Patrick Dugan appeared in our lives in the fall of 2007 with a keen eye for location and a desire to put a coffee shop in downtown Garden City worthy of his Irish lineage.  He wasn't interested in a harshly lit place for harried humans to dash in and out for coffee.  Nope, Patrick was thinking more along the lines of his favorite pub back home with darker woodwork, rich green walls and a much more laid-back style.  Coffee should be savored, not gulped down.

So he, Doug and Pat began to think about putting the coffee house in the historic Warren Building, formerly the Warren Hotel, a landmark in downtown Garden City.  The Paraclete Group was in just the right spot, with the basics already in place:  superior natural light, genuine terrazzo floors, a gigantic fireplace with the original woodwork and excellent retail neighbors.  All he had to do was convince them to move the computer store north into the other half and leave the Main Street corner to him.

The transformation began later that fall with help from people like Steve Partin, Ed Heinz, Bruce King, Bruce Glass, Bev Glass, Steve Sparke, Daryl Koons, Dr. Asel Harder, Chris Pettz, Brenda Howard, Brenda Harder,
Cassie Glenn and a lot of other friends of the project.  The Paraclete Group gave up the front and Patrick Dugan's Coffee Shop was on it's way.  Patrick Dugan found out that downtown people are the best of the best with help, encouragement and even some funding from Downtown Vision.

After eight months of nights and weekends, working around contractors and trying to pretend that the front door of three businesses wasn't a big mess, it all came together at the end of May, 2008.  The interior was exactly the way it had been imagined.  The equipment was installed and tested.  Connie Nichols was hired on to manage.  Connie owned A Slice of Pie previously, so brought business accumen and high expections for food perfection to the table.  An excellent staff was found and the folks at PT's Coffee in Topeka turned a bunch of novices into professional baristas.  The coffee shop officially opened it's doors the first week of June.

Did it all work out?  Come by and see for yourself.  Sitings of Patrick Dugan in the store are rare, but we know he is always near by and nothing makes him happier than to hear someone say "this is the best coffee I have ever had."  We followed his directions, took his advice not to compromise on anything and are proud to bear his name on the door:  Patrick Dugan's Coffee House - better than you are used to, nothing less than you deserve.