Brunswick's Beans in the Belfry welcomes new owners
Sep. 5—After nearly 20 years in operation, the Brunswick coffee shop Beans in the Belfry on Thursday began a new chapter when a Virginia couple took over as owners.
"I feel like I completed my mission," business founder Melanie DiPasquale said. "I came, I conquered — and, yeah, [it's] time for a new project."
DiPasquale is searching for that new project, but she's proud of the community she built around Beans in the Belfry.
The new co-owners, Eddie Nunez and Stefani Penaranda of Lucketts, Va., want to preserve that legacy.
"We want people to learn the history of how this place was opened and how she just didn't create a business, she created a community," Penaranda said. "We want people to know that."
Nunez and Penaranda, who are married, have had a busy few days since they took over.
The couple said the community has been welcoming since they took over. With the rush of the Labor Day weekend, they've already met plenty of customers.
The pair have always been in love with Beans in the Belfry. They often visited Brunswick to walk along the C&O Canal, and would stop by the cafe for a bite or drink.
The seating area to the left of the entrance caught Nunez's eye when they first visited. A red, patterned sofa decorated with cushions sits next to a wooden coffee table, with another patterned chair on one side and the stained glass window on the other.
"It looks like 'Friends' or 'That '70s Show', and I'm a big fan of those shows," he said.
Penaranda fell in love with the fact that Beans in the Belfry is in a church. Churches have so much meaning, she said, but she liked that the space was repurposed as a coffee spot.
Nunez and Penaranda own several other businesses, such as a snowplow business and a day care. They also each have their own careers — Nunez is in cybersecurity and Penaranda is in real estate.
Despite their other businesses, the couple said, they felt that they hit a lull. Their businesses were running smoothly and almost automatically, and they wanted to jump into a new challenge.
When they saw that Beans in the Belfry was for sale in the spring, they applied to the broker, and met DiPasquale shortly after.
DiPasquale said the couple's enthusiasm and work ethic convinced her that they should take over the business. Their energy is exactly what Beans in the Belfry needs, since the coffee shop still has untapped potential, she said.
"I'm on my down slope and so there are all kinds of avenues that haven't been explored and that's the best kind of business to buy because it hasn't reached its maximum yet," she said. "It's still brewing."
Nunez and Penaranda don't want to change the coffee shop extensively, they said. They plan to maintain the whimsy of the space.
For example, they said, they want to host more events with community partners and hold their own events.
They want to paint a mural on one inside wall and create a section with newspaper clippings featuring DiPasquale to honor her and her legacy.
DiPasquale will still hang around the coffee shop to offer support and advice to the couple as they settle in as owners, she said.
Nunez said DiPasquale reminds him of his mother, a single mom raising him and his sister while working three jobs.
"[DiPasquale] did the same thing. That's why I feel like I need to honor her for everything she has done," Nunez said.
Nunez's mother will also join her son and daughter-in-law at the cafe, most likely as a manager since she has run food establishments, Penaranda said.
As a pastry chef, she might whip up new sweet treats for the menu.
The couple's two sons — ages 6 and 5 — are part of the team, Penaranda said. They've already started helping prep food in the evening and bringing customers their food, she said.
Follow Clara Niel on Twitter: @clarasniel
