A coffee stand sits inside a small gray trailer just off Highway 15-501 in Chapel Hill. On warm days, customers gather around Adirondack chairs and a picnic table. SaBean’s Coffee and Smiles opened in early December, but for owner and operator Sabine Farer-Buers, the coffee stand was the culmination of years of work.
Farer-Buers is originally from Germany and moved to the United States 18 years ago. SaBean’s is a reference to Farer-Buers’ first name, Sabine. In German, it's said differently, but when she came to the U.S. people pronounced it "Sa-bean."
When she began living in the U.S., she had to leave her career as a nurse behind due to the long and strenuous process of regaining her license. That’s when she turned to another passion: coffee.
Over the years, Farer-Buers worked several jobs making coffee and managing different local coffee shops including Breakaway in Carrboro and The Purple Bowl in Chapel Hill.
But, Farer-Buers dreamed about opening her own shop. She said she had the business plan on her computer for years.
“I wanted to do it for myself eventually, like all this work and all the commitment and all the heart that I put into this,” Farer-Buers said.
SaBean’s is a one-woman show with Farer-Buers working as the owner, manager and primary barista. Sometimes though, you may spot one of her children manning the register. Since she opened in December, she said she has seen a steady flow of new customers and interest as word travels about SaBean’s — despite a slow start.
“So it took two weeks until it got some momentum because people started to talk about it and put it on social media and on Facebook pages and on neighborhood Listservs,” Farer-Buers said. “And since then, it just has taken off.”
