Coffee Shop

The homeless man accused in the March 31 rape of a South Philadelphia coffee-shop barista pleaded guilty Wednesday before a Philadelphia judge. Christopher Reeves, 32, pleaded guilty to rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and a count of robbery before Common Pleas Court Judge William J. Mazzola in the sexual assault of a 29-year-old employee of the Bean Exchange Coffeehouse at Seventh and Bainbridge Streets in Bella Vista....

In an age of consolidation, when bigger is better and success depends on brand-name recognition, the manager of a small coffee shop is trying to defy the odds and thrive against the Goliath of coffee companies. Cafe Seattle, on Haddon Avenue a few hundred yards from Starbucks Coffee, is surviving in the shadow of one of the 1,500 franchises of the coffee giant and it has posted an increasing monthly profit since Starbucks opened in the spring of 1996. Described by patrons as a "place where everybody knows your name," like the TV bar on Cheers, Cafe Seattle has a diverse clientele that is lured as much by the coffee as by the comfortable decor, its managers say. Owner Jackie Straijer, 34, the mother of three boys and a Haddonfield resident, described her store and its patrons as a "big family," albeit an unusual one. This, Straijer said, is part of Seattle's appeal.

Stephen Rivel strolled into the all-night Dunkin' Donuts on Pine Road in Fox Chase for a cup of coffee and unwittingly interrupted three gunslinging robbers breaking into the safe, according to testimony yesterday in Municipal Court. When Rivel, 30, resisted being forced into a walk-in freezer with two doughnut shop workers and another customer, two gunmen fired shots into Rivel's leg and into the back of his head. "Timmy told the guy to get down on the floor and the guy wouldn't get down," one suspect, Theodore Burns, said in a statement to police that was read at yesterday's court hearing.

A Camden entrepreneur, whose coffee shop offered DNA tests as well as java, vowed Tuesday to fight a judge's ruling that he verbally agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit brought by six female employees. The $75,000 agreement - including $15,000 to be shared by the former employees - had been contested by Ronald Ford Jr., the owner of City Coffee, who refused to sign the settlement document this summer. "I refuse to be extorted," Ford said Tuesday, following an announcement of the settlement by the state Attorney General's Office Division on Civil Rights.

A pair of masked men armed with a stun gun ambushed two Bryn Mawr Starbucks employees early Friday as they prepared to open the coffee shop for the day, police said. The thieves wounded the workers and robbed the shop of cash. They entered the store, 766 Lancaster Ave., at 5:15 and forced the two to the floor behind the counter, said Lower Merion Police Superintendent Michael J. McGrath. The robbers took about $800 in bills and coins, he said. The men used the stun gun to shock the employees, who had superficial wounds, McGrath said.

Residents who fear that a coffee shop and newsstand at the Wallingford train station would increase traffic problems voiced their concerns during a public hearing before the Nether Providence Township Board of Commissioners on Thursday night. The board has been asked to amend the township zoning code to permit alternative uses for the SEPTA railroad station. Richard Vogel of Nether Providence has an agreement with SEPTA to renovate the Wallingford station and lease it for 20 years if the zoning change is approved, according to his attorney, Robert Surrick.

A Camden entrepreneur whose coffee shop offered DNA tests as well as java vowed Tuesday to fight a judge's ruling that he verbally agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit by six female employees. The $75,000 agreement - including $15,000 to be shared by the former employees - had been contested by Ronald Ford Jr., the owner of City Coffee, who refused to sign the settlement document this summer. "I refuse to be extorted," Ford said Tuesday, following an announcement of the settlement by the state Attorney General's Office Division on Civil Rights.

Christopher Reeves, the suspect in last week's rape and robbery at a Bella Vista coffee shop, has been arrested, thanks to an anonymous tip. The tipster phoned police after the alleged rapist was spotted strolling in Chester, according to Chester Police Chief Darren Alston. "The community played a big part in catching him," Alston said. "I don't think he would have been caught if it weren't for the community. Thank God for them. " A citizen spotted Reeves walking near 8th Street near Madison, recognized him from a photo that had been circulated and called 9-1-1, Alston said.

An attorney for the Friends of the Wallingford Train Station has made it clear that the group opposes a proposal to commercialize the 98-year-old station in Nether Providence Township. The group of residents organized this summer in response to a proposal by Richard Vogel to lease the station from SEPTA to use as a coffee shop, newsstand and office. SEPTA would continue to operate a ticket office. Vogel has requested an amendment to the zoning code that would allow alternative uses for the train station, which is zoned residential.

