Food & Drink Oct 2, 2013 at 4:00 am

The Story Behind Storyville

Comments

103
The problem isn't whether there is or isn't an explicit connection to Mars Hill, in my opinion. It's that the project is funded by the reclusive Jon Phelps, said to be living a low-profile life in Seattle but an active investor in conservative causes. Bad enough that Howard Schultz fibs his way through revisionist Starbucks history, bad enough that Dr. Dreamy gets booted out of plans to revive Tully's, now we've got right-wing fundamentalists pretending they're not involved in a rival coffee venture in the heart of Seattle's iconic Market.
104
@100: "Best thing you could do if you are ignorant about Mars Hill is attend services and judge for yourself; most things look different in real life than they do in print."

Except that my friends have gone to services and marriage ceremonies at Mars Hill, they've confirmed the female-subservience and general misognyny present at their church. There are no surprises there. There's no confusion.
107
Thank you for publishing this story - it needs to be heard. More sources need to broadcast this - people need to know.

At least The Stranger (and the author) have the guts to "out" the connection between Storyville and that bigoted shitbag of a church called Mars Hill.

Thank you!
108
The problem isn't whether there is or isn't an explicit connection to Mars Hill, in my opinion. It's that the project is funded by the reclusive Jon Phelps...
I'm not sure why that's a problem. Are yo being forced to by coffee from these Crispies? No? So why are you spending any time at all thinking about it?

The fact is, any nut with any opinion can open a coffee shop. You are not obligated to spend money there.

Are you saying that these religious nuts do not have a right to their nutty personal beliefs? Are you saying that religious nutters should not be allowed to own businesses?

Last time I checked, they were not refusing to server gays or Muslims or whoever... So it's not like the gay couple that wanted a Fundimentalist Christian to make their wedding cake for some odd reason. These Fundimentalist Christians seem perfictly happy to make coffee for gay customers.

So what's the issue?

Don't like their personal beliefs, don't buy coffee there.

Seriously, move on. This is NOT an issue.
109
"Don't like their personal beliefs, don't buy coffee there."

Agreed. However, the public has a right to know what kind of nutjobs stand to profit from supporting this coffeeshop.
111
"Best thing you could do if you are ignorant about Mars Hill is attend services and judge for yourself"

Hey buddy, I don't need to eat a shit sandwich to determine that I don't like shit sandwiches.
112
@100 It appears many here are malevolently informed about Mars Hill, not ignorant. All I ever need to know about Mars Hill I read from Yelp reviews, ex-members of the Shunned Variety, and The Stranger and see of a megachurch and an Ed Grimley haircut on testosterone.
114
Storyville?? Do these people know about Storyville? "Legal" prostitution,and gambling,adjacent to the french quarter. What are they thinking of? What would Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll Morton think?
115
New Orleans supported a legalized tenderloin long after the custom was taboo everywhere else. The restaurants, cafés, and cabarets of "befo’ de war” (the recentest fracas, of course) exhibited an atmosphere distinctly unAmerican in every respect. Garcons were garcons and not waiters. The proprietor, Madame or M’sieu, cooked the meal. Politeness itself was smiled upon. Men grew tipsy in a perfunctory sort of a way that annoyed no one, not even themselves. An evening at the cabaret followed the burlesque show or the opera and the local cabaret lights sometimes seemed to outdo the imported performers. “Storyville,” so named in honor of Councilman Story who arranged the matter, bloomed, boomed, and wassailed. Even "the dollar women” smirking from their “cribs” seemed not unhappy—in the old days. Row upon row of them in bright colored shifts ogling, leering, wheedling: "Come in bébé . . . be a nice boy . . ." The larger “houses"—Arlington’s Palace, Piazza's, Lulu's, and the rest—loomed disdainfully above these lesser fry. One pictured as he passed the great mirrored salons; the old "madam,” white haired, powdered, spotless (in the laundry allusion), the paint-smeared, puffy-eyed girls, and the “professor.” Tom Anderson's at the one corner, Toro’s at the next, the Tuxedo a block in, and so on—in the old days. A filthy mess perhaps, a dunghill of disease and immorality, but have we entirely done away with it? Driven it out? | Can we? One wonders. Stamp it out in one place, it pushes up in another.
117
Probably nobody but spammers and I follow this story now, yet I'll just post this Tweet from @camhuxford

