The Spruce Tree Espresso House, at 318 E. Main St., has been sold to Bill and Linda Marty, proprietors of The Silver Bean just down the street. While the menu will change somewhat, much of the shop’s style and even offerings will remain the same, said Elizabeth Wilson, one of the site’s new managers.
“We’ll keep the same style. We might paint inside, but not for a little bit,” Wilson said. “We do have Wi-Fi, for everybody. Not really a lot has changed. We tried to keep the same menu, as close to what we could do as possible, so that their customers didn’t have to go to Starbucks.”
The new name? Bean Tree.
Spruce Tree, which has been in operation since 2006, had been under ownership of Sharon King since 2013. According to Wilson, King reached out to The Silver Bean about the possible sale.
“In the last year, we really have done very well over there,” Wilson said of the Airstream trailer-turned coffee shop at 410 W. Main St. “We don’t have a lot of sit-down area, and so during the winter a lot of people want to come sit, and we have a bench, two seats, and then a little couch inside.” They jumped at the opportunity to expand.
The transfer officially happened just after Christmas and was somewhat hectic, she added, but operations have calmed down now, and Silver Bean regulars have learned of the new spot.
Barista Kathy Stiteler started working at Spruce Tree about a year ago and has stayed on through the management shift. Stiteler said that much feels the same about the pastel-walled shop, although some of the interior artwork changed over the winter holiday.
The menu will also benefit from being able to collaborate with The Silver Bean, Wilson said.
“All of our pastries and bagels and everything like that, we make from scratch,” she said. “We have a commercial kitchen over at The Silver Bean. That’s where we bake all our goodies, and so people love that. We’re keeping the Desert Sun coffee, but we’re also going to bring in our 81301 that we get from Durango.”
Hours of operation are 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday.
ealvero@the-journal.com
