Coffee and houseplants, a match made in heaven at Zz Coffee and The Plant Box
Published at | Updated at
IDAHO FALLS — Zz Coffee and The Plant Box are a perfect mix of caffeine and houseplants. Housed together in The Rogers building in downtown Idaho Falls, the business has been taking off since their grand opening in August 2024.
Both stores are housed in a single location, at 545 Shoup Avenue #110.
The owners/founders of the stores are Kaitlynn Reagle with Zz Coffee, and Chayla Rasmussen with The Plant Box. The stores cater to the same demographic.
“We’re two separate businesses, but one experience,” Rasmussen said. “A lot of people kind of share their drink or their plant on social media after they come and oftentimes, they’ll picture both of them together, so it’s kind of fun for the customers and for us.”
Reagle runs Zz Coffee. The name of her shop comes from the ZZ plant, a low maintenance house plant with unique and memorable leaves.
Early on in her business brainstorming, Reagle explored the idea of outfitting a mobile trailer to sell coffee. During that process, her long-time friend, Rasmussen, discovered the location at The Rogers building, and pitched the idea of combining their business ideas into one, which led to the plant and coffee shop location.
“I try to specialize in craft coffee, such as a cortado or a true macchiato, which is just a double shot of espresso and a dollop of steamed milk foam,” Reagle said. “Not a lot of coffee shops kind of around here have more craft ideas or craft drinks. We really wanted to create a fun environment. I feel like it’s been a good concept to help bring coffee dates back.”
Rasmussen, for her part, was equally enthusiastic about houseplants.
“I had always wanted to open a houseplant store, that was always my dream, and Kaitlynn was working on her mobile trailer,” Rasmussen said. “We wanted to do something that brings joy to people, and we also wanted to create a fun environment for people to come and hang out. We have a lot of customers that come in with their girlfriend or boyfriend. They get coffee and they pick out plants together. It’s been really fun to see.”
The path to entrepreneurship became obvious when they found themselves working in jobs that neither felt passionate about.
“In college we took some business classes, and sometimes in the classes we were talking about being an entrepreneur,” Reagle said. “I always thought, ‘I’m not smart enough for that, there’s no way I could do that.’ But it’s been great. It’s been definitely trial and error … but it’s also been super rewarding at the same time. And I feel like the community has been really good to us, and they’ve been patient with us. We are always learning and evolving.”
Reagle and Rasmussen put a lot of thought into the design of their location.
“We had them put in the brick wall, because we wanted to keep that downtown historic feel in the building,” said Reagle. “And then we also wanted some modern touches. A lot of our inspiration comes from other coffee shops we’ve been to in bigger cities, like Portland, Seattle or New York.”
Zz Coffee launched its monthly latte menu on Nov. 17, featuring flavors like Pumpkin Pie, Chocolate Silk Pie, Pecan Pie and Banana Cream Maca. Monthly specialities change every month and are only available on Sundays. All of their coffee is made using a unique coffee bean, delivered fresh and green before being roasted locally to light, medium, or dark levels.
The rest of the menu includes classic offerings such as Espressos, Americanos, Cappuccinos, Macchiatos, Cortados, Lattes, Mochas, Drip Coffee, Cold Brews and Café au Laits. They also serve Matcha, Chai, tea, cocoa, Lotus Energy drinks, lemonade, and Italian sodas. The new winter menu features the Sugar Cookie Latte, Orange Cardamom, Toasted Praline and a Candy Cane Cold Brew.
Zz Coffee’s permanent specialty drinks include the Honey B. Latte (Honey Bee and pollen), Pistachio Cream (white chocolate pistachio), Lovers Latte (vanilla strawberry), In Bloom (rose lavender), Black Sesame (with condensed milk), Horchata Chai (cinnamon caramel), and the Ube Matcha (house-made ube).
One of Rasmussen’s goals at the Plant Box is to make selecting a houseplant easy and simple, for both newcomers and plant experts.
“I’ve had people come in and have no experience and have never had a house plant, and then I have people who have hundreds of house plants, so I want to provide plants that are really easy going and low maintenance for those people that are just starting out.”
Some plants available for purchase in include the Zz plant, a popular, low-maintenance houseplant known for its shiny, dark green leaves and tolerance for neglect, the snake plant, a low-maintenance succulent, the money tree plant, a tropical houseplant with hand shaped, glossy green leaves and a unique braided trunk, the pothos, a trailing vine with heart shaped leaves, spider plant, which has long, arching, grass-like leaves, and the monstera, another tropical offering known for its large, glossy leaves.
Both companies post frequently on their social media pages. You find more information about their offerings and menus here:
Zz Coffee on Facebook
Zz Coffee on Instagram
The Plant Box on Instagram
Store hours for both shops are Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Sunday from 9 a.m. to noon.