BISBEE, Ariz. (KGUN) — Pete and Becky Skinner wanted to bring something new to the Warren District of Bisbee. They settled on the Warren Peace Cafe, the area's first coffee shop.
“We recognized that there was going to be a need in this community," Pete Skinner said. "There’s a lot of people here.”
The couple, along with their daughter and son-in-law, opened the business at the end of January. Pete and Becky run the day-to-day operations in Bisbee, where they've lived for the past three years, while their daughter and son-in-law help with the cafe's online presence and other behind-the-scenes matters.
“I don’t think we’d be what we are if it wasn’t all four of our personalities put together, because we all bring something different,” Becky said.
The cafe offers coffee, tea, energy drinks and food with a menu Pete created.
“We did not know anything about running a restaurant or coffee shop,” he said.
Pete went to Seattle to learn more about coffee and the skills needed to be a barista while the building was being renovated. He says the training and the consultant they had is paying off so far. Pete said his employees have all worked in coffee shops before, which makes the day-to-day run smoothly.
“This place is just bustling with people and conversations and food going all over the place," he said. "It’s exceeded our expectations.”
The business has become the talk of the town and a place where people want to hangout. Becky said while the renovations were being done people would stop in to see what they were doing, so she knew the community was excited.
“People would stop in daily and we started feeling the momentum of just the excitement in the community," she said. "So we started thinking we need to do this right because we want to make it special.”
For the Skinners, providing the community with a place they can hangout and feel like they're home has been the favorite part of their business. When creating the space, they included open areas, indoors and outdoors, where people could talk, play games and just make themselves at home. They also added a walk-up window for those who are walking their dogs or just want something to-go.
“They were waiting for us to open," Becky said. "They’re feeling community here.”
