Owner of Riverbend Roastery opening second coffee shop in Church Hill

The coffeeshop’s future home was an infill development that was completed in recent years. (Mike Platania photo)

Alexa Schuett is at it again in Church Hill.

The owner of Liberty Public House, Riverbend Roastery and the soon-to-open Chimbo Sandwich Shoppe, is working on her fourth concept in the neighborhood, Peaberry Coffeehouse at 1301 N. 32nd St. 

The new spot will take a ground floor space in a mixed-use building at the corner of 32nd and S Streets that was recently built by local development firm Cava Cos. 

Schuett said feedback from customers at Riverbend, which was once Captain Buzzy’s, helped drive the decision to pursue another café in the Church Hill North area. 

“A friend of a friend reached out and said, ‘Hey I live over this way and I walk all the way to Riverbend. I’d love if we had a Riverbend-esque space over here,’” Schuett said.

Alexa Schuett

“I didn’t even know it was for lease…I was asked nicely and I said I’d go look. It took a while to decide if we had the bandwidth to take on two (new places) at the same time,” she said, referring to her new Chimbo Sandwich Shoppe that’s set to open in the coming weeks in the old 8 ½ space at 2709 E. Marshall St. 

She wound up signing a lease for the roughly 1,000-square-foot 32nd Street space, which she said she’s planning to turn into a cozy, inviting coffeeshop. 

“It’ll, ideally, be a community space for whatever they need: a place to get a coffee in the morning, a place to do work, a place to hang out with their friends,” Schuett said. 

The new shop is named for a type of arabica coffee bean that’s Schuett and her wife’s favorite. 

“(Peaberry beans) are smaller and a bit sweeter. It’ll be our signature coffee,” Schuett said, noting Peaberry’s beans will be roasted by Riverbend. 

The rest of the new café’s menu will primarily be baked goods and grab-and-go items. The space isn’t outfitted with a full commercial kitchen, so Schuett said they won’t serve the hot food that’s become part of Riverbend’s operation. 

“Riverbend has kind of accidentally turned into a sandwich space. I’m trying to avoid that here,” Schuett said. 

Peaberry is aiming to open sometime in May, and Schuett said they’re also working to have Chimbo Sandwich Shoppe open sometime in March. 

Elsewhere in Church Hill North a new taqueria, Taco Vegana, is preparing to open at the corner of Oakwood Avenue and P Street. 

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