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Monday 6:30am - 4pm Tuesday 6:30am - 4pm Wednesday 6:30am - 4pm Thursday 6:30am - 4pm Friday 6:30am - 4pm Saturday 8am - 2pm

The Java Bean Cafe

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United States
Decatur, IN
The Java Bean Cafe

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Welcome to a CoffeeHouse where your coffee, lattes and espresso are hand crafted. Thank you for visiting The Java Bean Café.
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We offer house-made pastries, made to order breakfast & lunch options and in-house roasted coffee beans! The Java Bean Café opened for business on October 17, 2008 with the mission of providing a warm, welcoming atmosphere for people to relax, enjoy a tasty cup of coffee and wonderful food. There’s free Wi-Fi so feel free to bring your laptop and sit a while, we don’t mind. We appreciate your business & look forward to seeing you again soon!

10/28/2026

RAY STORY #8: The Door

This one happened to our oldest son a few years back.

One evening, he had been upstairs roasting coffee. It was getting late, and by the time he finished, it was already dark outside.

Now, if you're unfamiliar with our building, there's no back stairway, so when you leave upstairs, your only exit is out front.

He wrapped things up, locked up and headed out. From there, he walked down the sidewalk toward the alley, which was a few buildings down, and made his way toward the parking lot behind our building.

He had already walked through the alley and was crossing the parking lot toward his car when he heard something.

A door squeak.

Not a door slamming shut. Not footsteps. Just the unmistakable sound of a door squeaking.

He immediately looked toward the back door of The Java Bean Cafe because that's where the sound seemed to be coming from. He stopped for a moment, trying to figure out what he'd just heard.

Maybe there was a perfectly reasonable explanation for what he heard. Old buildings make their share of noises.

But remember, he'd left through the front door, and now he was hearing what sounded like the back door squeaking. He knew nobody was inside, nor had anyone just come out that door.

Did he turn around and go check it out?

Nope. He kept walking. 😆👻

10/27/2026

Look what I found this morning! 👻

These little guys are all over the place. It seems our upstairs regular has found himself a new hobby....leaving tiny ghosts around the coffeehouse.

Not one or two, either. There appear to be quite a few!

So, here's what we're going to do:
✨find one of Ray's little friends
✨show it to any barista
✨get 30% off your drink purchase
✨keep the little ghost as a reminder of Ray
✨just one per customer please

I'm guessing this is Ray's way of thanking everyone for putting up with him all month but who really knows for sure. 🤷‍♀️

Ray, we really appreciate the thought, but next time, a nice note would do.

Happy hunting!

Just one more thing...we can only let these little guys hang around till Saturday, October 31. Once Halloween is over, any remaining ghosts are getting sent right back upstairs. 😆

10/26/2026

Look what Elly made today! A dark chocolate espresso cake with marshmallow frosting and ghost peeps. 👻

10/26/2026

🎃It's Callithumpian Parade Day, one of the busiest days in Downtown Decatur! 🎃

Stop in and see us before or during the parade, grab your coffee, enjoy downtown and enjoy one of those traditions that makes our community such a fun place to call home.

We have a feeling Ray should feel right at home today!👻

10/23/2026

RAY STORY #7: The Cold Breeze

Apparently, I'm not the only one who's felt something strange upstairs. This time, it was my husband.

Sometime after my own experience with the mysterious breeze, my husband had gone upstairs to roast coffee. When he finished, he left the roasting room, walked down the hallway and set the tub of freshly roasted coffee beans on the banister at the top of the stairs. He remembered something he needed back in the roasting room, so he turned to head back down the hallway when he suddenly felt it.

A cold breeze across the back of his neck.

Now, if you've been following our Ray stories this might sound a little familiar.

He stopped for a second. Again, no one was there. Again, no windows were open. He couldn't figure out where that sudden cold breeze had come from.

Whatever he was going back into the roasting room for wasn't all that important anymore because his immediate thought was, "Forget it. I don't need it."

And with that, he headed straight down the stairs and out the door.

Two very similar experiences in nearly the same spot upstairs.

Ray, we're just trying to get some work done up there! 👻

10/22/2026

RAY STORY #6: The Breeze

This one happened late one evening a few years back when I needed to run upstairs to grab something out of roasting room. Nothing usual. Just another quick trip upstairs to get something I needed.

I found what I was looking for, left the roasting room and shut the door behind me. I walked down the hallway and stopped near the banister at the top of the stairs.

See the X in the pic? That's exactly where I was standing when I felt it.

A breeze.

Because I had been working earlier that day, my hair was pulled back in a ponytail and had a few loose strands hanging down around my ears. As I stood there, I felt what I can only describe as a gentle breeze pass right across the top of my right ear. And it wasn't just something I thought I felt. It was enough to actually move the loose strands of hair beside my ear, brushing them against my cheek.

Here's the thing...I wasn't standing in the doorway of the roasting room. I hadn't "just" shut the door. There were no open windows anywhere. The outside door at the bottom of the steps wasn't open. And again, there wasn't anyone else up there with me.

Standing there with my hair moving from a breeze I couldn't account for, I definitely made a mental note of it.

