A small coffee stand inside a gray trailer sits just off Highway 15-501 in Chapel Hill, where customers gather around Adirondack chairs and a picnic table on warm days. SaBean’s Coffee and Smiles, which opened in early December, is the dream project of owner Sabine Farer-Buers, who has worked for years to make it a reality.
Farer-Buers, originally from Germany, moved to the U.S. 18 years ago. The name “SaBean’s” comes from her first name, Sabine. While it’s pronounced differently in German, people in the U.S. started calling it “Sa-bean.”
After moving to the U.S., Farer-Buers had to leave her nursing career behind because of the lengthy process required to regain her license. She then turned to another passion: coffee. Over the years, she worked at several coffee shops, including Breakaway in Carrboro and The Purple Bowl in Chapel Hill, while managing teams and making coffee.
But Farer-Buers always dreamed of opening her own coffee shop. She kept the business plan on her computer for years, hoping to bring it to life one day.
“I wanted to do it for myself, all this work, all the commitment, and all the heart I put into this,” Farer-Buers said.
Now, SaBean’s is a one-woman operation, with Farer-Buers serving as the owner, manager, and primary barista. On occasion, her children help out by working the register. Since its opening in December, SaBean’s has steadily attracted new customers, thanks to word-of-mouth and social media buzz. While the shop had a slow start, Farer-Buers said that once the community began sharing the news, business quickly gained momentum.
“It took about two weeks to get momentum. People started talking about it and posting on social media, neighborhood Facebook pages, and Listservs,” she explained. “Since then, it’s really taken off.”
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