Stephanie and James Ashner love traveling and discovering coffee shops in different communities and had a dream of bringing one to Burlington.
The couple made that dream a reality this week when they officially opened The B. Hive Cafe and Roastery for business.
“We have traveled the world, and we know good coffee places and the feeling those places leave on a community,” Stephanie Ashner said in her bustling cafe on Tuesday morning. “We want to be a destination for people in our town.”
The process has been three years in the making with Stephanie Ashner working with contractors designing the layout of the colors in the hopes of achieving a welcoming environment for all.
James Ashner grew up in Burlington and owns a family business, The Swimming Pool Store, which is in the same building as the cafe but separated by a wall.
Ashner, 48, is originally from Bristol but said she has moved 32 times in her life. Ashner worked at ESPN for 27 years.
The couple met in the start of the COVID-19 pandemic online on the dating website Bumble in March 2020.The bee theme of the cafe is an ode to how they met.
During that time, Stephanie Asher’s youngest son Silas, now 14 years old, was undergoing cancer treatment.
“For months we dated from six feet apart,” Stephanie Ashner said. “Once we got the go-ahead from my son’s doctor, we introduced our children together.”
Silas was just 6 years old when he was diagnosed with T-cell leukemia. She said her son is now doing well.
“It was tough to go through something like that,” she said. “Those things give your perspective on life and what is important. I wouldn’t wish that on anyone. I know that experience made him a stronger person and I’m so thankful he’s doing better.”
James Ashner has two daughters, 12-year-old Violet and 11-year-old Emilie.
“After meeting in March, by June 2020 our kids played together, and we decided very quickly to meld our families. We became The Brady Bunch. We also have a granddaughter Olivia,” Stephanie Ashner said. She had her first son, Zack, now 26 years old, when she was 21.
The couple married in August 2020.
“We wanted to create a space for us to make a welcoming, family-friendly environment,” Stephanie Ashner said. “During COVID we lost so much of a sense of self and connection to others. When I was dreaming up this idea, I was struggling myself. But we thought, we know coffee and we know we could create a place that would help bring the community together.”
Customers are met with vibrant shades of blue, pink and yellow. There are multiple tables and booths for people to mingle or work.
“The response has been overwhelming,” Stephanie Ashner said. “There wasn’t a specialty coffee place in Burlington, and we wanted to bring that to people here and people seem to really like it so far.”
James Ashner said the business focuses on quality over quantity and sources its ingredients and products locally whenever possible. The pastries sold come from The Craft in East Granby.
The menu includes four options for breakfast and four more for lunch. The breakfast menu includes an egg and cheese sandwich, burrito, liege waffle with pearl sugar and avocado toast with the prices ranging from $7-$14 with add-ons available.
Lunch options are BBQ Umani wrap, grilled cheese, savory chicken and waffle and avocado toast. Prices range from $10-$14.
The drink menu includes nine different types of coffee and three signature lattes. There are also signature beverages including Olivia, U-Bee Matcha Latte and Golden Root Elixir.
The “Olivia” is an ode to Stephanie Ashner’s granddaughter, and it is made of lemonade, butterfly pea flower, galaxy syrup, sparkling water and marigold petals. Olivia was born Down syndrome, and Stephanie Asher said a portion of the money for the drink goes to the Down Syndrome Association of Connecticut.
The business had its cold opening for the last two weeks, and James Ashner said it took him 2,500 roasts before he was confident and comfortable with the coffee being produced.
“I try to be as scientific as I can and all of that work has translated into a tasty product,” he said.
James Ashner roasts the beans and has been perfecting the craft for the last two years.
“There are so many specialty coffee shops in the industry, and I’ve learned so much from going to other places and what we are doing here is honoring the bean — where it came from, its origin — and we are trying to be as cutting edge as possible,” he said.
He said it was important for him to open up a place for people of all ages to visit in his hometown.
“We are an amazing but small town, and growing up here there wasn’t a lot to do for kids,” he said.
“We pretty much just hung out in the woods. I would have liked to have had a place like this when I was younger. … We are going the extra mile with customer engagement. We are excited about the product and leaving a positive impression on everyone that comes in.”
“We built this business with love, and we built it for our community and for our kids,” Stephanie Ashner added.
Harwinton couple Elaine and Bob Sederquist sat down for a meal and coffee on Tuesday morning. Bob Sederquist had the breakfast burrito and Elaine had avocado toast.
“The coffee is exceptional,” Elaine Sederquist said. “The avocado toast was also very good. … This reminds of a place you would find in a big city like Boston or New York City.”
Farmington resident Dawn Giese ordered an egg and cheese sandwich and was dining with a friend Martha Noe from Portland, Oregon on Tuesday. Noe was in town visiting her son who lives in Burlington. Noe also ordered the avocado toast.
“It’s my very first visit and I’m impressed with every element, the staff, the food quality and the great decor,” Giese said.
“We will definitely be back,” Noe added. “I think the food is delicious. It’s a cute place with a nice atmosphere.”
The B. Hive is located at 221 Spielman Highway in Burlington. The business hours are 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Sunday.