Steam, cream and a dream

By Miranda Wycoff
The Journal Staff

For Blue Springs native Garin Bledsoe, owning his own business in the food industry has always been a dream.
He practically grew up in the restaurant business, and always wanted to be a chef.
On his path to realizing his dream, Bledsoe started as a dishwasher and worked his way up. And by the age of 17 he was kitchen manager at a steak house in Blue Springs.
But during his senior year in high school at Blue Springs, he felt an urge to step away from the restaurant business.
“As a senior I decided I wanted to part ways with the food industry,” Bledsoe said. “I wanted to have time to do the senior activities and not come home all greasy every night.”
From then on he worked the normal part-time jobs of a teenager until graduating college.
After college he pursued a very different career path — working with financial and mutual funds for DST for 10 years.
But a few years ago the restaurant industry began calling him back into the business.
He talked with his wife, Anne Bledsoe, also a Blue Springs graduate and teacher in the Independence school district, and they decided to open their own business.
But the restaurant business wasn’t exactly the path that the Bledsoes took.
“Owning a restaurant is a huge risk,” Garin said. “So we began looking at some other type of venture to entertain.”
That’s when they began to look into the coffee industry.
“We looked into it and discovered that a locally owned coffee shop could survive in a Starbuck’s suburbia,” Garin said.
As a result, Garin and Anne opened the Steamin’ Bean Coffee Co. at 1875 N.W. M-7 in Blue Springs.
“It was the right time and it’s the right location,” Garin said.
The Steamin’ Bean officially opened on the first of the year, held its Blue Springs Chamber of Commerce Ribbon Cutting Ceremony on Feb. 14 and will hold its grand opening celebration the week of March 17 through 21.
The grand opening will consist of a fundraising event with the local 4-H club and a canned food drive for the Community Service League in Blue Springs.
The Steamin’ Bean offers a variety of frozen drinks, espresso, coffee, cappuccino and other hot drinks. In addition, the coffee shop serves 16 flavors of gelato — Italy’s version of ice cream made with significantly less butterfat than American ice cream, according to the company’s Web site.
Garin said he started making gelato as a hobby for the past year.
“I had a chance to sample some gelato the other day while I was on the Plaza and I feel very confident in my product,” he said.
Garin said the gelato is made on site daily.
In addition to drinks and gelato, the Steamin’ Bean serves lunch from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. daily.
“I serve a sandwich of the day, a wrap of the day and a salad of the day and two soup options,” Garin said. “So if you like one certain thing, you know to come in and eat lunch at the Steamin’ Bean on that day.”
The coffee shop also serves cookies, pastries and muffins. And very soon Garin said it will be offering a new line of breakfast items.
The Steamin’ Bean is open Monday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., Friday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m., Saturday from 7 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information on the Steamin’ Bean Coffee Co., visit its Web site at www.thesteaminbean.com or call 816-220-BEAN (2326).