Service Station connection

On any given day, if you walk into Service Station, a European-style café on north Nevada street, chances are you will be greeted with an eclectic crowd, comfortably mingling in the relaxed atmosphere of the inviting dining area.

Students bury their noses in their laptops, sitting next to older ladies enjoying their soup; mothers of young children relish in animated visits with their friends while their children play in the spacious area around them; well-dressed businessmen huddle over their panini and their Blackberries.

The ambiance of the café resembles a busy town square, where people come to meet and connect, and in this case, over great coffee and even better food. And that was exactly what owners Scot and Debbie Robinson set out to achieve two years ago. Judging from what people are saying about this place, the Robinsons’ vision has been a great success in the short time the café has been open.

But it’s much more than a café. The Service Station includes a 6,500-square-foot auditorium and conference rooms, which are available for rent to weddings and other functions. Scot Robinson, a licensed minister, has performed weddings and Sunday services there.

Whitworth University offers on-site business classes in the café, where Robinson teaches introduction to business and answers questions on leadership, pursuit of vision and passion.

Gonzaga University’s business school has used Robinson’s business model as class project on leadership, marketing, and business concept.

The Robinsons say they’ve always loved good coffee, people, and the community they are in. They searched for a venue where they could bring those three elements together.

In 2001, they hit upon the idea of a café, which they envisioned as a comfortable place where people could meet to visit over a cup of coffee. Nostalgic of the bygone era when neighbors congregated on their front porches, they wanted to bring back that sense of community.

Driven by their vision, and backed by friends who believed in their dream and built the building based on the Robinsons’ concept, Service Station opened its door in September 2005.

The name “actually reflects our vision and purpose for this place,” said Scot Robinson. “It’s really about serving the community. We don’t want to sit on our front porch someday and be content with our 401(k). We want to leave an imprint on our community. We take from this earth, breathe its oxygen, and we want to give back. It’s about service to the community.”

And to give back, the Robinsons donate to various causes locally and globally.

Service Station partners with Dominion Trading Company, a for-profit Liberty Lake company founded by the New Covenant Foundation, which strives for true sustainability and independence of its Ethiopian coffee farmers by working closely with their African counterparts. The Spokane café sells exclusively Ethiopian coffee, and part of the profit goes back to fund the various initiatives of the foundation.

Locally, any profits beyond administrative costs are donated to various organizations, including CrossWalk, Excelsior, YMCA, Young Life Inland Northwest and Transitional Home, to name just a few. And when cash is tight, the Robinsons donate space.

Today, the Service Station is making a name for itself not just for the food and comfortable ambience, but also for the successful blending of profit and social conscience. Inquiries about franchising are coming in from as far away as Manhattan and Indonesia.

“We’ll stipulate they give back to their cities,” said Scot Robinson of any potential franchisees.

Added his wife with a broad smile, “We are obedient to what we are called to do.”