Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Trailside Coffee brings new food, beverage options
BELLA VISTA — Trailside Coffee Co. has opened inside the new location of Phat Tire on Riordan Road, offering a variety of beverages and food.
Owner Katie Schneider of Bella Vista started Trailside Coffee Co. in 2016 inside the Phat Tire location in Springdale. She said she has been a barista since she was 16 and has worked in coffee shops all over the U.S., moving around a lot while in her 20s. She estimated she has worked in at least 10 coffee shops. When she was 28 she moved to Bella Vista and started working on a business plan. She had trouble securing a small business loan at first, but finally got one from an independent loan company and reached out to the owners of Phat Tire, who were opening the location in Springdale. Since opening there, she has been encouraging the owners to try a similar arrangement in Bella Vista, she said.
“I come from an Italian family, so coffee was just always there,” Schneider said, adding her family drank coffee day and night. “I wanted to learn how to make coffee and be a barista.”
“As I got older I wanted to have my own space,” she said.
She likes that coffee shops give people a space to get together and laugh, have dates or hold meetings, she said.
The menu at Trailside Coffee Co. has some offerings that might be new to some.
“After working at so many coffee shops, I learned about new things and incorporated them into my menu,” she said.
For example, an affogato is a scoop of ice cream with a shot of espresso on top. At the Springdale location, they serve homemade ice cream, and she hopes to eventually do that at the Bella Vista location as well, she said. She is in the process of hiring employees.
Another menu item that Schneider learned while working in California is the Thai tea, which is a sweet, creamy iced tea, she said.
One of her signature drinks is the Soul Warmer, which includes jasmine green tea with steamed lemonade and lavender honey syrup. She said it is good for allergies because of the citrus and green tea.
She offers smoothies that are all-natural with no added sugar.
Coffees, teas, pastries, parfaits and breakfast burritos round out the menu. She carries coffee beans from Mountain Bird Coffee of Eureka Springs.
She also has a coffee trailer that she takes to events, and she has catered weddings, meetings and other events. She has also offered a hot chocolate bar for events. Customers may book the trailer for an event or have a table set-up or opt to take a carafe back to their office, she said.
Her constant companion at the coffee shop is Charlie, a full-grown Australian Shepherd. She got Charlie the year she opened the Springdale location, and he makes lots of friends and gets petted a lot and is “spoiled,” she said.
Schneider grew up in Springdale, and her grandparents lived in Bella Vista.
“I love Bella Vista. I always have. I always wanted to move here. It’s beautiful and it’s not as busy,” she said.
She likes to mountain bike and road bike as well as hike. She does photography on the side, she said, including all the product photography for her business and nature photography.
She added in her business she caters mainly to cyclists, but she also has her regulars that come in every day, particularly in Springdale.
“It’s really nice to have that community support,” she said.
Trailside Coffee Co. in Bella Vista is open daily from 7 a.m.-2 p.m. and will be open longer hours once staff is hired.