LEBANON — After years of experience in retail management, a Cottage Grove couple decided downtown Lebanon was the right place for a coffee and dessert shop.

Tom and Sherry Sanderbrink opened the Lebanon Coffee Co. in the 600 block of Main Street in late October and say they’re surprised at how steady business has been so far.

They also say that city officials couldn’t have made things go any smoother for them.

“We’ve started up several businesses in different communities, and Lebanon has been by far the most helpful. These guys were pro-business and really friendly,” Tom Sanderbrink said.

A building official performed a courtesy inspection and helped the couple find ways to keep older remnants of the structure while bringing it up to the city’s code.

The Sanderbrinks leased an empty storefront that originally was part of the Lebanon Hotel and renovated it to preserve the historical appearance. They refinished the wooden interior and painted it themselves. They installed new bathrooms, hiring only a local plumber to help.

The couple made a point of keeping an original wooden staircase leading up to a second-story loft and preserving it for customer use.

“The loft has reclining chairs and wireless Internet access, so people can relax or do business here,” Tom Sanderbrink said.

Sanderbrink previously worked in corporate management for Albertson’s, and his wife worked 15 years as a regional supervisor for Subway restaurants. More recently, Sanderbrink owned several auto body parts stores.

The new coffee house serves coffee from Cafeto, a Eugene roaster, as well as a variety of Euphoria brand chocolates. It also carries fresh gourmet desserts from Joseph’s Dessert Co. of Portland.

“We literally shopped all around the entire state for desserts, and Joseph’s was the right one,” Sanderbrink said.

He added that Joseph’s desserts resemble European delicacies in that their flavors come not from large amounts of sugar but from natural ingredients that are tasted individually.

The Lebanon Coffee Co. seats about 30 people. The business is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday-Friday and 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays.

Patrick Lair can be

reached at 258-6441

or patrick.lair@lee.net.