Don and his friend with the white Velcro shoes have been filling their mugs at the Bean Scene since it opened nine years ago on St. George Blvd in St. George, Utah.

While waiting, Don usually talks to the barista. Last week it was June, a cute 20-something with penciled eyes partially covered by a knit hat. Don’s friend watches the espresso drip.

I met the men on Sunday morning - apparently a slow day for this coffee shop in the heart of Utah’s Dixie.

Don told me that Jackie and Rick (unknown last name) opened the shop and still run it. Last names don’t seem to matter when you know something’s good. And what’s good at the Bean Scene is the breakfast “sammie” sandwich … the best, in fact.

“You’re gonna enjoy that,” Don said, as I placed an order for turkey, egg and Muenster on a croissant. “And if you don’t, you have no taste.”

While waiting for the taste test, I perused the colorful, swirly art of contemporary painter Gina Jrel –
magnets, cards and paintings -
who has used the shop as her gallery since July 2003.

Other artists had work on the walls, too - line drawings, collages and paintings - rotated every month or so alongside Jrel’s.

With its couches, art, different sized and color mugs and regulars of all ages, the Bean Scene is a clean, well-lighted place to read, write, gather and sip. (Using the bathroom is also fun here, as the girl’s room is decorated in colored beads and a flowering sun light switch cover!)

The shop’s only downfall: after filling my Pearl Street Bagels mug, June served the breakfast sandwich in Styrofoam, forcing me to give the Bean Scene a Minus 27 for lack of environmentally friendly packaging (this, coming from a place that scoffs corporate monopolies and encourages B.Y.O.M.),

Still, the steaming peppered croissant melted on my tongue as I drove back toward I-15, tempted to pull a U-turn outside Sunday morning mass and zoom back to get another.

Lauren M. Whaley writes from an antique architecture table in her room in Jackson. She edits TheMountainCulture and pieces together a living as a writer, photographer, filmmaker and babysitter. She visited the Bean Scene on her way to Joshua Tree, where she enjoyed ripping her fingers and forearms apart on amazing cracks and face climbs.