Behind the sugar-glazed cinnamon rolls, fresh-baked treats and soul-warming cups of coffee at The Bean, is hard work. Employees of Crepe Myrtle Cafe, a local market specializing in made-to-order crepes and fresh, produce, also spend hours preparing for the day.
It is 4:35 a.m., before most people have even pressed the snooze button for the first of many times, when Sydney and Ben Nichols, owners of The Bean, wake to prepare for the day.
By 6 a.m. they will be in the shop baking many goodies and brewing fresh coffee.
Across town and an hour later Ginger Pruvis manager of Crepe Myrtle Cafe, will open the shop.
"I’m setting up the ice tables, putting peanuts for sale and making sure everything is ready to go in the cafe for breakfast," Pruvis said.
However, the morning process for The Bean involves baking cinnamon rolls, which Ben said is a hard-working process.
“It is labor intensive compared to a pie or a cake where you just put it all in there and throw it into the oven," Ben said. "You are having to roll the dough ... and I roll them individually. I don’t think it is that much harder to do that ... But it does take time.”
Sydney said she bakes The Bean's other sweets.
Her recipe repertoire includes German chocolate cake, Key lime pie and blue bombs, biscuit-donut hybrids topped with a blueberry puree.
At Crepe Myrtle Cafe Pruvis said she is not in charge of cooking the fresh crepes, but said she cooks low-country boil and gumbo for Sundown at Blooming Colors, an event where customers can listen to live music.
Sydney and Ben, with their daughter, Hope, tend to The Bean’s customers from 7 a.m.-11 p.m. during the week.
"We work in different shifts, tagging in and out, running to the store, stocking supplies and stuff," Ben said.
At Crepe Myrtle Cafe Pruvis said she contacts local farmers for their products.
“If it’s in season around Auburn, I’m usually trying to get in touch with local farmers and get their extra produce," Pruvis said.
Pruvis said Crepe Myrtle Cafe also sells products such as granola, honey and pancake mix from Pecan Point Farms and coffee from Mama Mocha's Coffee Emporium and Roasters.
At 11 p.m., closing time for The Bean, Ben said cleaning and shutting down the shop takes 30-45 minutes.
Sydney said the work is enjoyable, but the long days take a toll.
"We enjoy it," Sydney said. "Of course, it is physically demanding ... we do get tired."
Ben said long hours is a result of their customer base, which is mostly college students.
"Traditionally, in coffee shops ... the bulk of their business is before 10 a.m.," Ben said. "So we still have to do the early hours to cater to not just students but also locals. But then students want to be here late in the night, some socializing and a lot of them studying.”
At the end of the day, Ben said he enjoys making connections with The Bean's customers.
"That's been one of the fun parts of this," Ben said. "You got folks that you see them come in the door, and you know what they are going to order, and it is kind of a first name basis type of thing.”
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