Jam 'n' Bean: A Hub for Young Musicians | Arts & Culture

Jon Sinkevics

As a 16-year-old sound technician, musician and junior at Forest Hills Central High School, Ben Chase knows how hard it is for young rock bands and fledgling solo artists to find places to perform and to find audiences for their music.

As a school administrator and parent, Forest Hills Central assistant principal and former band director John DeStefano knows how hard it is to support band programs financially and to have teens enjoy themselves in a safe environment.

A one-of-a-kind coffeehouse fashioned from a 157-year-old building in Cascade Township has taken an impressive swipe at all of these concerns.

With the new school year well under way, Jam ’n’ Bean Coffee & Café at 6860 Cascade Road SE (just south of Old 28th Street SE) aspires to not only serve as a supervised hangout for Forest Hills-area teens, but it will continue to stage performances by...

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