Photo by Leah Tuckwiller
Leah Tuckwiller
Contributing writer
A Roanoke Valley favorite is setting down roots in Salem. Bean Bliss Coffee Bar, which has operated for the past year as a food truck, celebrated a grand opening on Monday, Jan. 14, to welcome new and returning customers to its new brick and mortar location on College Avenue.
Owner Crystal Bowles started Bean Bliss Coffee Bar in April 2024, operating the café in the same food truck as her husband Brent’s barbecue and catering outfit, Big Daddy’s BBQ – but it quickly became clear that space would be an issue. An opening on South College Avenue turned out to be the answer; less than a year after opening for business in the truck, Bean Bliss now calls Salem its permanent home.
Having the coffee bar in the truck originally “worked out great,” Bowles said. “But we quickly realized that we needed a little bit more space than what he had. So, we either needed to get a bigger food truck, or I needed to find my own space. … [We] fell in love with [the space on College Avenue], so we decided this is what we were going to do.”
As a food truck, the combination of Bean Bliss and Big Daddy’s BBQ garnered regular customers across the Roanoke Valley, and Bowles noted that while she looks forward to her business being in a new home and welcoming new faces to her base of regulars, she also hopes that her past regulars from the food truck will be able to make the trip to Salem to see them.
“We were going to a lot of businesses during the week and serving lunch,” Bowles explained, “so we had our regulars there, and on weekends we would do festivals and events, or private events and parties. [In the new space,] I’m hoping to get a regular base of folks that I can get to know.”
While it will be a change to have Bean Bliss Coffee Bar settled into one location, it’s a change Bowles says she’s looking forward to. Heavy, delicate equipment like espresso machines and shifting components like syrups and bottles created difficulty with transportation, requiring Bowles to set up and take down her entire station in order to travel.
“I’m enjoying the fact that I’m not having to take down and put up [the coffee bar] at every event we do,” she joked.
The new location is driven toward convenience and a comfortable atmosphere; the drink and food menus are all packaged to be taken on the go, but the live-edge walnut bar, café tables, and comfortable seating all make the new coffee bar cozy. Tall storefront windows illuminate the inviting space, and Bowles and her staff are friendly and welcoming.
For now, as the coffee bar establishes itself on College Avenue, the menu features pastries, quiche, desserts and sandwiches on craft breads, as well as a full selection of coffee and tea beverages. In the future, Bowles said she hopes to feature selections from her husband’s barbecue repertoire.
Bowles also emphasized the role of the community in the success of the business, both in its origins as a mobile operation and as she now moves into the next phase of Bean Bliss Coffee Bar.
“As soon as I announced that I was moving into the new space,” she said, “there’s been so much support and excitement, people stopping by [to ask] ‘when are you going to open?’ … I couldn’t have asked for better community support. Our neighbors in the building have been really nice and supportive and helpful, and they’re also excited. It’s been fun to start this out.”
After a successful grand opening earlier this month, Bean Bliss Coffee Bar is ready and eager to serve new and returning customers alike, opening six days a week as they get ready to greet the Salem community. For full hours of operation, a peek into the space, and menu details, visit www.beanblisscoffeebar.com, or stop in to say hello at 9 South College Ave.
