Uniquely is a Modesto Bee series that covers the moments, landmarks and personalities that define what makes living in the Central Valley so special.
If there’s one thing that can be said about Modesto, it’s that the people who care about the town do so passionately.
I’m sure a few names come to mind when reading that — and two of those may be Sam Pierstorff and Ruhi Sheikh.
The Modesto power couple, as I’ve come to know them, are the proud new owners of Queen Bean Coffee & Social House.
Pierstorff and Sheikh purchased the 116-year-old house turned coffee shop in September. But it wasn’t a quick process.
The six-month-long escrow was due largely to challenges in securing financing. The couple were turned down by the first bank where they applied for a loan.
“We were gutted because we knew that the seller was on a bit of a timeline,” Sheikh said.
Despite getting a “no” right off the bat, Pierstorff and Sheikh decided to try again.
“We both just knew what would happen to (Queen Bean) if we didn’t buy it,” Sheikh said. “I don’t think we’ve ever been more determined in our lives.”
The seller, previous Queen Bean owner Debra Martinez, received other offers from businesses including a law firm and an insurance company, “but nobody really wanted Queen Bean the coffee house,” Pierstorff said.
The couple got their “yes” on the next try from Valley First Credit Union. The credit union focused on the couple’s concept rather than their financial background, they said.
Pierstorff and Sheikh received a loan to purchase the property and pay construction costs. Their renovation plans include rebuilding the outdated deck and updating the kitchen.
Why was it so hard for them to receive financing?
“I work for a nonprofit. He’s a teacher,” Sheikh said. “That’s the income bracket.”
It takes much more than occupations to help define Pierstorff and Sheikh, though.
Pierstorff is a former Modesto poet laureate, former State Theatre board president, two-time contestant on “American Ninja Warrior,” creator and host of The ILL LIST, executive director of Modesto Artists Movement and a Modesto Junior College English professor — to name a few accomplishments.
And Sheikh has collected a healthy list herself: Modesto Porchfest co-founder, Stanislaus Community Foundation administrative assistant, vice president of the Stanislaus County Commission for Women, partnership manager at Stanislaus Partners in Education, Modesto Children’s Museum advisory council member, and mother of three.
Pierstorff met Sheikh at CSU Long Beach when he was finishing a graduate program in English and she was pursuing her undergraduate degree.
He was teaching part time at local community colleges and wanted to find a full-time position. Sheikh suggested he apply beyond Southern California.
“I was like, ‘What exists outside of Southern California other than San Francisco?’” Pierstorff said. “Truly ignorant to the entire Central Valley.”
Modesto Junior College offered him a job, the couple moved to Modesto in 2000 “and never looked back,” he said.
Pierstorff was 25 and Sheikh was 21 when they made the move. They got married the same year and started a family.
When the couple landed in Modesto, Pierstorff hit the ground running, engaging in the community by starting a poetry slam at Prospect Theater Project, which has led to a bigger event, The ILL LIST, at the State Theatre.
Though it was she who suggested the move outside of Southern California, the adjustment to an unfamiliar place did not come as easily for Sheikh.
“I fully floundered,” Sheikh said. “I’m an introvert, so I wasn’t gonna be like Sam and go to all the things. I just wanted to sort of be miserable for a minute.”
The couple had a son in 2001, and through Me-wuk Child Development Lab — a preschool program on MJC’s West Campus — the couple became connected with a network of families “that were doing really cool things,” Sheikh said.
From there, the couple enrolled their son in Fremont Open Plan, where Sheikh began helping out in the classroom and volunteering at events.
“It gave me the confidence to branch out and see what else was out there,” she said.
Sheikh was a stay-at-home mom for more than a decade before meeting Kate Trompetter through mutual friends.
Together, and with Tricia Rosenow, they started Mod Shop in 2013 — an event held annually the Saturday after Thanksgiving at downtown Modesto businesses where local artists and creatives can sell their wares.
“That sort of catapulted my interest in supporting moms who were very much like myself — who had a crafty side to themselves and were motivated but didn’t want to have a full-blown business,” Sheikh said.
But now she does have a full-blown business, as Queen Bean is her brainchild.
“This is her time to launch,” Pierstorff said. “This is her vision. She’s CEO. So that’s fun to watch.”
Reflecting on her time in Modesto, Sheikh said, “I just feel like Modesto gave me a safe place to land — even though I cried the whole first year that I moved here.”
She missed life in Southern California at first, but said Modesto gave her an opportunity to figure out who she wanted to be.
“All of our best friends and all of our family still live (in Los Angeles) and they’re so sick of me saying, ‘Modesto really is magic,’” Sheikh said. “The reason why I say that is a lot of the momentum that we’ve been privileged enough to experience is genuinely because the connections you make are real.”
Pierstorff said the same passion for bolstering the community did not exist when the couple were in Long Beach. Part of the reason is because larger communities already have everything, he said, so you have to try to plug yourself into those pockets. Modesto, on the other hand, is rich with possibilities.
“We love this community and we’re just trying to share that,” he said. “Not everybody loves the community as much as we do and they’re just missing networking or connections or events.”
That’s what the couple’s vision is for Queen Bean: to create a space to highlight local artists, creators and small business owners, as well as to provide a safe hangout for the city’s youth and a place to form connections and network.
Also, to give back to the community that has poured into them.
“Everything we do is like a love letter to Modesto,” Pierstorff said. “The community is behind us, so how can we lose?”
To stay up to date with events and new information about Queen Bean Coffee & Social House, visit facebook.com/queenbeancoffeehouse.
This story was originally published November 6, 2024, 3:10 PM.
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Dominique Williams writes about new business, restaurant and retail developments for The Modesto Bee. She is a Ripon native and a graduate of Sacramento State.