Crazy Horse Coffee and its owner are at your service
Observer-Reporter
James Bendel poses for a February 2019 photo at his business, Crazy Horse Coffee.
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
James Bendel at his business, Crazy Horse Coffee, in Park Place at the Meadow Lands
Celeste Van Kirk/Observer-Reporter
James Bendel at his business, Crazy Horse Coffee, greets customers Dominic Dimarico, center, Matt Bowers, right, and Phil Dimarico.
Coffee and a danish at Crazy Horse Coffee.
Coffee and a danish at Crazy Horse Coffee.
You can thank James Bendel for his service – in and out of uniform.
He is a seven-year Army veteran, a 2001 enlistee fresh out of Greater Latrobe High School. That time included two perilous tours in Iraq, totaling 26 months, and a smattering of souvenirs: two shootings to the head, a perforated helmet, a Purple Heart and an Army commendation.
“Both shots were grazes,” said Bendel, an easy target at 6 feet 6 – but a fortunate target. He was 21 when a bullet sliced his chin, scattering shrapnel into his face and arms and creating a bloody mess. Two years later, on his birthday, he escaped tragedy a second time when a bullet struck the very top of his helmet.
Bendel, a sergeant, was discharged in 2008 but remained on an interesting career path. He was involved in software and equipment sales for a while, followed by a year-and-a-half turn as a shale well site roustabout.
Then in 2011, he returned to the business world and became entrenched in it. Bendel has risen to his current position of chief executive officer for Integrity Slickline Services, a Washington-based firm for which he coordinates business development in the Northeast and leads a staff of 24.
That job keeps him busy, but it isn’t his only vocation. He is the founder and owner of Crazy Horse Coffee, a chic java, snack and breakfast shop in the Park Place at the Meadow Lands project.
Bendel, 35, opened his North Strabane Township location Dec. 27, a mere two months ago, in close proximity to the Planet Fitness gym. The still-new Crazy Horse had a ceremonial ribbon-cutting Saturday.
“I have more life experiences than most people’s grandparents,” Bendel said, rolling his eyes. Those experiences include being a single dad with sole custody of his son, James IV, who will soon be 5.
And speaking of service … Bendel provides it with a smile at Crazy Horse. He strives to greet every customer who enters the shop, asking how he or she is and offering assistance.
“You have to take care of people,” he said. “You have to care what you are offering people.”
He named the shop after his Army troop, Crazy Horse, and on a recent Friday morning the place was crazy busy. Coffee and coffee-based drinks highlight the offerings, with quiches, bagels, muffins, pastries and cookies among the nibbling selections. U.S. flags, military photos and signs fashionably adorn the walls. A meeting room, which groups can reserve, sits in the back.
There are red, blue and green specials for – respectively – emergency, police and military personnel who are in uniform.
Crazy Horse is open every day and employs eight, although Bendel said he’d like to add as many as three people in coming months. He plans to tweak the menu by season, adding, for example, milkshakes during warm-weather months.
A certain preschooler could be on the payroll someday. “James is often here with me,” Bendel said of his son. “I’m trying to teach him how to make lattes.”
Business, the father said, has been good thus far, especially on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays. “We could use a boost early in the week,” Bendel added.
Needing a boost, of course, is why coffee shops are popular and prevalent. There are five Starbucks and four Dunkin’ Donuts shops in Washington County, plus several independent operations. One Dunkin’ location, along Racetrack Road, is a a half-mile from Crazy Horse.
The prospect of competing against chains and established shops may be daunting to some new entrepreneurs. Not Bendel. “They’re not competitors to me,” he said. “Some places have drink things we don’t. We offer better selections.”
Outside the shop, Bendel works closely with Carlus Call, the chief operating officer of Integrity Stickline Services. Call doesn’t put in the crazy Crazy Horse hours that Bendel does, but he is more than a regular.
“He didn’t drink coffee much before,” Call said, glancing toward Bendel. “We started hanging out at coffee shops, and it became apparent this was an option for him.”
Last summer, after ascending to the top of what had been PARCO Stickline Services, Bendel changed the corporate name to Integrity. He also decided to order a coffee shop and, to that end, secured a Small Business Administration loan through Northwest Bank in South Strabane Township.
Now he is greeting and shaking hands with his customers.
So thank him for his service, after he thanks you for stepping into Crazy Horse.