Take a drive around greater suburbia, and you can’t help but notice that the gourmet coffee trend has become a normal step in the daily ritual.

Whether it’s a stop before the morning commute, grabbing a cup between errands or a study aid for college students, the gourmet coffee house has been fully transformed from the urban social spot of the 1990s to a destination as ordinary as the gas station.

Unless of course, you are Les Bevil.

That’s because when Les opened up Four Beans Coffee House in Batavia earlier this year, his goal was to be anything but ordinary

He and his wife Barbara had decided about 10 years ago to open their own coffee shop. As budding entrepreneurs, they wanted more control over their own futures, their time and the nature of their business.

“I had spent 35 years in retail and real estate and I knew nothing about coffee, except I liked to drink it,” he said. “At first I thought, buy a Starbucks, but after realizing it wasn’t a franchise, I thought we’d better try it on our own.”

So they went on road trips around the Chicago area, visited every corporate-owned and independent coffee house they could find, and took notes.

“I think I’ve been to about 100 Starbucks and spent hours in Caribou,” he said

Not a bad idea, considering the market share. Starbucks has more than 10,000 stores in 41 countries, more than 500 of them in Illinois. Caribou, which entered the market in the 1990s, now has locations in 18 states.

But Bevil wanted to be different. He and Barbara knew that to make Four Beans work, they needed a niche. Then one day, while vacationing with friends, the Bevils stopped in a country store and found their golden nugget. There in the corner was a large, metal coffee bean roaster. The store was dirty and there were bags of beans all over the place, spilling onto the floor.

But all Bevil remembers is the smell.

“When you roast the beans, the aroma just wafts through the air, out the door, everywhere,” he said. “It just pulls people in.”

So as soon as they returned Bevil went to work, researching roasters and what it would take to roast his own coffee in his own shop. That intensive research result was the purchase of a shiny red Diedrich roaster for $80,000.

Since the investment was so high, the Bevils worked with an architect to design the entire interior of the coffee house around the roaster. Today, it sits center stage behind a half-moon coffee bar, surrounded by an eclectic mix of antiques, family heirlooms and Les’s childhood dining room table. From any vantage point, patrons can watch Les roast beans and concoct blends as they drink up.

“Very few people have ever seen a roaster like this, or even know that coffee beans start out green,” Les said. “It’s cool to watch. You should see the kids’ eyes when the beans pour out.”

It’s that big investment that will allow Four Beans to compete with “big coffee”, the Bevels say. Beans are freshly roasted and generally used with 10 days. Last week, Les was able to roast up an espresso using four varieties of solely organic beans.

But there are cost advantages as well. By purchasing raw beans in small quantities, Les is able to control costs. And since he blends his own coffees and espressos, he’s not tied to the flavors chosen for distribution at a thousand locations.

“The coffee costs about $400 for a 150 pound bag of beans,” Les said. “For organic, it’s about a dollar a pound more. So I can afford to take a chance on one bag of something new, as opposed to the big guys who are buying plantations full.”

But if the smell of roasting coffee isn’t enough to draw the customers in, then the tea just might. Four Beans offers more than 60 varieties of loose tea. Brewed in French presses and served tableside in china cups and saucers, the teas serve to draw in an entirely new group of customers, and take a cup of tea to the same gourmet level as their coffee.

“We knew we wanted to do something original with tea, and as soon as I saw the tea presses, I new that’s what we wanted,” he said. “So we started collecting old cups and saucers and hitting the antique marts until we were stocked.”

But the old-fashioned service and homey touches don’t mean Four Beans is a throwback. The shop boasts free Wi-Fi access. The shop is fair trade certified and a wide variety of the coffees and teas are organic. They even host open mic night. They have to, as their Randall Road locale leaves them in immediate competition with several Starbucks, a Caribou Coffee and a Panera Bread location. But Les isn’t worried

“Starbucks could move next door, and it would just mean more business for us,” he said. “All I’d have to do is crank up the roaster.”

Still, there are financial concerns. A dispute over real estate left the Four Beans to open 18 months later than scheduled “That wasn’t planned for,” Les said. And as he drives home down Randall Road and sees the line at the Starbucks drive-thru, he second guesses himself. “Sometimes I think a drive–thru really would give us a leg up,” he said. “I cringe a little every time I drive by.”

But overall, the first nine months of Four Beans Coffeehouse have been successful. Reception has been good, Bevil said and business continues to grow.

“We have a lot of groups that come by,” he said. “Bible study groups, knitting groups, study groups. We even have friends that work at for competitors, and afterwards, they come here. It’s a hangout.

“People are so warm,” he added. “We have some regulars that are so devoted, we couldn’t beat them away with a stick.”

Four Beans also roasts and brews coffee for events, private businesses and other food shops. The store has a Web site for home ordering and Bevil says he’d love to one day expand and open more locations.

“But mostly, I just want to keep Barbara happy and put the grandkids and our god daughter through college,” he said. “I don’t want to be roasting beans until I’m 80.”