KISS Coffeehouse Owner Pays Tribute To One Of His Favorite Bands

Brian M. Galvin, owner of the Kiss Coffeehouse in Myrtle Beach, SC, was recently interviewed by Fresh Cup magazine, a coffee industry trade journal. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow:

Fresh Cup: How did you get the idea to open a KISS-themed coffeehouse?

Brian M. Galvin: I have been a KISS fan since I was 12 years old. It would be a great story to say that's why I came up with the idea, but the truth of it is, I was opening up a Ben & Jerry's at the Hard Rock Casino in Hollywood, FL, and the developer had mentioned a need for something different in the way of coffee that would fit in there with the Hard Rock. So that prompted me to come up with the idea of the KISS Coffeehouse. But at the last minute, it wasn't able to happen there. Everybody was pretty excited about the concept so we looked around for an entertainment-driven, tourist-based location that would make sense. We found one on Myrtle Beach, and we opened last June.

Fresh Cup: In what ways did you have to involve the band to open the coffeehouse?

Brian M. Galvin: Well, the first thing I had to do was run it by the licensing company. They thought it was great. And I said, "Alright, let me do a rendering of how I see this thing." I think that's what really sold them on it: when they saw what I was thinking about. I met with Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley in Boston. They were touring at the time with AEROSMITH. This was really the first time it had been done in the music industry, to have a standalone retail concept for a musician or rock band. I wanted to make sure that we got it right because to the thousands of tourists that are going by, we represent KISS. We had a great conversation, and the guys — they might not look it when you see them up on stage in eight inch heels and makeup and costume — but they're very grounded, they really get it.

Fresh Cup: Did the members of KISS have much input as to how the shop would look and what would be in it?

Brian M. Galvin: They're very particular about their image and what really says "KISS." They want to make sure the iconic images are there. KISS is recognized — anywhere in the world, you can show people a picture, and they might not know it's Gene Simmons, but they'll say, "Oh, that's KISS." So the band just wanted to make sure that that was represented the right way.

Fresh Cup: And the band visited the store when it opened?

Brian M. Galvin: Yeah, they came out for the grand opening. We had thousands of people that came for that, from as far away as Japan and Poland. The guys came out and it was a huge, huge party. Everybody got to go through to meet Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley. It's just been a great reaction here. It's quite unbelievable. It really is the only coffee concept out there that I can think of that draws traffic to a development. And because of that, even the city of Myrtle Beach was in favor of it because they saw it as this tourist generator — whether it's 5,000 or 10,000 people a year. Crowds would now come to Myrtle Beach because they had to visit the KISS Coffeehouse. These are KISS fans, and KISS fans are pretty rabid.

Fresh Cup: Is there KISS memorabilia decorating the store? Do you play KISS music?

Brian M. Galvin: We have a set of Gene Simmons' boots and a set of Paul Stanley's boots. And there are guitars and costume pieces from all of the band members. The music is exclusively KISS. If you were to go to a KISS Coffeehouse, you would want to hear KISS music. You're in there for 10 or 15 minutes, and if you don't hear it you think, “Well, this just isn't right.” They have like 30 albums , so there's lots, of different material to choose from. But then there are a lot of bands that have covered KISS songs, and we play that also. We have had some KISS fans complain about that, saying, "Hey, I just want to hear KISS." But the covers are important because they show that they have influenced all these other bands.

Fresh Cup: People who work in retail stores get tired of Christmas music during the holidays. Do your employees ever get tired of KISS songs?

Brian M. Galvin: Well, we have a combination of people who work there. Some work there just because it's cool — they're not necessarily KISS fans. I haven't heard them say that they are sick of it, but they must be. But we have a lot of people who work there that are fans. They are probably bigger fans than I am, and I'm a big KISS fan. So they love it. That's great when you actually have someone that is a fan that's working there — they are thrilled to be there.

Read the entire interview at KissOnline.com.