Local couple chooses to open Human Bean coffee shop for its ‘community-minded’ approach
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CHUBBUCK — Theo and Melissa Warner have opened up a new coffee stand called The Human Bean. They said they chose that franchise for its community-minded approach.
Customers will find The Human Bean at 5209 Yellowstone Avenue in Chubbuck with a drive-thru and a walk-up order window. The stand’s menu offers the various types of coffee customers expect as well as smoothies, Italian sodas and even frozen hot chocolate.
Once Theo and Melissa, who have been living in Pocatello since 2010 and 2011, decided to open their coffee stand, they knew they wanted to own a Human Bean. They were both familiar with the brand from traveling across Oregon.
“As we got further into it, we decided that they were the right fit for us and very much aligned with our values and their community-minded approach,” Theo said.
The Human Bean, based out of Medford, Oregon, is a nationwide brand and doesn’t operate like every typical franchise. The Warners are co-owners of the location and own the land the stand is built on.
“We own the building, we own the land. We own our part of the franchise,” Melissa said.
Not only that, “What we make stays here,” Theo said. The profits generated by the Chubbuck Human Bean stay at that location. The Chubbuck Human Bean sources it’s raw ingredients, like coffee beans, through the Human Bean franchise.
“The profit that we generate, it stays with us, and we get to use that in our community,” Theo said.
He said they’ve already done a fundraiser with the Bannock Youth Foundation, which offers multiple services for families and youth in Bannock County.
While both Theo and Melissa work full-time jobs, they also work at their new coffee stand every day. It took almost three years to open their new Human Bean location, so they’re excited to work with their staff and make coffee for residents and visitors alike.
The Warners have two boys, a four- and a six-year-old, and they’re still working and pursuing their careers with no plans of stopping. This is a lot for anyone to handle, but the Warners still managed to open the coffee stand they’d envisioned.
The dream of opening a coffee stand had started for the Warners, with them sharing an idea with each other in passing.
“What if we had a coffee stand of our own?” they thought.
“We both really love drinking coffee. It’s one of our favorite things to do locally and on vacations when we check out all the coffee shops,” Melissa said.
“It wasn’t something we were gonna do right away,” Theo explained. After all, they both have careers that they worked hard to attain. “But we knew that later on it was a vision and a dream of ours.”
Over the years, they kept talking about this future coffee shop.
“What kind of a thing could we bring to our community? What kind of feelings would people have about our coffee that could maybe brighten their vacation or just every day?” Melissa said.
They wondered if they should open a franchised coffee shop or one of their own. By 2020, they realized they could do both by opening a Human Bean.
Their new coffee stand has been open since March 30, and Theo said it’s a relief that they’ve opened it, “but now the work starts.” He calls this the “next chapter” of their lives.
“It’s not like we’ve arrived by any means. We’ve come a long way, so now it’s the fun part,” Theo said. “The fun starts where we really get to start making a name for ourselves and showing people what we’re about.”