Camaraderie served up at Java's Enchanted Bean

FOSTORIA — When Dionna Brenamen was working to start Java's Enchanted Bean in Fostoria, she created what has now become a safe space for everyone. What started as a non-franchise small business that helped to revitalize Fostoria's downtown and took almost three years to build, is now celebrating three years of success. She wanted to build something downtown Fostoria didn't have — a hometown, home-grown gathering place. She said she committed to the project just before the COVID pandemic hit, a time of political turmoil. "It felt like people were being pitted against one another," she said. "It really seemed like we needed something people could really dig into, something hopeful and creative while a lot of things were falling apart. As we were working on the project, our vision became more and more focused: we needed to provide a safe space because things weren't feeling safe at the time." On the wall at Java's Enchanted Bean is a prominently displayed, brightly-colored star, that guides the principles that is important to Brenamen. She said she built the coffee shop as a gathering space for the community to enjoy and be their true self. "I know some may not agree with these principles, but we want people to understand when they come in, that it's okay to just be who they are," she said. "That's why we exist." As a small business owner herself, Brenamen believes that remembering the "why" is the most important part of owning a business. Without the why, it's easy to want to give up. Java's Enchanted Bean exists for the community and the community have made it clear to Brenamen that the space is important. "People come up to me and say, 'I feel like I can be at home here," she said. "It's the camaraderie." But for Brenamen, it's also about enjoying a nice drink with friends. All of the beans she uses for coffee or espresso drinks are roasted at Bailiwick's in Tiffin. "We know the beans are always going to be fresh," she said. Both decaf and regular beans are available at Java's Enchanted Bean. Brenaman says a common complaint of customers is that decaf can sometimes taste what she calls "empty," but not with her beans. "They're actually good beans." When deciding on the menu, she says she knew she wanted to include coffee, tea and baked goods, and she wanted to have a good selection of each. The only problem is that she didn't want to overwhelm her customers with choices or her baristas with too much training all at once. So she took a very intentional approach. "We wanted to make sure that what we offered was made correctly and done well and people would have a good experience," she said. She said she offered only a few items at the beginning and has very slowly built up the menu to what it is today. "We really wanted to make sure that what we were offering was quality and we were offering our guests a good experience," she said. Brenamen still tries to respect the customer's time and works hard to find a balance between craft and speed. "People are still on lunch break or just wanted to run in and grab something. You have to be as proficient as possible while also being efficient." Even Brenamen's view on coffee is inclusive. She says she has a fair number of customers who say they're not really a coffee person, but they're trying to train their palette so they can be part of the social scene of coffee. "They say they're not a coffee drinker because they like all the sweet drinks," she said. "But even so, they're a coffee drinker." So she gets to know the customer and asks about what they do like and then recommends a drink based on what they say. Tea-drinkers, coffee-drinkers or those just there for the fun of it, everyone is welcome at Java's Enchanted Bean. Brenamen enjoys making drinks for everyone. "We make them a party in their mouth," she said.