Nicky “Beans” Matichyn stands by a commercial machine at Maui Coffee Roasters in Kahului. -- The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
Some family members call him “Bean.” Yet say “Nicky Beans” at a coffee klatch and it percolates as much enthusiasm as a fine Ka’u peaberry in a French-press urn. Then again, Joy Marra, the longtime general manager at Maui Coffee Roasters in Kahului, prefers to call him simply, “The Bean.”
Me? I call him “Nicky.” But one thing is for sure, whatever name that you choose, Nicky “Beans” Matichyn is a longtime expert in the Hawaii coffee industry. He gave our island a big jolt of caffeine adrenaline before many others and he deserves the monikers.
Nicky has been at it for decades as one of the older “Rat Pack” of Mainlanders who moved to the island in the adventurous hippie days — and he still diligently works daily at his business, despite the fact that he just turned 70 years young yesterday.
“I kind of like doing it,” he joked about his favorite topic over proprietary coffee that he roasts for Marco’s Grill & Deli near his own cafe and roasting biz.
“It’s familiar,” he continues. “It gives me something to do in the morning. Plus, Joy is just great as GMand so is vice-president Mike Okazaki. I couldn’t do it without them. I come in every day, and if there is a problem, I deal with it. If there isn’t a problem, well, then I just leave and go home.”
Nicky is featured on a coffee label as a young immigrant boy. -- Photo courtesy Maui Coffee Roasters
“I’ve known Nicky since I opened Marco’s 24 years ago,” says owner Marco Defanis. “His wife Jane was my doctor. He also makes my chocolate and macadamia-nut blend just for me and I have a great mail-order business because of it. He takes care of my espresso machine. He’s a great guy,” Defanis continues. “What a story! His Ukrainian family was forced into slavery on a farm when they came to America as civilians.”
“Yes, my parents were Ukrainian, but I was actually born in Germany,” Nicky says. “The reason my family was there was because Stalin was killing the Ukrainians in the Soviet Union and they had to leave.”
Little Bean Boy was born post World War II on Oct. 21, 1947, then his whole family was labeled “DP” for “displaced persons.” His boyish immigration picture is featured on the coffee label at top left of this page.
“Every country had different immigration quotas and we got to come over on a freighter to the U.S., sponsored by a farmer in Virginia as basically, indentured servants, to pay off our passage to America.”
After the ordeal, the Matichyns, including his sister, moved to Upstate New York for a free and independent life. After high school, Nicky went west to California to study business and economics at UC-Berkeley.
Nicky (right) poses with Bill Burton, founder of the former iconic Sir Wilfred’s. -- Photo courtesy Maui Coffee Roasters
“It was right in the middle of the Summer of Love,” he says. “Before we could even enter the campus, we had to show the army our ID. We were having fun anyway at that age because you have to have fun. But everybody was still pissed off at the Vietnam War.”
After college, and radicalized by the times, he moved back to Upstate New York to Rochester to strike out on his own with some friends and open a cafe.
“A lot of my friends felt the same way. We didn’t want to work for a large corporation. We thought selling hot dogs, ice cream and espresso was the way to go. We went right in front of City Hall with our cart and didn’t get permits. Set up right outside.”
The coffee cart led to a cafe that ran from 11 a.m. to 4 a.m. Daytime attracted rich suburban and late-night for rock ‘n’ roll carousers.
“It was a great time,” Nicky says. “We were living the life. But the winters there were too rough. So five of us decided to move to Maui and grow coffee.”
Maui Coffee Roasters Manager Joy Mara (from left) with (front row) baristas Serena Sakata, Shariana Visaya, Danielle Shea, Brycie Iwamasa, Heather Sutton and (back row) baristas Anne Dubsky, Ashley Sylva, Charlotte Burns and Adam Estrada. -- The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
That was in 1976, and while he dabbled in an acre here, cherry picking wasn’t for him, and so he worked with Bill Burton at the Maui Mall at the former iconic Sir Wilfred’s.
“Bill basically had a head shop with cigars and a little bit of coffee,” says Nicky. “It was wild back then. Everybody who was our age who came into Kahului from Huelo and Haiku went there. It was a hippie haven.”
Nicky installed what is arguably Maui’s first espresso machine, art exhibits were displayed, sales of rolling papers were epic, and it was THE place to hang out and see what Maui characters would crawl out of the woodwork to come and sip coffee or tea.
“Even George Harrison used to come in all of the time and once he brought Paul McCartney,” remembers Nicky. “We ramped up the mall with street dancing and brought a flatbed truck and put bands on it.”
“He always made great decisions, kept the ball rolling and most of all he was my best friend,” recalls Burton of how he and Nicky started out together.
Cappuccino -- Photo courtesy Maui Coffee Roasters
“I have known Nicky Bean since the Maui Mall Sir Wilfred days,” says celebrated Maui chef-restaurateur Beverly Gannon, owner of Hali’imaile General Store Upcountry and also Gannon’s in Wailea. “He always made the best curried sweet pea salad!
“As my businesses grew,” she continues. “So did my relationship with Nicky. He made special blends of coffee for all my restaurants and is always there when I give him a panic call because a coffee machine is broken. He is a dear, sweet guy and I feel so fortunate to have him as friend. Happy, happy birthday Mr. Bean!”
The Pet Shop founder John Guard is also one of the Maui “Rat Pack,” who had opened his orignal store next to Sir Wilfred’s when he met Nicky.
“Nick sold Bill on the idea of adding coffee to his inventory, which was only cigarettes, out-of-town newspapers, and also head-shop gear,” Guard explains. “I believe it was the beginning of Maui’s first espresso bar, and whole-bean coffee retail.”
