Beans & Cream: New owners take over for original owners

By Avonlea Brown

“Let’s meet up for coffee sometime!”

“Sure, where?”

“How about Beans?”

On the corner of West Xenia Avenue and Main Street, the coffee shop and meeting spot Beans-n-Cream holds a prominent place in the Village of Cedarville. Yet, the change of owners in 2024 leaves questions as to the ability of Beans to remain a staple in town. 

On November 1, Paul and Diane Cope, the longtime owners of Beans in Cedarville, sold the coffee shop to Ben and Caitlin Seybold. 

“Every business has to come to the point where you don’t know what else to do and you need someone else with energy to take what you have built and bring it to higher places,” Diane Cope said. “After almost 25 years of owning Beans, we felt it was that time.”

The Copes, who took over Beans when the business was just three years old, developed the small coffee joint into the social hub of Cedarville. Townspeople, university faculty and students all convene at the corner shop for various school and social gatherings. 

The Copes wanted any new owners to connect and transition easily. Living locally was one of the qualities they looked for in a potential buyer. 

“It helps because they are close in case anything happens, and it also means they are there to build community and meet people,” Cope said. 

Caitlin and Ben Seybold have lived in Cedarville for nine years and own the Auto Repair shop. They knew the Copes and liked the thought of keeping up what they started. 

“The Copes had been so kind to Ben’s family when they first came here from Germany,” she said. “They really supported them and then supported us after we got married.” 

The idea first came when a cousin of the Seybolds mentioned the Copes’ announcement of selling Beans and wondered if Ben and Caitlin would be interested in buying and joint-owning the establishment. They had the money for a down payment, and the risk was low, so Caitlin and Ben decided to take the risk. But when their cousin backed out, they had a difficult decision
to make. 

“We had the money for the down payment, but we didn’t have the rest of the money up front,” Caitlin said. “We are really convicted in all our investments not to go into debt, just in case we are ever called to go somewhere by the Lord. So we set a deadline for getting the money together.” 

Once they committed to their decision, the Lord provided the resources for them to gather the remaining funds by their deadline. The accomplishment confirmed to the Seybolds that they were where the Lord wanted them. 

“At that point I was like, ‘This is something God is doing,’” Caitlin said. “And so I cut back on my hours at my other job and committed to this, because we needed someone to
manage things.” 

As they prepared to take over the business, Cailtin wanted to bring their heart for missions to this new venture. One of the earliest changes they made to Beans reflects their desire
for outreach. 

During a meeting about Beans, Caitlin’s lawyer suggested changing the LLC so that tax documents could be properly tracked. She thought of adding their mission goal into the LLC, making it Beans-n-Cream All Around the World.  

With this new name comes the goal of one day supporting missionaries around the world with their business. Caitlin hopes to one day feature retail coffee from different regions every month. Money made from those sales would go toward supporting a missionary from that country. 

While their plans will not be implemented until the Seybolds have successfully transitioned into the new business, Cailtin already sees God laying the foundation for outreach. 

In the short time they have owned Beans, God answered several prayers for the Seybolds. The first answered prayer came in the form of a snowstorm on January 6. Business was slow in January and the Seybold worried about their business in the first couple of months. Yet, in the midst of the bad weather, they had one of their busiest days since taking over. 

“We were like, ‘Let’s just go in and open for a little bit, it’ll probably be slow’” Cailtin said. “And we were packed. People kept rolling in.” 

The other answered prayer came in the conversations Caitlin had with regular customers. As she mentioned their future plans for missions, several customers came forward
with connections.

“There is a guy who works at the University and he does all his grading here,” Caitlin said. “And he asked us about our future plans and as I was telling him about all the little things he said, ‘You know my dad has a coffee farm in Jamaica.’ And it has come up in conversations like that, where I never would have heard of any of this. And even though we don’t have the money to start that, we are acting like we do and creating those connections.” 

They also talked to a mentor about what they should do as they considered setting profits aside for missions. 

“He told us, ‘I really want to encourage you guys, even if it is a dollar, whatever percentage you give to God, he will bless it,’” Caitlin said. “And that is what we are committed to do.”

Coffee shops own a reputation of being money holes, most small businesses not making it past the first five years. Caitlin and Ben plan to revive old traditions and create new events for their regulars, hopefully drawing in new customers at the
same time.

One of the experimental events Caitlin tried this year was a Valentine’s pen pal event. The Secret Pen Pal Exchange offered customers ages 18 and up the opportunity to create hand-written letters and exchange them with other people in a similar age group. Participants received a discount on any Valentine’s Day drink or cookie. Caitlin anticipates adding more holiday-themed events in the future. 

While still forming plans and figuring out the ins and outs of running a coffee business, Caitlin and Ben Seybold enjoy carrying on the legacy left to them. 

“The Copes developed a really strong foundation, and they have been such a good support system for us,” Caitlin said. “And I really hope that Beans can be a support for the community.” 

Supporting the community includes buying from local businesses and offering help when they can to those in need, in and outside Cedarville. While the Seybolds have big plans for Beans, Caitlin wants to keep the main message of the coffee shop the same. 

“I think it is like a home, I know that sounds generic,” Caitlin said. “A lot of people are living on campus and are feeling out of place and not feeling like they have a place to like host people or spend intentional time with people. Beans is a place of connection for them.” 

A place to gather. The Copes created this tagline for Beans with the intention of making the coffee shop a place of community. Teachers meet with their students, students have org gatherings, old friends get together for coffee and families come together at Beans. 

“We hope it continues to be comfortable,” Cope said. “There are not a lot of places in Cedarville that you can gather comfortably, and we hope Beans continues to feel that way for the people of Cedarville.”

Avonlea Brown is a senior Broadcasting, Digital Media, and Journalism major and editor of Campus News for Cedars. She likes reading, traveling, and learning new things.

Photos by Logan Howard