Thirty-something Eric Squiers dreamed of having a coffee shop, and today he is general manager of one – Three Crowns Coffee in downtown Warsaw. He didn’t always want to be a coffee shop manager. After graduation in 2001 from Columbia City High School, he attended Grace College where he studied business administration while perfecting his skills in the areas of audio and visual technologies. Those skills came in handy after receiving his degree in 2005 when he started a job as tech director for the MasterWorks Festival, Winona Lake. He worked with the festival for two to three years. Squiers said the time came to move on when his wife, Leilani, was offered a job in Colorado Springs. He jumped from job to job, eventually landing at Pikes Perk Coffee and Tea House. There his interest in coffee bloomed. Reading every book available, he devoured information on coffee: where it’s found, how it’s grown, and how to roast, brew and drink it. He was smitten. Squiers worked at the Colorado coffee house until the couple returned to Indiana to be closer to family. He picked up where he left off by roasting coffee at Cerulean in Winona Lake, and around June or July he ran into Dave Gustafson through church connections. Gustafson is owner of the St. Regis Club and, as fate would have it, he intended to add a coffee house to the upscale establishment. “From the beginning,” Squiers said, “Dave was told, ‘You have to have coffee here.’” Gustafson agreed. The two decided to create a small, urban high-quality coffee house, steeped in a rich café culture and offering ethically sourced, single-origin, locally roasted coffee. Named after the three crowns found on Sweden’s coat-of-arms on its royal flag (Gustafson and Squires share Swedish heritage), Three Crowns Coffee was born. Around that time, already having his roaster-manager, Gustafson placed an ad on Craigslist seeking a barista, an employee who could prepare and serve espresso-based coffee drinks. Dylan Ettinger, an Indiana University graduate who had recently moved back to Warsaw, was working in a bicycle shop when he saw the ad and applied for the job. He, like Squires, had developed an interest in coffee while in college, even taking a graduate course on the subject. He didn’t hear back on that application, but, “As it turns out,” he said, “I was here at St. Regis at an event when Dave and I had a chance meeting. We got talking, and he realized I was the ‘coffee guy from the ad.’” Ettinger was brought into the fold, being, as Gustafson exclaimed, “an integral part of the operation.” Ettinger also introduced to them the art of “pour-over brewing.” Three Crowns Coffee is a small, urban sanctuary that serves familiar drinks, such as latte, cappuccino and macchiato in the traditional Italian manner. Although the coffee house offers upscale atmosphere and high quality coffee, they keep the prices at $2.50 to $3. The signature brew, Squires explained, is the Swedish latte, which contains maple syrup, caramel and proprietary spices. Asked what spices, Squires just smiled. That information, and what goes into an espresso blend, he explained, is held close to the vest. Also secret are the ingredients that go into the specially-homemade vanilla and caramel flavorings. Key to the quality of the coffee, explained both Squires and Gustafson, is the elimination of middlemen from the farm to the cup. Three Crowns prides itself on offering brews that are as fresh as possible. Squires is the roaster, and his beans come from just a few sources. One of those is La Columbe, a supplier of farm-direct single source beans, founded by Todd Carmichael of the Travel Channel’s “Dangerous Grounds.” The coffee comes mainly from three continents, all with distinct characteristics: Africa, with Ethiopian brighter and more acidic blends; Indonesia, which is a bit more earthy and full-bodied; and Central/South America, with its “classic-tasting” coffees. All coffee is ethically sourced, Squires confirmed. Squires has company in his duties as roaster, as many of the members of the city club are home-roasters. There are plenty of people to talk with about it, and the coffee house even leases some of their equipment for Squires’ use. The three are excited about what they serve and how they serve it. A new offering is in the works, so patrons can look forward to tasty surprises. Three Crowns Coffee is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 114 S. Buffalo St., Warsaw.
