Locally-owned Beanstalk Coffee and Sno opened its third location Tuesday morning, adding a Main Street shop alongside locations in east and west Norman.
Jennii Buendia is the co-owner of Beanstalk Coffee and Sno with her husband Adrian, who started the business as a snow cone stand in 2004. Now, the Beanstalk has moved into the store formerly belonging to Michelangelo’s Coffee and Wine Bar.
With OU’s move into the Southeastern Conference, Main Street is expected to see an increase of visitors in the coming year. Buendia said relying on foot traffic and the ability to pull people from the sidewalk is a new experience for the business.
“I've tried to elevate the aesthetics and make it the most beautiful store that you can imagine for a coffee shop,” Buendia told OU Daily. “I think all of our stores are beautiful, but this one I feel like I had to outdo ourselves. Because there is no drive-thru, this isn't the easiest place to get to, so you have to give people a reason to want to come in.”
As a small business owner who is new to the downtown area, Buendia is highly influenced by her perspective as a mother. Main Street is home to a plethora of bars, restaurants and shops. Buendia said Beanstalk’s presence helps create a space for those with children.
“Being a parent on Main Street, having my kids for things there's not always a lot of places that I can just take them to kill time between shows or waiting for an appointment,” Buendia said. “Between us and like, the play pit at the end of our block, there's more family friendly places for you to go and bring your kids.”
Beanstalk Coffee and Sno is open 6 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday and Sunday now at 207 E. Main St., serving coffee, snow cones, baked goods and breakfast items.
“We're as locally owned as you get — me and my husband own percent of shares — it's just us. Our kids are in here and they've had dinner on the table here in this shop the past two months more than we have in our house,” Buendia said. “You always hear ‘shop local,’ but for us, it's life.”
This story was edited by Emma Blakley. Cooper Marshall and Mary Ann Livingood copy edited this story.
