Plainview’s newest business may not be located in a traditional storefront, but it is eye-catching and certainly gathering a lot of “steam” especially in some of their drinks.
Cool Beanz, a coffee specialty truck, identifiably parked on East Highway 20, is owned by Jamie and Samantha (Wetzler) Alexander, and opened its “windows” on Monday, April 10.
The Alexanders had a few practice runs, specialty catering to the 2023 Post Prom event and also delivering drinks during the recent Alumni Tournaments, and officially kicked off their venture on Monday to a large group of kids, business people, and other visitors to try out the varied menu.
The truck was a pretty big hit online as well, picking up more than 600 followers on one social media site on Monday, and rolling over 800 followers overnight by Tuesday morning.
Samantha Alexander said that after the couple had taken a trip to Arizona, they met with a relative that specializes in coffee trucks as a living, and they decided that they’d like to run one of their own – an adventure that started with a retired Snap-On sales truck, and took about a year to complete, but has ended with some great initial success, and plans for the future.
The Beanz menu, posted online via the business social media on Facebook and Instagram, and on the truck, includes coffee and many coffee varieties, but also non-coffee flavors and drinks to appeal to everyone, as the Alexanders hope to do “We want to cater to anyone, with or without coffee, we have decaf as well,” said Samantha Alexander.
The menu also includes Lotus-brand energy additions, a few different kinds of rolls and desserts, smoothies and Boba additions.
Currently, the truck has four employees – Lauren Darnall, Leighton Medina, Abbie Kromarek and Jessica Eichberger, full and part time, in addition to owners Jamie and Samantha Alexander.
Plans are to have the truck open from 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday, with hours on Saturday from 7 a.m. to noon, and no planned hours on Sundays. Alexander said that she has already had request to have the truck open a few nights, and they will also be able to move the truck to other locations, booked with the Pierce County Fair and Creighton’s BerryPepper Days – in addition to Plainview’s Klown Festival, though likely the truck will be parked in its normal spot that weekend.
To get ahold of the Alexanders, visit their Facebook or Instagram social media pages, or stop by the truck.
Most days, the Cool Beanz truck can be found on the north side of East Highway 20.