Bob's Espresso Bar, A NoHo Experience

Bob's Espresso Bar, located on Lankershim Blvd in the Noho Arts District south of Magnolia is a unique environment.

For customers, Robert Romanus, or "Bob" may look quite familiar. He's an actor who has had a number of notable roles over the last few decades. He's been in episodes of CHiPs, MacGyver, Fame, The Facts of Life, Cold Case and Family Guy. However, he's mostly recognizable from his role in Fast Times at Ridgemont High as Mike Damone. One might wonder why an actor with a long, successful career would open a coffee shop.

"I've always hung out at coffee shops," says owner Romanus. "I wanted the place to move like a club house, an extension of everything I love. This is a trendy area, I live in the area. I want my customers to know who I am and I want to know them when they walk in the door."

This coffee shop has no arrogance about it, just like the neighborhood. It reflects the culture and community that surrounds it. The Noho Arts District has slowly grown into an artistic community with some unique coffee shops, restaurants, bars and dessert spots. Bob's fits in perfectly as the early morning coffee stop for local dancers, actors, working professionals and more. The shop is also open into the night, with various entertainment offered all week.

At Bob's Espresso Bar, Friday night is comedy night, Saturday night is for music, Wednesday night is open mic and there are more plans to come. There is also an "artist of the month." Bob himself is a musician who performs regularly and has released a few albums over the years. The coffee shop is decorated with instruments and a make-shift stage is always ready to host the latest band, folk singer or comic.

"This place will be more like a clubhouse," Bob added.

The coffee clubhouse is surrounded by a sushi restaurant, a large Laemmle's movie theater, small restaurants a sports bar and more.

Opening a Business in Los Angeles

Bob admits he's not expert in running a business. "I've never done this before in my life," he says. In telling the story, he says it took him a year to build the entire place out and encountered a number of roadblocks, including difficulties in dealing with the City of Los Angeles. The city is not known for being business friendly, and Bob's experience is no different. From having to talk to a number of different inspectors (none of whom communicated with each other) to various changes in how he was told to build out his space, Bob had a number of mountains to climb in this process.

Even with these challenges, Bob's Espresso Bar is open for business and is focused on providing a personal service. While large coffee and espresso chains provide a corporate atmosphere, this coffee shop offers a Cheers-like atmosphere "where everybody knows your name." Unlike the more corporate spots in Noho, there isn't the same high turnover of employees and Bob is almost constantly present as he makes phone calls, lattes and introductions.

Bob's Espresso Bar is located at : 5251 Lankershim Blvd North Hollywood, CA 91601

You can reach them at (818) 980-5096 or at http://www.bobsespressobar.com/.