The Story Behind Cool Beans Coffee and Things
Sometimes the best businesses aren't born from a business plan. They're from a desire to live life a little differently.
For Renee', that desire started with something simple: time.
After years of working in the corporate world, Renee' found herself missing too many of the moments that mattered the most - her children's school events, time together during summer breaks and the opportunity to travel with her husband as he furthered his career.
She wanted more than a career.
She wanted to be present for her family.
Around that same time, an opportunity came along through a neighborhood friend who had started a little coffee business of her own. Cool Beans was still in it's infancy and Renee' decided to take a chance and make it her own.
She didn't start with a big trailer or a fleet of beautiful carts.
She started small.
Really Small.
The first year was filled with learning, mistakes, failures, a few tears, long days and plenty of figuring things out the hard way. Every challenge taught her something. Instead of giving up, Renee' kept learning, improving and growing.
What began as a small coffee cart eventually became a full-service mobile coffee trailer -- along with new, more versatile coffee carts personally designed to bring the Cool Beans experience into places a trailer can't always go.
Today, that's one of the things that makes Cool Beans different.
We can bring the full trailer experience to an outdoor event or roll our beautiful carts inside for a wedding, corporate gathering, school event or private celebration.
We go where the people are.
But, coffee has always meant more to Renee'.
She's been a coffee drinker since she was a young child, and even now, the smell of freshly brewed coffee can take her right back to her grandmother, whom she loving called Nother Granny, and the special bond they shared.
There are moments tied to that smell.
Conversations.
Mornings. Family. Love.
So in a way, coffee has always been a part of Renee's story.
Today, she gets to share that feeling with other people.
Every time someone walks up to the Cool Beans window or one of our carts, we have the opportunity to be a part of their day -- whether it's a much-needed morning pick-me-up, a celebration with friends, a wedding, or simply a few minutes spent enjoying a really good cup of coffee.
That's what Renee' set out to create.
A business that could grow without requiring her to miss the life she was working so hard to provide.
A business that could travel, adapt and meet people where they are.
A business built around something that has brought her joy and memories for as long as she can remember.
Cool Beans Coffee and Things is more than coffee.
It's about showing up.
It's about memories.
It's about bringing people together.
And, sometimes it's about having the freedom to step away from the business, close the trailer, and go be there for the people who matter most.
That's why Renee' started this journey in the first place.
To build a business that fits her life - not a life that has to fit around her business.
That, to us, is pretty cool.