Rosary Beans Coffee House will open a store in the lobby of the new H#sht#g Building near Foxtown.
The brainchild of Sister Mary Hammer of the Louisiana-based Sisters of Divine Discipline, the chain was founded in 2009 and has since expanded to over 150 convents and stores in the US and Canada.
Rosary Bean franchises serve black coffee and nothing else – no sugar, no cream, no bagels, no muffins and, above all, no cappuccino. Customers are limited to one cup, and have 15 minutes to finish it. They are required to sit erect and with good posture at all times, feet together and faces forward. The reading of newspapers and electronic devices is strictly forbidden.
Conversations are allowed for vital matters only, such as asking for permission to use the restroom. However, time spent in the restroom counts toward the 15-minute allotment.
Sister Hammer credits the chain’s amazing growth to a hunger for discipline in these loosey-goosey times. “People crave discipline and we give it to them,” she says. She suddenly slaps a ruler in her palm and walks over to a twentyish-man working on his iPad. “Mr. Lennon,” she says, “we’ve talked about this before.”
A grand opening is set for March 5 – Ash Wednesday.
