BeanHeads Coffee staff Fatima Flores, Megan Losser, Tim Stipes and Jeremiah Stipes on opening day. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo
BY BRANDY TUZON BOYD
THE NATOMAS BUZZ | @natomasbuzz
Just a week after a longtime, favorite neighborhood cafe closed in Natomas, a new coffee shop has opened in its place.
BeanHeads Coffee kicked off its soft launch Wednesday in the space Coffee Break Cafe occupied for more than a decade.
“We came across an opportunity here, buying some things from (Coffee Break owners) Frank and Nuvia during their liquidation,” said Tim Snipes. “One thing led to the other and we decided to take the space over.”
Snipes and his fiancé Megan Losser signed a lease on July 2, just days after Coffee Break Cafe closed. Opening BeanHeads Coffee, they said, marks a fresh start for the restaurant space and the couple.
“We are kind of starting over,” said Snipes, who has worked in the coffee business for about 25 years.
Snipes grew up and still lives in the Northgate neighborhood of Natomas. He started working with coffee when he was a teenager and his dad opened a coffee cart business.
From 2006 to 2020, Snipes said he operated espresso bars in several hospital lobbies. That business was going pretty well, he said, until COVID-19 hit and hospital lobbies were closed. And, as a result, so did his business.
Meanwhile, Losser’s job was also affected by the pandemic and she was laid off after working 11 years for Visit California.
The couple decided to get back in the coffee business, together this time. The pair had been renovating a space in Citrus Heights for BeanHeads Coffee when they stumbled on the Coffee Break Cafe liquidation sale.
“We are opening our second store before our first store,” Snipes said with a laugh, adding the Citrus Heights location is expected to open in two weeks.
During the soft launch, the Natomas store will serve espresso drinks made with their own roasted coffees, pastries from Old Soul Co. and Ginger Elizabeth chocolate for the cafe’s regular customers while the couple work on hiring for both stores and creating a menu.
“We are not planning to change too much,” Snipes said. “(Coffee Break Cafe had) a dedicated following and we want to be able to serve those folks as close as possible, with as much of their old menu as we can muster.”
Snipes said the plan is to expand store hours in Natomas “in short order.”
“Here we are, coming out the other side of the pandemic with a revised business and we are about to be married,” said Losser. “Life could not be more different and I could not be more happy about the difference. I am excited about what we can do here.”
BeanHeads in Natomas is currently open 5:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. seven days a week at 717 Del Paso Road in Suite 200. 916-641-5808
Former Coffee Break Cafe owners Frank and Nuvia Cardona chat with BeanHeads Coffee owner Mike Stipes. / NatomasBuzz.com Photo
Speak Your Mind
You must be logged in to post a comment.