Java Dudes expanding
Dustin Breazeale and Justin Reed were looking for a more laid-back lifestyle when they left Dallas and moved to Northwest Arkansas. A year later, both have day jobs as well as a new business that they are busy expanding.
“We love coffee,” Breazeale said simply. He was living in Bentonville but traveling to Bella Vista where his parents live when he saw the coffee truck in front of the Artist Retreat Center. But when he stopped to get his favorite beverage, he realized the business didn’t have consistent hours. When he contacted the owner, he discovered the owners just didn’t have time to devote to the truck.
Breazeale is a hair stylist and he knew he could make his own hours. Reed, a real estate agent, also has a flexible schedule. So they teamed up to buy the truck and rename it, Java Dudes. That was only the beginning.
Although previous owners had trouble keeping employees, Breazeale said he hasn’t had the same problem. While he hasn’t found many experienced baristas, he’s found dependable employees willing to learn. He also found the Busy B’s Bakery which supplies pastries including its popular kolaches.
Besides coffee drinks, it makes smoothies, shakes and iced coffee in the truck.
While the drive-through coffee
truck business has been good, customers told him there was something missing, Breazeale said. They needed a place to sit and talk while they drank their coffee. So he and Reed looked for a location and found one just a few feet away.
The Artist Retreat Center was once the home of the Linebarger family, owners of the Bella Vista Resort from 1917 to 1952. Behind the log cabin, another building was once used to make wine.
In 2014, Sara Parnell bought the building and the surrounding land and opened the Artist Retreat Center. It’s been the meeting place for several groups in the area and is sometimes used for concerts
and other special events.
In the parking area, Parnell added electric hookups and brought in food trucks.
Leasing the lower level of the log cabin won’t change anything, Parnell said. The groups can continue to meet, although they may want to move upstairs where there’s a large open space. The former winery building can also be used for meetings
or special events. She hopes to restart a monthly concert series in the fall, she said.
The only difference will be that the artists who use the facility will have a convenient place to buy coffee, she said.
Breazeale said the indoor coffee shop will probably have a different menu from the drivethrough. They will probably add some lunch items eventually. There’s a full
kitchen that they will remodel for the business, he said, and they have already ordered small tables and chairs. They plan to offer free WiFi and enough plugs to keep laptop users charged up.
Having the indoor space close to the drivethrough will help solve some storage problems they had been wrestling with. The Coffee truck goes through a lot of milk and milk alternative like
almond milk, coconut milk and cashew milk, he said.
While the truck is open 6 a.m. to 3 p.m., except for Saturday when it stays open until 6 p.m.; the new location will be open from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. at first. The hours may be adjusted if there’s enough demand, he said.
The grand opening — tentatively planned for the first of September — will feature live music.