Here’s the latest on our recent brushes with movie stars and Olympians!

Orlando Bloom visits thump coffee

So, you think you’ve matured to the point that if a pop culture heart throb came into your shop, you wouldn’t get as giddy as a teenager…  Think again!  Over the last weekend of July, those of us behind the bar looked up to find Orlando Bloom of “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “Lord of the Rings” fame, in front of us ordering his drink. We didn’t ask for his autograph, but it was hard not to get a bit excited to see him in the shop! Very nice guy he was.

Axel Merckx

It doesn’t end there! Axel Merckx, a former National Cycling Champion of Belgium, Olympic Medalist, and 10 time Tour de France competitor made his home at thump for a few weeks during the Cascade Cycling Classic and the USA Road National Cycling Championship. He was in town coaching Lance Armstrong’s Trek-LIVESTRONG Team of top up-and-coming cyclists.  (Read more about this project and the Lance Armstrong Foundation’s global fight against cancer.)  In addition to charming our 2½-year-old daughter Finley (not always an easy feat), Axel paid us a tremendous compliment when he recently posted to his 9,000+ followers on Twitter, “If any of you are ever in Bend, OR you have to go to Thump coffee shop. It is the closest I came to Italian cappuccino here in North America.”  Wow Axel, what an honor! We look forward to the return of you and your team next year! And thanks to Susan Bonaker from Sunnyside Sports for letting us know about Axel’s kind words.