Nicky moved on to open the original Maui Coffee Roasters on Lower Main Street in Wailuku where the Steel Horse Saloon now kicks up its heels.
Raw coffee beans -- Photo courtesy Maui Coffee Roasters
That was in 1981. Sure, coffee has been around Hawaii since Don Francisco de Paula y Marin planted seedlings on Oahu in 1813, and Maui also had large areas of trees in the 1880s, but it was first successfully planted commercially here in 1988, when Pioneer Mill diversified about 400 West Maui acres from sugarcane.
So Nicky started roasted beans before Maui was in the growing game. Back then, Kona coffee was $6.95 a pound and now it sells for $30 to $54 and upwards.
Nicky hired Dan Seemore Kriz as roaster. He looked like a beatnik Santa Claus and was a character of a bartender at the old, infamous Vineyard Tavern.
“He used to be a blue-movie photographer in Czeck-o,” Nicky says. “I took him out of the Vineyard Tavern where I met him and then rehabilitated him and he soon became a fixture. He went to Raratonga once and they thought he was Santa, so he went back every year. He would make a collection for a bunch of T-shirts and sneakers and fly to the Cook Islands every Christmas.”
About 25 years ago, Nicky moved his Maui Coffee Roasters facility to 444 Hana Highway in Kahului and opened the cafe at the same time. It’s been a success story since and he has bays in three warehouses. He’s even helped to effect laws that allow importation of beans and also sign laws that allow businesses to post what is being sold on the premises.
“Coffee’s gone way up. It’s more expensive now,” says Nicky. “One Guatamalan coffee was just auctioned off at $600 a pound. Hawaii coffee has gone way up, too, and the quality is better. There’s been a lot more research done by the UH and there are more cultivars and more varieties than ever.”
Years ago, Maui Coffee Roasters sold mostly Kona varietals. Now, the tables have turned and it sells more Maui coffees.
“It’s because of the awareness and the quality of Maui coffee,” says Nicky. “In this year’s statewide Cupping Competition, Olinda Organic won the state Creative Division, with a score that was higher than any that entered in the state Commercial Division.
“The owner Rob Lind is a passionate genius,” says Nicky. “His coffee won the best in the state. Think of it. That’s how much Maui coffee has advanced.”
Olinda Organic Farm topped 107 entrants in two divisions from the coffee-growing regions of Kona, Ka’u, Hamakua, Hilo and Puna, Maui, Kauai, Molokai and Oahu.
Maui really is the best — and Nicky keeps his store at the top of its game with not only Maui coffees, but exotic Ka’u Bourbon from the Big Island and Esmerelda Geisha from Panama. He ships coffees all over Asia, Brazil, Hungary and other Eastern European countries in addition to the U.S. and Canada.
“It’s always been my favorite coffee shop on Maui. I always know I’m going to get a great cup of coffee. Nicky’s a dear friend and I helped do some of the painting and construction. If you look up at the ceiling. I helped put that up there,” says Jon Woodhouse, music contributor to the Maui Scene.
It’s true — Maui Coffee Roasters is No. 1. It once again rose like cream to the top as the Best Local Coffee Store in the Best of Maui 2017 contest. Its top-selling coffee is the Maui Red Rooster and aficionados flock there like bees to a hive for sips of it in cold brews and espresso drinks.
“Nicky is a perfectionist with an excellent palate, which is why the coffee is great,” says Jane Kocivar, his wife and a retired internist physician on the island.
“He’s also very nurturing and likes to take care of everyone, which is why the cafe is so cozy,” Kocivar continues. “He’s low key and casual, but don’t let that fool you. He’s very serious and deliberative about everything he does and it has to be right.”
“I’m lucky enough to get to call Nicky not only my parent but also my best friend,” says daughter Bailey Rebecca Roberts. “From day one of having him in my life, the influence of his vision, passion and perseverance has shaped my approach to every moment. Most people don’t know his whole story, but he has triumphed against unimaginable obstacles to live the life that he does; a life that touches so many people throughout our community. I can’t imagine our lives without him and I am so thankful that I get to be a part of his story. He has taught me that being human is OK, that work requires passion and audacity, and that love is eternal. I love you Bean! Happy birthday!!”
“Nicky is a legend,” says his niece Kristine Musto, who helped out when he first opened his store. “He’s a brilliant businessman, he possesses an unreal work ethic, and his heart is pure gold. Lucky for me he was more than just my boss. He’s my uncle and truly one of the greatest influences in my life. I am beyond grateful for the years I had working and learning from him at Maui Coffee Roasters. They were some of the greatest memories of my life.”
“Even as a small business owner, Nick Matichyn, aka ‘Nicky Beans,’ always has been a big supporter and a contributor to our Maui community,” says former employee Bobo Rowlands. “His friendliness and easy going manner have made Maui Coffee Roasters a very successful enterprise, a place ‘where everyone knows your name.’ “
Yes, coffee has “bean berry, berry” good to Nicky “Beans” Matichyn.
_______________
Maui Coffee Roasters fast facts:
• Where: Situated at 444 Hana Highway in Kahului.
• Hours: Open from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday to Saturday; and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Sunday. (The kitchen shuts down a little earlier). Soups, house-roasted turkey sandwiches, bagels, desserts and more are offered.
• Fun promos: Happy Cappy hour from 3 p.m. to close offers discounted drinks. Loyalty program gives deals of buy five coffees get one free.
• For more details: Call 877-2877 or visit www.mauicoffeeroasters.com.
Nicky smiling -- The Maui News / CARLA TRACY photo
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