The witnesses described how the crime had shattered their shared belief in urban neighborliness and safety in South Philadelphia's Bella Vista section. On Friday, the man who admitted the crime that fractured Bella Vista was sentenced to 311/2 to 63 years in prison for the rape last March of a barista at a popular local coffee shop. Christopher Reeves, 33, a man whose lawyer said began a life of homelessness and chronic drug use at age 12, said nothing before he was sentenced by Common Pleas Court Judge William J. Mazzola.

Leonardo DiCaprio likes his coffee smooth - a light roast, nectar-like, no bitterness. Just ask Todd Carmichael and Jean-Philippe Iberti, who spent more than a year perfecting a blend to suit the palate of the Hollywood star. The founding partners of La Colombe, the Philadelphia-based roastery with cafés here and in New York and Chicago, paid repeated visits to DiCaprio's West Hollywood abode to brew him single-batch roasts and to test blends, working to come up with a new La Colombe label that would bear DiCaprio's signature.

Most romantic comedies succeed by indulging fantasy: men want to date out of their league; women want a nice guy they can whip into a socially respectable man. Robin Pond's Even Steven , at the Walnut's Studio 5, borrows the rom-com backdrop but toys with the formula. Teddy (Matt Dell'Olio) and Sarah (Stephanie Lauren) broke up after three years, when she dumped him because his slacker lifestyle no longer fit her careerist ambitions. (That, and a Porsche-driving lawyer took her out a few times, then vanished.)

A Camden entrepreneur whose coffee shop offered DNA tests as well as java vowed Tuesday to fight a judge's ruling that he verbally agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit by six female employees. The $75,000 agreement - including $15,000 to be shared by the former employees - had been contested by Ronald Ford Jr., the owner of City Coffee, who refused to sign the settlement document this summer. "I refuse to be extorted," Ford said Tuesday, following an announcement of the settlement by the state Attorney General's Office Division on Civil Rights.

A Camden entrepreneur, whose coffee shop offered DNA tests as well as java, vowed Tuesday to fight a judge's ruling that he verbally agreed to settle a sexual harassment suit brought by six female employees. The $75,000 agreement - including $15,000 to be shared by the former employees - had been contested by Ronald Ford Jr., the owner of City Coffee, who refused to sign the settlement document this summer. "I refuse to be extorted," Ford said Tuesday, following an announcement of the settlement by the state Attorney General's Office Division on Civil Rights.

If all goes well, Herold "Harry" Klein and 19 other riders will roll into Washington on Monday after pedaling 35 miles from Annapolis, Md. This is the eighth and final day of a journey that began a week ago in Newton, Mass., near Boston. During the last week, Klein and his fellow cyclists rode daily stages of between 60 and 80 miles. The event is called the MS Great 8 - eight days of bicycling in eight states to raise awareness and money for multiple sclerosis. For Klein, a 66-year-old Philadelphia Orchestra violinist, the 513-mile ride has combined passion and compassion.

The homeless man accused in the March 31 rape of a South Philadelphia coffee-shop barista pleaded guilty Wednesday before a Philadelphia judge. Christopher Reeves, 32, pleaded guilty to rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse, and a count of robbery before Common Pleas Court Judge William J. Mazzola in the sexual assault of a 29-year-old employee of the Bean Exchange Coffeehouse at Seventh and Bainbridge Streets in Bella Vista....

A homeless man pleaded guilty today to raping and robbing a barista in a South Philadelphia cafe on March 31. Christopher Reeves, 32, pleaded guilty to rape, two counts of involuntary deviate sexual intercourse and a count of robbery before Common Pleas Court William J. Mazzola in the sexual assault of a 29-year-old employee of the Bean Exchange Coffeehouse at Seventh and Bainbridge Streets in the Bella Vista neighborhood. Mazzola set sentencing for Jan. 20 and ordered that Reeves undergo a psychiatric evaluation and determination if he qualifies as a violent sexual predator under Pennsylvania's Megan's Law. Assistant District Attorney Michael Stackow said he would ask for the maximum prison sentence of 40 to 80 years.

Four years ago, after Broad Street Ministries opened an overnight homeless refuge across from the Kimmel Center, the Rev. Bill Golderer noticed clients "migrating" down the block to the Starbucks at 6 each morning. Most warmed up and departed quickly. Dennis Jones moved in. "The business model is, you get your drink, you eat, and you leave," Golderer explained, recalling his concern. "You're not there for six or eight hours. " Or 12, 13, or 14 hours, which is often how long Jones still lingers.