USD Magazine, Fall 2002

description to nearby officers, who gave chase and finally caught up with the thief at his home, where the Ryans' equip- ment, and other stolen goods, "We went through the emo- tional roller coaster of losing our equipment and feeling violated, but we are pretty persistent and took it personally," Harry says. "In the end, even the police were found.

Carmine haven 't forgotten the tough times when they worked 16-hour days and pulled all- nighters strung out on taste-

coffee to its cafe, La Paloma. They donate IO percent of profits at La Paloma to USO Community-Service Learning, a program that puts students to work volunteering in surround- ing neighborhoods.To date, they've contributed $1,500. The brothers' love for coffee percolated in Jakarta, where their family lived from 1975 to 1982. In the heart of the world's coffee bean region, they were fascinated as children by how much coffee adults consumed.

"Every once in a while we'd fix ourselves a little cup," Harry recalls."I think I liked the idea of it more than the taste." Now, the whole family has a taste for the bean business. O lder brother Tom is the company's master roaster.Their father,Tom Sr., acts as a financial adviser, while their mother, Helena, helps out with customer service. Ryan Bros. Coffee, which began purchasing beans in five- pound bags, now buys 120,000 pounds a year. But Harry and

testing coffee highs.

And whatever happened to

the guy who nabbed their equip-

ment three years ago?

He unwittingly brought it back to the brothers' cafe for repairs. Although Carmine couldn't keep the man there long enough to call the police, he saw him days later riding his bike in Old Town.

were laughing at how it all

turned out."

- Krystn Shrieve

Ryan and Carmine gave his

25

FALL 2002