By Wendy Nugent, Harvey County Now
NEWTON—Customer Liz Alderfer of Newton, who attends Bethel College, told owners of Sage & Juliette Coffee Co. on Thursday that her mother told her about them.
“I was like, ‘I have to go,'” she told them.
Owners, sisters Lukabella Sage Wiebe, 18, and Lacianna Juliette Wiebe, 15, had their coffee truck parked in the Bank of the West parking lot that day, selling coffees and smoothies for around $5 each .
Both live near Goessel on the family farm. Lacianna is a sophomore from home while Lukabella attends Butler College online.
Menu items include lattes, mochas, cappuccinos, frappuccinos, chai lattes, iced tea, hot tea, real fruit smoothies in Tropical Twist and SunShine Smoothie flavors, as well as specialties such as as White Dirty Chai, Brown Sugar Shaken Espresso, Honey Bee Latte and The Classic. They also sell Affogato, which is ice cream with espresso.
While they don’t have decaffeinated options, they plan to add caffeine-free items to the menu, like lemonade refreshers, which are concoctions of tea, lemonade, and juice. Their cold drinks are 16 ounces and hot ones are 12 ounces.
The official opening of the company took place on June 18.
Lukabella said they settled primarily in Harvey County, such as Newton and Hesston, as well as Goessel.
“Newton is our main location,” she said, adding that they’ve never served at the same location twice because they like to serve at different locations around town.
“Almost every time we go out, we’re invited somewhere different,” Lukabella said.
They experiment with their way of doing each place and they also experiment with their schedules, which are usually 7:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. when they go somewhere. Their next location will be these Wednesday-Friday hours at Newton Food Truck Court, and they post on their Facebook and Instagram page where they will be each week.
The pandemic led the ladies to make coffee when their family moved here about two and a half years ago, before the quarantine. During quarantine, the two played with instant coffee, then they got an espresso machine, serving to family and friends.
“We both really enjoyed it,” Lukabella said. “Then we went to an event last August. There were food trucks and we were like, “Let’s start a business,” jokingly. Our father loved the idea, totally supported it and helped us get started.
Having the business is a great way to combine your business major with the business to gain real-world experience.
Lacianna loves having business.
“I just make the coffee,” she said of what she loves. “Bella does the business side and social media, and I’m more like making coffee and chai.”
She likes to experiment and create her own drinks.
Lukabella said every recipe they had, they played with and made their own.
It seems to have paid off, as their business is growing. Currently they serve two days a week, usually Wednesdays and Thursdays, and they want to add another day, possibly Tuesday or Friday. They also organize events on weekends.
They found a coffee roaster they love in Texas called Independence Coffee Co.
They love coffee and plan to buy the products they need locally, such as syrups. They also use natural ingredients, like real fruits and juices in the smoothies.
The sisters plan to keep their business for a while and be there year-round.
Currently the money they earn is reinvested in the business and they have also talked about joining a baker.