Politics & Government

Redevelopment From A Business' Perspective

Suisun City and redevelopment have gone hand in hand for the last 20 years. This is the fourth part of a multi-story look at redevelopment issues facing Suisun City.

On weekends downtown in a storefront at the Harbor Square Building, Guillermo Moran works the roaster for Eco-Delight Coffee (click to watch video), one of redevelopment’s burgeoning stories in town.

As the smell of roasting coffee beans is released from roaster chimney, Moran explains the workings of the roasting process, trying to transform the tastes of customers from a less refined attitude about their cup of java to something much like people regard a good glass of wine.

Moran said when he and his partner, Roldolfo Bendig, thought of setting up a coffee roasting operation in the United States, data from coffee trade associations told them California was the place to be, with its residents’ tendency to try new things and set trends for the rest of the nation.

Find out what's happening in Suisun Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

With Bendig and Moran’s access to Central American coffee farms and roasting machine factory in Costa Rica, they could do something that few other California coffee companies could claim: Take environmentally-sound coffee from single plantations and provide them to American consumers.

Already after being open for a few months, Moran’s coffee is being served by various businesses in the area and soon will be served at Apple’s campus, part of Moran’s plan to expand around Northern California.

Find out what's happening in Suisun Citywith free, real-time updates from Patch.

“We came to Solano County because it was the heart of the Northern California region,” he said.

More exactly, they looked first at Vacaville, but because the city wanted them to pay for a $10,000 environmental study of the coffee roaster, they backed off. They looked at a Cordelia warehouse, but had already decided that they need a café attached to the roaster to educate local consumers on how to judge coffee.

It wasn’t until they had heard of Suisun City’s welcome package for new businesses, paid for with redevelopment financing, that they decided to visit the city. The men were enthralled with the waterfront area’s development so far and felt downtown would have enough foot traffic to justify their business.

“(Suisun City was) willing to bet on our business that we were going to be a success,” Moran said, adding that the city gave the business a $10,000 grant for store improvements and a sign outside (The sign is due to be installed in June).

“The fact that we’re here in Suisun has opened up some Small Business Administration loan opportunities,” Moran said.

But signs of his progress are measured also in coffee converts. Moran said people have come from Vacaville to buy his coffee on a regular basis, as more and more people find the waterfront a place to visit.

“Suisun has become a destination point,” he said. “We hope the governor is not going to stop (redevelopment) because that really helps business to start up.”


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

More from Suisun City