Naughty Dog Coffee shop, a place where people can sip on caffeinated beverages while their dog grabs a bite to eat, is coming to downtown Pullman.

C.J. Robert, project manager and co-owner of the shop, opened the Cougar Entertainment Center three years ago with her husband, Quincy Robert.

Using this experience, they can provide insight for Andrea Tubens, co-owner and Quincy’s mom, to help her open up this business.

Their shop will focus on purchasing mainly through local businesses and allowing friendly pets to hang out with their owners. Dog treats will also be available for sale, C.J. said.

Their teas will come from SAM’s Apothecary, which buys them from a woman in Moscow who custom blends them, C.J. said.

“Just by buying one product,” she said, “you’ve supported three businesses.”

They will also sell blooming teas. This is a ball of hand-tied tea that blooms into a flower when placed in hot water, C.J. said.

The inspiration behind the name of this cafe is Tubens’ one-year-old English bulldog, Venus, who also goes by Piglet, Tubens said.

“She snorts, she farts, she waddles in water and she eats everything,” Tuben said. “She’s really large but she thinks she’s really small. She doesn’t care, she’s just a happy dog.”

Venus loves people and other animals, she said, and also inspired their logo of a bulldog in a coffee cup, Tubens said. Venus will be the shop dog, and people can come and pet her.

“I talked to a lady who doesn’t have a dog, and she asked if she can still come in,” Tubens said, “and I said ‘absolutely, my dog is right here for you.’ ”

Tubens is constantly looking for inspiration and feedback for ideas to incorporate into the shop, she said, but she has many activities she wants to host, such as trivia, tutoring and an event called “Let’s Talk About It.”

This is where a group of people gets together once a week to have a civil discussion on a topic of their choice. A coffee shop is a place where people come to mingle and catch up, Tubens said.

“I want it to be an exchange of ideas,” Tubens said.

C.J. and Tubens have been brainstorming witty and funny phrases to put on each of the coffee cups, tying into the theme of the name.

“I see the assassins failed today,” or “I would agree with you, but then we’d both be wrong,” are a couple examples.

“Good tongue-in-cheek humor basically,” C.J. said. “We’re trying to brighten everyone’s day, be a little different from everyone else and stay local.”

They also plan to provide quality coffee. They will roast in small batches by a Lewiston roaster with beans from around the world. Once the bean is ground down, the coffee needs to be roasted within two weeks or frozen, or it becomes stale, C.J. said.

They will also sell white coffee, which has a higher caffeine content because it was roasted differently.

As for the inside of the shop, they want it to look modern with many design quirks.

There will be a variety of empty coffee bags scalloped on the ceiling, and a chalkboard for customers to write funny stories about their dogs being naughty, C.J. said.

“Like ‘I ate an entire box of sprinkles and now I’m pooping rainbows,’ ” C.J. said, “something like that.”

Quincy said he is mainly helping with the construction, but he’s most excited about the white coffee and the blooming tea.

“That is something totally different and many people haven’t even heard of blooming tea,” he said. “I can already see people taking pictures for Instagram.”
They are still waiting on city approval, but the shop is currently set to open Sept. 17.