Rising Stars: Meet Sarah Belcher

Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Belcher.  

Hi Sarah, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today.
I have had the privilege of growing up in our small town of Boyne City my entire life. I have worked at, managed, and even helped open many of our coffee shops around town and surrounding towns growing up in my teenage years. With all of my experience in the coffee world, my management experience, and then assisting in fully setting up/opening another local coffee shop, I felt I was ready to take a leap. At 23, after years of planning, saving, slowly buying bits and pieces of what I knew would someday be my dream shop…so much hard work and dedication…. I opened my own shop, Beani’s Coffee Lounge. It was started off a desire to have the life and future I wanted for myself, and what drove me the most…my kids. Something that seemed so far out of reach quickly became my reality when I had three sweet little boys driving my motivation to the moon. I always loved making coffee but realized over the years that it wasn’t just making coffee that I loved so much; it was all of the experiences I created in doing so… 

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not, what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
When I opened my shop, it was right around the time when covid mandates started to die down. I was tired of waiting and decided I was just going to do it and give it my all. There have been many struggles I feel many businesses have been facing with the after effects of covid, costs of goods rising, lack of help, etc. But I think the biggest struggle in being a business owner for me has been finding a balance between your business, your life, family, friends, and yourself. Your business seems to consume you, and it’s easy to lose yourself a little bit along the way. The road to get to where I am now was full of twists and turns, but no matter what I was facing my life motto has been that there is always a loophole. There is always a way; you just have to try hard enough to find it. 

Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
Beani’s Coffee Lounge is a unique and cozy shop located right in the heart of Boyne City. We offer a wide variety of items and strive to have something everyone can enjoy, from our specialty drink menu to our kids, seasonal and breakfast menus-drinks for the non-coffee lovers, and even specialty goodies for your pups! We specialize in creative coffees with endless possibilities! Our biggest goal is to make you YOUR perfect drink and to spread kindness with every cup served! Beani’s is known for its cozy atmosphere, unique products, custom order items, and our highly rated customer service! 

I believe what sets Beani’s apart from other coffee shops is its wide variety menu…we have over 50+ speciality drinks but offer far more than just coffee! From custom order treat arrangements, catering, bottled to-go drinks, our food menu, and more. I believe our strong desire to assure every customer has a drink that they enjoy, frequent new drinks/seasonal menus, and the love for our community also set us aside from others. 

I am most proud of the reputation my shop has built. I am often overwhelmed with the amount of love, support, and praise I receive for what I have created…I have come up with hundreds of specialty drinks at this point, and so many I have said, “Yup…this is the one I’m most proud of”. But nothing will ever make me more proud than seeing the same smiling faces come in every single day; my shop fill with customers hanging out and enjoying what I’ve made for them, and seeing my shop finally be everything I’ve wanted it to be. 

What are your plans for the future?
My plans for the near future include some shop renovations in our front half where we will explain our seating as well as expand our menus! We plan to offer a small lunch menu, grab-and-go boxes, specialty treats, donuts, and more! We are looking forward to having more space to allow for our guests to sit comfortably when it gets busy as well as offer more of a “sit and enjoy” type atmosphere with ability to then serve our customers their food and beverage at their tables. This will also allow us to offer more of our merchandise our customers love which includes tumblers, mugs, kids’ cups, baby cups, kids’ plushies, coffee Lego sets, jewelry, keychains, stickers, and more unique items! 

Contact Info:

• Website: www.beaniscoffee.com
• Instagram: https://instagram.com/beaniscoffeelounge?igshid=MjEwN2IyYWYwYw==

Image Credits
Charity Gee Photography