By DAVID TUMA
The Belton Journal
Arusha’s Coffee was created in 2012 when Hatem Chouchane and Ernst Jacques purchased Heidenheimer Coffee on East Street in Downtown Belton.
Over the years Arusha’s has added a variety of items to the menu.
They now have more than 100 varieties of tea available. They also carry multiple varieties of custom teapots.
Their newest venture is the addition of a bean roaster to the facility. The bean roaster is visible through double doors on First Avenue.
“We plan on offering classes on how to roast coffee. We can roast 50 pounds of coffee at a time now. The time varies for the different blends. It takes about 35 minutes to roast 20 pounds at 350 degrees. This is a new machine we added, and we can take custom orders,” said Jacques.
“This was a very big decision for us. It is a life-changing event for our business. People can view the roasting from the street. We wanted that to happen. The orders are starting to come in as the word gets out, that we have this ability now.
Arusha’s changes its blends of coffee, to see what sells.
“The base selection we carry does not change. Wine beans that have been fermented in wine are a favorite right now,” said Jacques.
They started offering breakfast tacos a few years ago. There is a large selection of desserts on hand each day. They serve lunch daily as well.
Starting a small business is anything but easy. Not many people take that chance. Small businesses make up a huge part of the economy in this country. Customers walking in the doors is a big part of that.
“We came to Belton and purchased the business. So many people came by our coffee shop just to say hello and welcome us. We weren’t used to that. We sat out on the couch out in front of the building one afternoon around 2014 and not a single car drove by. That kind of scared us. We put a lot of effort into this business and community. Over the years the City of Belton and the community have been a huge help to us. I love this community,” said Jacques.
A few years ago, they did a remodel of the outside of the building. They discovered the original colors on the front double doors and changed the colors of the building to match. The original color was covered under several layers of paint. Behind the counter in the kitchen, the flooring is covered in stainless steel plating.
So far, Arusha’s has roasted around 1,000 pounds of coffee beans on site.
BELTON JOURNAL/DAVID TUMA
Ernest Jacques shows the new coffee bean roaster Arusha’s Coffee added this year. The roaster can roast 50 pounds of coffee at a time. The store will be offering classes on how to roast coffee beans.
