Cool Beans new owner another young female entrepreneur on Fourth Street

Since Anna Steckler purchased Cool Beans Café in Huntingburg sales are up and she’s staying very busy, but this isn’t where the 22-year-old ever expected to be.

The 2008 Southridge graduate hadn’t even been in the store until a year ago when she applied for a job there. Anna was looking for something to make a little money while she figured out her next step. She was between semesters and was considering starting a business making organic baby food. “My uncle Jerry (Steckler of Steckler Farms) was looking at installing a commercial kitchen,” Anna said, “and I was wanting to do something in the organic industry but I needed a job to get me by.”

After starting at the café, Anna and the owners, then Becky Menke and Charlene Hicks, jokingly talked about her buying the business. Within six months Anna was running the business and seriously considering going through with the purchase. “I took my time deciding,” Anna said, “and I think it was good to manage and run the business for a while before I purchased it.”

During that time Anna learned about all of the mundane tasks required to keep the business running smoothly. Things like paying the bills, working with vendors, dealing with health inspections, paying employees, and all the other monotonous, behind-the-scenes work that has to be done. In spite of it, she moved forward with developing a business plan and purchased the business in June.

Anna wasted no time in making her mark on the newly purchased building and business. She, with help from her dad, Mark Steckler, and other friends, began redecorating soon after the purchase was complete. She added black accents to the interior and repainted furniture over the Fourth of July weekend and opened up with the new look and fresh paint smell the next Monday.

“My favorite part of being the owner of a business is having an idea and being able to act on it,” Anna said. “and then seeing customer’s reactions.”

Some changes Anna wants to incorporate include adding more locally produced organic items to the menu. She now offers organic lattes flavored with organic syrups. They are slowly gaining popularity and Anna is trying to balance adding the organic menu items for those customers and maintaining her regulars.

Anna’s interest in the health benefits of organic began when her father, Mark Steckler, and her uncle Jerry became more and more involved with the movement when she was still in high school. As is the case many times, Anna had success dealing with some medical issues as a teen by eating what some consider to be the healthier alternative to industrial farming.

Some things haven’t changed, Anna still offers coffee from Hobknob Roasting Company out of New Albany, the roaster the shop has carried since Becky and Charlene purchased it two years ago.

Anna has started to bake the muffins, cookies and other pastries from scratch in the morning before she opens with help from her mom, Collette. It’s become one of her favorite parts of the business along with offering private parties. “It’s a lot of fun to work these private parties,” Anna said. “It’s also easier. We know what we are making ahead of time and we know how much to make.”

Anna is among four other women entrepreneurs that have recently opened businesses on Fourth Street. These other women owned businesses include; Tonya Brothers-Bridge of Transformation Team, Sarah Kamman of Single Thread, Barb Meyer of Meyer’s Sweet Treats, and Dr. Jenna Gogel’s new chiropractic practice, Optimal Performance Chiropractic.

Cool Beans currently has about 12 employees. She has expanded the hours at the café to 6 a.m. to 5 p.m., Monday through Saturday. Their number is 683-5851 and they have a Facebook Page here.