Storyville Coffee is the best. At the roasting studios with the Mars Hill Downtown staff. http://t.co/ieX2N5ED

— camhuxford (@camhuxford) November 29, 2012

118
If you do some non-biased fact digging you'll find pretty easily that Storyville profits (whenever they start making profit) do not and will not go to Mars Hill but IJM (International Justice Mission) http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/206…

This article is from 2010 but I don't believe they've changed their plan to give profits to IJM while running Storyville as a "B business"

Not here to defend the owners, Mars Hill, or even the coffee. Just sick of people getting their "facts" wrong.
119
If you do some non-biased fact digging you'll find pretty easily that Storyville profits (whenever they start making profit) do not and will not go to Mars Hill but IJM (International Justice Mission) http://www.cardus.ca/comment/article/206…

This article is from 2010 but I don't believe they've changed their plan to give profits to IJM while running Storyville as a "B business"

Not here to defend the owners, Mars Hill, or even the coffee. Just sick of people getting their "facts" wrong.
120
Bro Pastor. Still the goddess!
121
Seems like the Stranger story has had an affect. I am at Storyville. There are literally 13 people, including servers, at Storyville. Three people sitting next to me are in a Bible study. One brought his own food. The other had a sandwich brought to the table by a server. Two of the servers know the three at the table. One server is identified as a theology major. The other has come to talk religion and coffee.

(Scoop: The second waiter just told the others in the study group that where they are sitting there will soon be a stage, where they will start out having music, and later use as a platform for discussions...)

My own degree is in theology, so the religious tie does not bother me. What bothers me is that I had posted on Facebook a glowing report of Storyville, commending it for its work on eliminating world slavery.

I am saddened to hear of its support of right-wing politics. I will not be back.
122
Legal point: if Storyville turns out to be indeed a church-sponsored activity, they have the legal right to totally disregard the law of the land in regards to both the American with Disabilities Act (ADA) and discrimination on any (religious) grounds.
123
@ *.* has anyone here taken any econ lessons? A) Businesses generate profits when the marginal revenue from a sale is greater than the marginal cost for that sale (i.e. businesses only make money if people like them). B) Who cares what the owners do with their money if they make good coffee and pastries? It's really none of my business. You think no one who works at [your favorite coffee shop] donates to, or has any involvement with, an organization you don't like? C) Seattle is full of such amazing complainers, whiners, conspiracy theorists, wusses, and stupid people, it sometimes amazes me that this city is so cool. D) All y'all who think you're smart b/c you are now wise to the terrible business model that is Storyville should just STFU!
124
As an actual member of Mars Hill I would like to happily inform you all that we so not in fact hate "fags" or homosexuals. If you really wanted to know, the Bible calls us to love EVERYONE. My brother is gay, I attend Mars Hill, I love him, I love Mars Hill.
125
Wow, this reporter didn't do enough digging into Storyville Coffee. Storyville was not only started as a way to have excellent coffee but also as a way to fund the huge fight against child sex slaves. If you'd done your homework you would know that is an issue near and dear to the owners heart. While I'm no fan of Mars Church, and I'm a lesbian, I know enough to know you can't judge people by an affiliation, nor with a small sliver of information. What a weak story that was written only to inflame. Shame on you author.
The last point I want to make is about the decore, opening, and service... why in the world wouldn't you want a company that serves the public to strive for the best? Is this reporter going to only give positive nods to mediocre establishments? And by the way with the sell-out of Stumptown, it's the best coffee in the Northwest.
126
There's more to Storyville than this. Here's a recent piece about them, titled "The Real Story Behind Storyville." http://www.savorseattletours.com/blog/st…
127
I recently went to Storyville, not knowing anything about it. The barista mentioned God, and she gave me that distinctive creepy vibe that only conservative religious folks can. I googled Storyville and found this on reddit:
http://www.bradruggles.com/2009/05/22/le…">http://web.archive.org/web/2012070203313…

"Storyville Coffee Company has already partnered with Mars Hill Church and donated tens of thousands of dollars to their downtown church plants."

