Nautical Bean opening 2nd spot in SLO

The Nautical Bean, a longtime coffee shop in San Luis Obispo, will open its second location Monday in the city’s downtown.

The shop will open at 1028 Chorro St. in a space that formerly housed the coffee shop SLO Perk on one side and Mission News and Sweet Shop on the other. The first location is in the Laguna Village Shopping center.

The Nautical Bean is owned by Brett Jones, who bought the Laguna Village shop in 2002.

Jones has hired 17 people for the expansion and will bring some existing employees to the new location, which will be open from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily.

The new location will offer espresso drinks, pastries, and deli and breakfast food, with the addition of panini and local beers and wines. The Nautical Bean is known for its brew of Nutty Bean drip coffee, and customer favorites include its pesto turkey sandwich and breakfast burritos, Jones said.

The 1,300-square-foot space will mimic the layout of the original location, including indoor and outdoor seating and rotating art exhibits, but it will have a more industrial feel and exposed piping.

The baking for both shops will also take place in the new location.

Though Jones declined to disclose revenues for the Nautical Bean, he said, “we’ve just been so blessed” about the success of his current operation and ability to open a second.

The earliest public records for a Nautical Bean coffee shop in San Luis Obispo County were filed in 1997, which show that then-owner Michael Brookins operated a shop in Shell Beach. Brookins opened a second location at the Laguna Village location in 1999, and the Shell Beach location has since closed.

This story was originally published April 6, 2011 at 8:53 PM with the headline "Nautical Bean opening 2nd spot in SLO."