Street Bean Coffee

Specialties

Who We Are:

We are a nonprofit coffee shop providing opportunity for street-​involved young people to reclaim their lives, one cup at a time. We feature excellent coffees from a variety of specialty roasters as well as sourcing and roasting our own coffee!

Mission:

Young people need more than just a job to move themselves beyond street life; they need the opportunity to form a new identity and the chance to discover who they were created to be. Street Bean’s mission is to provide an opportunity for street-​involved young people to discover and employ their gifts through serving an excellent cup of coffee in our community. Our hope is that this experience will serve as a catalyst to move them beyond sexual exploitation, homelessness, and abandonment into confidence, security, and successful future employment.

History

Established in 2009.

Our Origin Story:

Throughout New Horizons’ 30-​year history, the volunteers, staff and board members dreamed of opening a sustainable business that would provide supportive employment for the young people they served. In 2006, New Horizons’ Executive Director and Board of Directors officially endorsed adding an employment component to New Horizons’ continuum of care.

After a rigorous discernment process the committee recommended that a coffee shop would have the best chance of success. They believe it would have a broad appeal to a diverse group of young people, meet a real consumer need, and provide the opportunity for young people to learn a variety of job skills.

In addition, the owner of Kroll Map Company and New Horizons’ neighbor across the street, John Loacker, expressed interest in finding a business to lease a portion of his storefront. He was more than enthusiastic about the project and offered free rent for the first several months in the space. With the support of a gr

Meet the Business Owner

Merri O.

Business Owner

Merri is the Executive Director of Street Bean Coffee. She works with the Board of Directors of Street Bean and New Horizons to lead this non-​profit coffee shop. Her background is both in coffee and in social work, with a specific passion to see young people thrive.

«We stride to make meaningful community connections through excellent coffee. Our job training program helps young people come out of homelessness and into sustainability. We all have so much to learn from one another-​it is truly an adventure.»