The Lost Bean provides a blend of community and coffee

The Lost Bean has become a hotbed for the boutique coffee shop movement, standing as one of the originals since it opened in 2005 in Tustin.

Last year, another location was added at the Hive in Costa Mesa, where the Los Angeles Chargers headquarters is located.

Bodie Rasmussen said when he came up with the idea years ago for a coffee shop, he didn’t have any businesses to model his strategies after, so he decided to do his own thing.

After years day trading on the stock market, Rasmussen, 44, of Santa Ana wanted to invest his money in a new business, specifically an ethical one.

Considering environmental issues were important to him, Rasmussen developed a coffee house that served organic coffee and eventually, specialty wine. But, the coffee wouldn’t just be indifferently roasted and served in Styrofoam cups, there would be care in the process.

It wasn’t known at the outset whether the Lost Bean would be able to locally compete with the likes of Starbucks and Peet’s Coffee and one of the primary objectives was to keep the cost to the consumer down, Rasmussen said.

“We didn’t feel we could compete if our true cost was reflected on the menu board,” Rasmussen said.

In order to do that, employees roast the coffee and bake pastries in-house, thereby cutting out the need for a middle-man.

“We’ve had to become a little more innovative with how we deal with our supply chain,” Rasmussen said.

Rasmussen developed and managed the coffee shop while juggling day trading and family responsibilities. Rasmussen and his wife, Sarah, have three kids — ages 9, 3 and 1.

Around 2010, he dropped his day trading gig, making the Lost Bean his primary objective.

In trying to cultivate a friendly neighborhood coffee shop where everybody knows each others’ names, Rasmussen has sought to bridge the gap between business and community with events and charity.

About three years ago, the shop started holding open mics every Monday at the Tustin location.

Dozens of artists pack into the intimate coffee house and take turns performing as regulars sip coffee and listen.

Rasmussen said the event has taken on a life of its own. Recurring performers organize the event and a couple of employees from the local Jim’s Music store bring sound equipment.

“I think coffee in general is a very communal type of business where people get together in a way they used to get together at pubs,” Rasmussen said. “A lot of people who come here feel a sense of ownership over the place like it’s their everyday hang-out.”

The Lost Bean also donates 30% of company profits to foreign and domestic charities — like the Tustin-based nonprofit, MaxLove Project — which aids children with cancer, and the national charity Home for Refugees, which fosters ties among communities and refugees.

The Lost Bean will be hosting an “App-Off” culinary event for MaxLove Project at 6 p.m. May 24 at 3335 Susan St., Costa Mesa.

Rasmussen said he plans to open more locations.

Last year, he purchased Dick Church’s, one of the oldest restaurants in Costa Mesa, where he plans to open up a “Lost Bean annex” with patio seating and a walk-up coffee bar. The coffee joint will be separate from the restaurant, though its housed in the same building.

Another location is also slated to be opened around September at the Woodbridge Village Center, Irvine.

The Lost Bean is at 13011 Newport Ave., Tustin. For more information,visit thelostbean.com/.

benjamin.brazil@latimes.com

Twitter:@benbrazilpilot