Looney Bean

Ahhh, coffee…is there anything else quite like that first steaming hot cup in the morning - every morning? If you, like me, are addicted to this fragrant, flavorful and energizing “Nectar of the Gods,” then chances are you’ve discovered - and adopted -Looney Bean for your morning coffee or espresso pilgrimage.

            Owners Tom and Heidi Lonsdale opened the first Mazatlán location, in Playa Bruja, about three years ago. Due to popular (and repeated) demand last year, along came the second Looney Bean, on the malecón in Olas Altas, in 2009. Both locations have a casual, beach-and-surfer friendly vibe, with surfboards for rent, surfing videos playing on flat-screen TVs, and healthier coffee shop food than is regularly found. In the Cerritos café, the menu is bigger, with bagel sandwiches and a granola, fruit and yogurt parfait – and both shops offer fresh-roasted whole or ground beans, scones, muffins and cookies, many homemade by Heidi. A family business, it actually began in California some 16 years ago and now has locations there and in Colorado and Oregon, too. (Check it out at www.looneybean.com.) But back to the coffee: “The Bean” (as we regulars fondly refer to it) roasts its own beans in Playa Bruja, and the aroma alone is enough to make me drive up there fairly often for my morning fix. Plus, they’re actively involved in the community, including sponsoring a big surf contest each year. Why do we love you, Looney Bean? Because you keep us well-caffeinated, of course! - JB