Javaman Coffee owner Mark Norelli swapped one passion for another when he moved from sports to the coffee industry.

Norelli spent more than two decades as a sports executive before opening Javaman Coffee in 2009. He served as vice president of sales for the Houston Rockets for five years until 2006 after a stint with the San Francisco Giants.

He traded suits for an apron at his independent shop that offers home-roasted coffee and New Orleans-style beignets and crepes. He got the idea to open a shop while standing in a long line at a corporate coffee shop and recognizing the demand for a local option.

Javaman Coffee offers New Orleans-style beignets, which have become a customer favorite, according to owner Mark Norelli ($3.15 for 3).[/caption]

“I saw how busy they were, and I did my research and found out that independents could do OK if you sell a lot of coffee,” Norelli said. “We decided to give it a shot.”

The Atascocita-area coffee shop, which is located on FM 1960 near Pinehurst Trail Drive, roasts and grinds all of its own coffee, uses a French press and offers blends from around the world.

The shop has traditional coffee options, such as lattes, cappuccinos and espressos, as well as menu favorites, such as cinnamon dolce, turtle latte and hazelnut mocha.

The coffee shop has seven different crepe options on its menu.[/caption]

“You can’t get what we offer in a grocery store,” Norelli said. “Plus, the fact that we roast it fresh, we serve it fresh, we sell it fresh. As a result, we have a real good product that—around here—we don’t think anyone can compete with us as far as taste and flavor of our coffee.”

The crepe menu includes breakfast options, such as the Ortaggio, which includes scallions, mushrooms, tomatoes, eggs and cheese; the Alba, a three-meat crepe, and the Nutella, which features bananas, powdered sugar and chocolate sauce.

Javaman Coffee menu[/caption]

The beignets have become a popular item for Louisiana transplants, he said.

“We have a lot of people from Louisiana come in every weekend just to have our beignets,” he said. “I’ve had a guy who said his mother used to take him to [popular New Orleans beignet seller] Cafe Du Monde and he was from Metairie, [La]. He says, ‘I remember when [beignets were] three for a nickel, and I wouldn’t change the recipe that you guys have now.’”

Javaman Coffee

8071 FM 1960, Humble 832-644-5180 www.javamancoffee.net Hours: Mon.-Fri. 5:30 a.m.-3 p.m. Sat.-Sun. 7 a.m.-1 p.m.