By Raina Lucero
“So many people.” That is the way Claire Lane described her opening day for Café Bean LLC, the new coffee shop in town, which opened Monday, April 3 located in the Maine Scoop on Maine Street in Eads.
Claire told the Kiowa County Independent in an interview Monday after her busy day that she sold out of green chili and that her green chili burritos and breakfast burritos seemed to be the biggest hit of the day.
Café Bean LLC will be open Monday through Thursday from 6am to 2:30pm located in the Maine Scoop which is adjacent to the Plains Theater in Eads. While located in the Maine Scoop, Claire will not be serving Ice Cream, at least for now, during her business hours.
Since moving to Eads, Claire has worked within the community in many different areas including at Prairie Pines Assisted Living, Cinnamon Joes, the Eads Medical Clinic and has picked up shifts as a CNA at Weisbrod Memorial Hospital & Nursing Home. Claire states, “I was going to school full-time to further my education to become a nurse. Then Covid hit and it was rough. Then, my husband started his own business for fiber splicing which meant he was going to be away from home a lot. So, we had long conversations about me just staying home with our two girls. That’s when I started putting it out there. I was making breakfast burritos. It was a huge hit. Then, Nicole Kepler came up to me and asked if I would be ever interested in renting out the Maine Scoop.”
Claire went on, “At first, I was like that’s crazy no way. But after thinking about it all these ideas kept popping into my head. That is when the main idea of a coffee shop began.”
Because Claire is running the coffee shop on her own, she will not be accepting any call-in orders right now. To place an order patrons will have to go into the storefront, “When the weather warms up just a bit more, we will be bringing out the tables and chairs to the sidewalk so that people can eat right there.” Until then, dining at Café Bean is to-go only.”
Claire remembers, “I would always talk to my husband about wanting to open a coffee shop. As a little girl, I would oftentimes go over to my grandma’s house and help her make breakfast burritos and loved it—more like loved eating the fresh tortillas!”
“My family are my biggest supporters. I wouldn’t be able to do any of this without their help and support along the way. They are willing to help me out when they can. You might also see two cute faces in the form of Audee and Aubree who will be helping me throughout the summer!”
The Kiowa County Independent is excited to welcome Café Bean to Maine Street as our neighbor, and wishes Claire luck as she embarks on this journey to give the people of our community a great place to get great food and coffee.
