Management Team
Jason Araghi
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CEO & Co-Founder
Green Beans Coffee Company
Jason Araghi is the Co-Founder of Green Beans Coffee, and sees to the successful operation of this multi-national company with seventy locations worldwide in seven countries. His entrepreneurial spirit and drive, as well as a belief that “failure is not an option” has led to the dynamic growth and success of the company.
While living in Saudi Arabia in the mid nineties, he was one of the many expats that would return to the Kingdom after holidays with a suitcase half full of coffee beans since there were no gourmet coffee outlets in the market. He learned soon that most expats were doing the same thing, and that’s where he saw the opportunity. Through a network of contacts in the US, Jason and his brother Jon started to import, package and sell coffee beans at local bazaars and supermarkets under the Green Beans brand.
Working with his brother Jon who had a zest for the coffee business, he set to work on a plan to open a new café in a high-end furniture showroom called Art Nouveau. Jason developed strategies for building the business, while Jon consulted on the vision and design of a Seattle-style coffeehouse that would work in the Saudi marketplace.
Upon opening the café in 1997, U.S. military personnel from a nearby base became regular customers. In fact, so many high-ranking officers frequented Art Nouveau Café that Jason began conversations with the military to open a store on the base at Eskan Village so that soldiers didn’t have to drive 45 minutes for a good cup of coffee. The base leaders agreed, and within six months, Jason and Jon opened the first Green Beans Café.
Jason set a personal goal to grow with the military as they expanded their limited footprint in the region. He developed certain company practices and ideals that were key to their success, such as shipping all raw materials and equipment direct from the U.S. to the bases abroad to eliminate third-party tampering. The company strives to offer top-rate customer service, provide a place where soldiers can truly relax and feel like they are back home… if only for a few minutes, and to open and operate its cafes in challenging remote locations and hazard zones.
Giving back to the communities that Green Beans serves is very important to Jason and has been one of the pillars of the company. A percentage of every purchase made at Green Beans goes back to organizations that support Soldiers as well as military families and children of the fallen.
Jason maintains a fierce drive and commitment to continually improve and expand the offerings at Green Beans. He regularly tastes new coffees and products in order to offer the best possible beans and new menu offerings. He also travels frequently to his overseas cafes to ensure that quality control and customer service standards are not only met, but exceeded.
Here in the US, Green Beans cafes offer the same super premium coffees and quality teas that Soldiers and Airmen have grown to appreciate overseas, and of course, the “15 minutes of tranquility” that the brand has always offered to those deployed abroad.
To better manage the company in this global business environment, Jason attended and graduated from the prestigious TRIUM Global MBA program.
When he is not abroad for business, Jason enjoys travelling with his wife and two sons. He also likes to go sailing, skiing, and exercise at the gym.
Jon Araghi
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President & Co-Founder
Green Beans Coffee Company
Jon is the President and Co-Founder of the company. He oversees the international operations of all cafes in the Middle East, Africa, and Asia. Based in Europe, he is able to keep pulse of the dynamic operations in the volatile zones that the company operates.
As a young boy, Jon Araghi may have been destined for a life in the coffee business before he even realized his own dream. He spent most of his childhood in the San Francisco Bay Area, attending De Anza College and Life University-West. While spending long hours studying at one of his favorite spots, the Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company, he started to learn and appreciate the art of artisan coffee roasting. The gourmet coffee industry, and the inner workings of how a café operates had slowly become his passion.
Immediately after college, Jon accepted a job offer from his brother, Jason, who was managing a successful business for a member of the Royal family in Saudi Arabia. One of their clients was a young princess who had just opened a modern furniture showroom in the city and was considering adding a café on the business's second floor. Jon and Jason jumped at the opportunity to head up the project, and with the help of the owner and master roaster of The Los Gatos Coffee Roasting Company, they successfully built and equipped the first Seattle-style coffeehouse in Riyadh, naming it the Art Nouveau Café.
Jon's design skills and café operation knowledge have been critical and a positive balance to the successful growth of the company worldwide. He credits the success of Green Beans Coffee Company to its ability to bring people of different cultures together to enjoy a common pleasure. Throughout times of peace and war, Green Beans has always succeeded in contributing to the moral welfare of U.S. troops stationed abroad, bringing smiles to faces no matter the continent or the conditions. As part of his job, Jon frequently travels alongside these troops, waiting on cargo planes to transport him from one undisclosed location to another, going without sleep and even dodging bullets – but he wouldn’t trade his job for any other one in the world.
Press and Public Relations Contact:
media@greenbeanscoffee.com
phone: US (415) 461-4023