

Blue's Coffee

maybe something that uses the word "notes" - referring to musical notes and certain notes in single origin coffee

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Permalink Reply by coffeehorse on July 19, 2009 at 9:13pm

well, without giving critique on a 'new name' for you (I charge for that kinda work ;)) you might want to consider the problems with the names you're looking at:

- Cool Beans

Is that before or after you add hot water to them? While they're growing in the sun, or roasting? The meme "cool beans" is going to be irrelevant to most of your target audience, and wasn't used to refer to coffee originally.

- Big Shots

Sounds egotistical and while punny, doesn't speak of professionalism or service etc. The coffee-related name would be lost and expectations of perfect service would increase - this name sets you up to fail with most customer bases.

- Blue Rabbit

Doesn't really mean anything - you may as well call it The Blue Bean or Blue Fish, and Rabbit may imply vegan/vegetarian clientele are preferred, which would put off the meat eaters just after a good espresso.

Instead of coming up with names on your own, then discussing them, why not talk about your aims, ethos, visual/stylistic approach and generate names based on the words all three of you strongly agree on.

Also try to stick away from names that sound like you're auditioning for roles as part of the Jamaican bobsleigh team.

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Permalink Reply by Rod Waynick on July 22, 2009 at 12:19pm

how about just "Blue"

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Permalink Reply by stephanie crocker on July 22, 2009 at 1:04pm

you really want to be sure to set yourself apart from the competition. when i started my bakery, there were NO other bakeries called Sugar in Seattle, and now there's 4, and I continually get calls from customers that are confused. because my trade name is a commodity, I have no recourse, even though I was first. I even wrote to the new "sugars" and asked them to consider changing their name to prevent confusion in the marketplace, and they flat out refused.

However, honestly, if I named my coffee company "starbucker", I would certainly get sued. Just think of making up a very unique name. You might consider consulting a trademark attorney, the $250 consultation might be worth it. (perhaps you might also be able to get some free counseling from the SBA SCORE program as well.)

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Permalink Reply by Mark on July 24, 2009 at 2:40pm

Seems like you are just picking names out of a hat. Why not ask potential customers? Choose 3 names you like and go around the area and ask people to choose one. See if their is a consensus...or rather one that people just dislike?

Also, I am a big believer in having a theme. When a business is in an industry where not much sets them apart from competition, you need to take every opportunity to stand out. One way is to have a theme that is all encompassing so you will be remembered well. I like the Blues theme someone mentioned..that's an idea. But is that what your customers would like? In the end, the best name should have reasons why you believe it will assist you in being successful. Sure, in 5 years you may think all of this was over the top, but you should be conservative and take every opportunity to make your place the most successful it can be.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on July 24, 2009 at 7:16pm

Ahh, yes. Why not this venue for this question. Many of us are just starting up or like us have been in business for awhile. We opened last Sept.
I stressed for at least for at least 2 weeks over this question. Finally my partner at some point came up with our name. It took me another almost week to get used to it. I wanted something not regional so we could locate anywhere. But it seemed natural to use this region for part of our name. But just like you I found it had been used already for another commercial coffee roaster. We are in the Columbia River Gorge. This river as you may already know divides the States of Oregon and Washington so there are countless possibilities for business name development.
My head was spinning and we are only two people so I know exactly where you are. To make a long story as short as possible my partner took both our first names combined them and came up with our name. One of the reasons I stressed over it was what if we break up or want to go our separate ways with the coffee business. Finally I said to myself, "this would be the least of my concerns if we go our separate ways." The point I really want to make here is often the answer or solution is right in front of you. Simple is good. or as a wise man once said to me "Less is more"
Since there is three of you, maybe a preface such as "Three Bean........
Not trying to be funny here but you should see the grins and chuckles when folks realize there is no one here with the name JoLinda and it's really a combo.
Our business model and mission statement has ended up much like yours. We wanted to be mainly to focus on commercial coffee roasting and this still is our focus but to make ends meet we have had to be as much as we can be to this little town. Check out our web site, http://jolindas.com to see what all we ended up as.
The actual business name is JoLinda's Coffee and Wine shop.
Best wishes to you all and if you have any specific questions don't hesitate to ask.
Joe,
--Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform



.

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Permalink Reply by Joseph Robertson on July 24, 2009 at 7:25pm

Pay special attention to what Stephanie had to say above. I forgot to mention any of this. we did careful checks to make sure we could register our business name with our state. We considered a Federal registration as well. More money but way more protection. With a Federal registration you have great leverage when it comes to someone else trying to use your name. Trade mark is important but with a Federal registration of your business name and a good attorney it's not that hard to make sure someone does not use your name in the Continental US.
Joe,
----
Ambassador for Specialty Coffee and palate reform.

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