Based on that low-key marketing approach, it comes as no surprise that It’s A Grind franchisees were blown away when the Showtime partnership was announced this past July at the annual franchisee convention.

Chris Jackson is an area developer in Elk Grove, California, who owns two It’s A Grind stores with his wife and plans to open more. As he remembers the meeting, Cox took the stage and asked, “Wouldn’t it be great if your coffee house brand was on a highly acclaimed television series that featured people walking in and out of an It’s A Grind coffee house to begin the show? Wouldn’t it be great if the main character was carrying around It’s A Grind coffee cups throughout the show?”

“I was pretty excited along with everyone else,” Jackson says. He and his wife rushed out and subscribed to Showtime so they could watch every episode and brag about the exposure to their friends. Fortuitously, Weeds ended up becoming a major hit in 2005. A strong cast of actors and a controversial storyline meant that the consumer media was also paying attention to the show, amplifying its visibility—and by association, It’s A Grind’s—even further.

But has that helped Jackson’s business?

Jackson says that the seasonal and cyclical nature of the business make it hard to determine exactly what impact the show has had on sales and customer volume, but he vouchsafes that the show has strengthened brand awareness. “Without a doubt, having It’s A Grind featured on a critically-acclaimed and widely-watched show like Weeds has done wonders for reinforcing the brand recognition,” Jackson says. For example, a group of local firemen who frequent one of his It’s A Grind stores told him they watch the show while waiting for the bell to ring and proudly point to the It’s A Grind coffeehouse as their regular hangout.

Neither Jackson nor Cox see any serious risk to appearing on a show like Weeds, a show that deals with issues of drug use. “I wasn’t that concerned about it,” Jackson says. “I think viewers know that just because the It’s A Grind brand is on the show doesn’t that the brand or franchise is pushing a certain type of behavior.” Cox concurs, arguing that It’s A Grind’s presence on the show doesn’t mean equal an endorsement of characters’ behavior. In any case, the point is somewhat moot since neither Cox nor Jackson report having received any negative backlash or comments about the show from customers.

So what does the network get out of product placement, if not monetary compensation? Well, imagine that a show has a scene set in a coffeehouse. The production team has two choices—it can create a fake coffeehouse set and fake collateral (bags of coffee, cups, signage, and so forth), or it can make a deal with a real coffeehouse, like It’s A Grind. The coffeehouse gets publicity, and the television show saves time and money that it would have otherwise had to spend on set and props.

“That’s how a lot of deals start,” Reiss says. However, in the future, Showtime will be looking for brands featured on its shows to contribute to fulfilling production needs—helping with marketing needs. “For a long time, we have been a very good place for brands to get free exposure. Now we are hoping to leverage these brands for marketing and production support.”

As of late December, Showtime would not comment on whether Weeds would be picked up for another season. A Showtime rep would say only the show was a “huge success” and that the critics loved it. But both Reiss and Cox describe discussions about involving It’s A Grind in a second season of Weeds, should one be produced. No doubt, Cox and his franchisees would love the exposure.

But considering Reiss’s interest in some sort of quid pro quo, Cox might have to face up to the question: Just how much is Mary-Louise Parker’s prime time It’s A Grind habit worth?