Note that the current version of the page has that sentence removed:
http://www.bradruggles.com/2009/05/22/le…

Ew. My first and last visit to Storyville.

128
This is a horrible piece of sensationalist horse manure. The author of this idiotic hate piece should be ashamed of herself. I'm fairly sure the intent of this article was to cause real and actual damage to the Storyville brand and to sully the reputation of the owners. This one article has caused so much distress so as to engender extremely negative opinions of Storyville in local communities when there is no basis for such. Note to the author, if you want to write a hit piece on Mars Hill, do it, I don't like what they stand for, but don't try to ruin a good business because of a personal vendetta against a church. Also, maybe try vetting your "facts" before you type this kind of tripe.
129
@103, you do realize that John Phelps is the founder of the Full Sail University, one of the largest audio recording schools in the world. I don't think Mr. Phelps is that reclusive, he, like most other very wealthy people, has homes all over the country and is probably not in one place for an extended time.
130
I amI an owner of a small coffee farm in the mountains of Costa Rica and I sell my first quality select bean coffee for $12/lb in Farmers Markets. Storyville is trying to sell it's coffee (I believe from a huge farm in Brazil) for $32/lb. Insane. Storyville will not tell anyone where their beans are grown. this is an unprecedented arrogance in the coffee business and indicates only that they have a lot to hide. My coffee is, I swear to God, completely nondenominational. Chris Wendelyn
131
Am I supposed to care about this article?? The coffee was really good, amazing view during sunset and nice quiet place in the middle of the bustling market. I'll go back.
132
Wait, am I supposed to care about this article?? The coffee was really good, amazing view during sunset and no one shouted anything. This is a nice quiet place in the middle of the bustling market. I'll go back.
133
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134
Who cares who owns the coffee joint. Does it matter if it's a Christian or Islamic or Jewish person or organization that owns the shop? All this article is doing is spreading hate among Seattleites for the sake of making Mark Driscoll look bad. Don't you guys have any other interesting articles to write? You really have to pick on a coffee shop with great coffee and a great atmosphere?

Really?

Get over yourselves.
135
Also, I'd like to point out that the owner of WHOLE FOODS is a CONSERVATIVE CHRISTIAN.

SO WIPE YOUR ASS WITH THAT STRANGER!
136
This article read like hate speech. :/
137
you do know that the coffee doesn't cost $32/lb right? I just bought a 1/2 lb bag for $10 and it's always been that price (or less) at their roastery and shops. Your hack job reporting is pretty disappointing and I would hope that you're at least somewhat ashamed of yourself. I was first introduced to Storyville when they were putting on house concerts and they declared that 100% of profit was going towards the fight to end human trafficking...not towards gay bashing or misogyny (I'm a gay woman by the way). The fact that the owner and/or anyone else attends Mars Hill Church is troubling for sure, but it is troubling in the same sense that anyone on the Seahawks attends a similar church (or any church). Or, if you ever put gas in your car...you're likely supporting some highly questionable businesses. Point being, you have very shaky ground to stand on with your argument in general but when you spew some clearly imaginary rhetoric like you did here, you don't do yourself any favors. I'd be happy to meet you for coffee anytime and discuss further because I'm sure you're a sweet person (and I absolutely love the stranger). With all sincerity, thanks for reading this post.
138
FYI, Green Bean Coffeehouse in Greenwood is connected with the Sanctuary Church, also homophobic, views homosexuality as a "disorder", and that they must be celibate. NOT places to support with your $.
139
Unbelievable that you are actively fighting against a company whose mission is to combat human trafficking. Regardless of your obvious hatred of religious beliefs, this is a HUMAN issue that we all should be able to get behind.

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