Small-town café hosts launch of new Coke

The owners of a café in a tiny town in Connecticut have become celebrities after helping out with the worldwide launch of the new drink from Coca-Cola.

Coke found the Vanilla Bean Café in Pomfret after doing an Internet search on the word "vanilla" to tie in with its new variety, Vanilla Coke. Six Coke executives visited owners Barry and Brian Jessurun and asked them to host the launch and also help cater for a launch party in New York.

"I tried not to look too excited," said Barry Jessurun, who quickly registered his café's name as a trademark in anticipation of the media attention.

The 90-seat former barn was decked out with Coke signs and two outdoor stages for the event, which attracted more than 500 people and national headlines. The all-day café, which usually serves 300 meals a day at most, did 225 lunches and had to take on six extra staff.

Staff then boarded a Coke bus and headed for New York club Pressure, where they served hors d'oeuvres to 600 people.