I didn't say anything, just started down the stairs.
About halfway down though, I finally said out loud..."Not cool, Ray."👻

10/21/2026

✨It's Wednesday and you know what that means!✨

Made to order plain or chocolate chip waffles from 8am-11am, your favorite coffee and a perfectly good excuse to make a little extra time for breakfast.

While we're busy making waffles downstairs, apparently our upstairs regular has been making plans of this own. Ray has a little something for you TOMORROW!

THURSDAY ONLY
👻Stop in & order The Ray
👻Tell your barista "Ray sent me!"
👻Get 30% off The Ray

No secret handshake. No trip upstairs. Just mention those three little words when you order. We're not entirely sure when Ray became part of our marketing department but we're going with it.

Waffles today. A little something from Ray tomorrow. Just another week of keeping things interesting! ☕️

10/20/2026

RAY STORY #5: The Shadow

This one happened late afternoon a few years ago.

My daughter and I had gone upstairs to put some croissants in the freezer. She helped me carry the boxes up, and while I was putting everything away, she wandered toward the back room.

She decided this would be a good time to see if she could get a reaction out of Ray. I could hear her talking to him as she's walking down the hallway. I heard the usual, "Hey Ray" and then whatever else she was saying - clearly trying to get his attention.

A few minutes went by, and I suddenly heard..."MOM!"

Now, there's a difference between hearing your kid casually call for you and hearing them yell MOM! This was definitely the second one.

She came running from the back, out of breath, and said, "I JUST SAW A SHADOW!" Wait. What?? She told me she'd seen what looked like the silhouette of a man moving across the back wall.

Here's the crazy part. There are NO windows in that back room. No lights either. Nothing obvious that would have caused a shadow like that to appear.

She was absolutely convinced she'd seen something, and had no interest in sticking around to find out what it was. She was done being upstairs. And honestly, I can't say I felt any different!

I still had croissants to put away so I hurried through the rest of it. I could feel my heart rate climbing a little faster with every passing second.

Was it Ray? Maybe.

But here's what I find funny about the whole thing...she went back there hoping to get a reaction from him. And when something actually happened? She decided she'd had enough of Ray for one afternoon.

Be careful what you ask for I guess!

P.S. Of all the places upstairs to try to get Ray's attention, she picked THIS room. Smart kid. 😁

10/19/2026

RAY STORY #4: Ray likes to help

Apparently, our upstairs regular doesn't always stay upstairs. He's decided that simply hanging around the building isn't enough., he needs to be involved in the day-to-day operations.

Over the years, we've had some pretty interesting things happen. And we're not talking about one time occurrences either. Some have happened more than once.

For example, bags of coffee have mysteriously fallen off the shelves. Just minding their own business one minute and the next they're on the floor.

Or the blender. Oh, the blender.

Imagine going about your morning making drinks, taking order, when suddenly this blender decides to turn itself on. Nobody touched it. Nobody was making a drink. It just turned on. So naturally, we all came to the same conclusion...Ray just wanted a smoothie.

Then there's the stack of bowls in the kitchen. Sitting on the counter, right where they belonged until they weren't. They slid right off on the floor and nobody was anywhere near them.

Now, we're not saying every strange thing that happens in this old building is Ray. Things fall. Equipment does strange things. We know that. But when you've had enough unexplained moments over the years, you do start to wonder.

So now when something falls off a shelf, turns on by itself or goes flying off the counter. We just say, "Oh, Ray."

Can we prove he's responsible? Nope. Do we blame him anyway? Absolutely.

The funny thing is, after all these years, Ray has become such a familiar part of our stories that we hardly question it anymore. Something strange happens, somebody says, "Well, there's Ray," and we go right back to work.

I suppose if you're going to have a resident ghost, you might as well put him to work. Although, between the failing coffee, runaway bowls, and unauthorized blender operation, I'm beginning to think he needs a little additional training. At this point, he's basically an unpaid employee. And quite possibly our most unpredictable one.

P.S. We had video of the bowls sliding off the counter, but now I can't find it. Ray, did you delete the evidence? 👻😂

10/17/2026

Today, The Java Bean Cafe turns 18. 🥳

I'm a firm believer that when you own a small business, you celebrate every year. Not just the big milestones. Every. Single. One. Because anyone who has ever owned a small business knows that another year of unlocking the doors, serving your customers and getting to do what you love is something worth celebrating.

We've watched kids grow up. We've welcomed new customers who became regulars. We've seen friendships begin around our tables. We've said goodbye to regulars we wish could still walk through our doors. And we've been lucky enough to have some pretty amazing people work alongside us through the years.

Of course there have been changes, challenges, lots of laughs and even a few tears over the years but we're still here.

Still making coffee.
Still catching up across the counter.
Still hearing, "Meet me at the Bean."

Thank you, for choosing us, supporting us and making us part of your lives.

When you own a small business, you learn pretty quickly that nothing is guaranteed. So every year? Yep, we celebrate it. 🤎

Brew on,
Karie & Derek

Address

151 N 2nd Street
Decatur, IN
46733

Opening Hours

Monday	6:30am - 4pm
Tuesday	6:30am - 4pm
Wednesday	6:30am - 4pm
Thursday	6:30am - 4pm
Friday	6:30am - 4pm
Saturday	8am - 2pm

Telephone

+12607284000

Website

http://www.thejavabeancafe.net/

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