Business Spotlight: Artbean Coffee Roasters
Owners Khanh Tran and Spencer Okada
Artbean Coffee Roasters
19 Doyers St
We’re excited to spotlight Artbean Coffee Roasters! The shop was started by husband-and-wife-duo Spencer Okada and Khanh Tran in July 2020. They wanted to marry their love of art and coffee together. Step into their shop and you can taste the coffee they roast themselves, and purchase art from local artists.
Blog by Courtney Adams, Photos by Jordan Ji
Stepping into Artbean is like stepping into an immersive experience. The colorful street murals on Doyers Street are a beautifully appropriate preface to the storybook that is Artbean. When you enter the Artbean world, expect the barista to greet you as though you’re old friends; and, as you wait for your drink, the cozy space is perfectly sized to explore well-curated merchandise that tells a story. And, Artbean is here to show us that the best stories not only caffeinate you, but allow you to be immersed in art in ways you may have never thought possible.
For Artbean, art and coffee are an intentional marriage--and I use that metaphor intentionally, as owners Spencer Okada and Khanh Tran are the husband-and-wife-duo behind the coffee magic. Even the name itself is a blend of the two things Spencer and Khanh love most--art and coffee. Everything about Artbean is so effortlessly intentional, from the palpable sense of community to the menu itself, that it was clear that there was a story behind it all (hello Pandan latte!).
“We didn’t want to be another company just hanging art on the walls. We wanted to take that idea a step further where we actually collaborate with artists and use the coffee as a platform to showcase the art.”
And, a story it is. Like so many of us, Covid forced Spencer and Khanh to rethink both their present and their future. “As an animator, I went from freelancing to a full-time job, then to Artbean in about July of 2020, just about four months into the pandemic,” Spencer mused, recollecting a time that simultaneously feels so present yet so long ago. “Then, suddenly we were both out of jobs.” Covid did not spare Khanh’s industry, either. As a skilled interior designer who holds a Masters degree in her field, she, too, was out of work.
Therein is what lit the Artbean spark. With a smile on her face, Khanh remembered, “We weren’t pessimistic about it, though. We knew we’d come out of it and hoped life would get back to normal.” For Khanh and Spencer, that hope lay in the thoughtful care packages her mother would send them from Vietnam. These care packages would be the basis of the Artbean idea, as they were chock-full of not only love, but of coffee. With unmistakable warmth and joy, Khanh is well-able to connect the dots from these care packages to her very own storefront. “I suddenly realized I had this connection to coffee farms in Vietnam!”
It was from the love bound within their caffeinated care packages that dawned what would eventually bring Artbean to Chinatown. “Coffee became part of our routine,” remembers Khanh. Sure, Spencer and Khanh enjoyed coffee before the Covid lockdown; but, quarantine was the crux of their joint exploration of it, as a team. Together, they learned and explored different coffee and different techniques of brewing. “I thought I knew a lot about coffee,” admitted Spencer. “I was a freelancer for many years and would always work out of coffee shops. So, I had tried a lot of it. But together, we explored how you can brew the same type of coffee from a different location and get a completely different taste because every place can wholesale their beans from different locations or have their own roasting methods.”
Together, they tried various coffee beans from various places--Vietnam, Ethiopia, Columbia--and in these taste tests, they realized their love of coffee, nourished by Khanh’s Vietnamese roots, was expansive. They loved it all--from Arabica to Robusta. “We tapped back into our roots and we asked ourselves what it was we can bring from our identity to a coffee brand,” remembered Khanh. “We are artists and we love art,” Spencer mused. This much you can surely see to be true within the expert curation of everything from food to drink to merchandise--all as soothing as the purple of their ube latte. “We wanted to come up with a hybrid to bridge the art world and the coffee world. But, we didn’t want to be another company just hanging art on the walls,” Spencer said. I couldn’t help but notice this was shared without an ounce of shade, but more from a place of certainty--the recollections of someone who knows his passions in possession of a clearly defined business model and goal. “We wanted to take that idea a step further where we actually collaborate with artists and use the coffee as a platform to showcase the art.”
“We feel like we got adopted by the neighborhood. We love our neighbors and feel very welcome here.”
As if on cue, a woman then entered the shop with her sweet black labrador pup. While I assumed she was a regular based on her familiar exchanges with Spencer and Khanh, I was introduced to her and was pleased to meet Helen So (@miiasoey). While Helen is indeed an Artbean regular, she’s also one of the artists Spencer mentioned in his vision for Artbean. Helen is a prime example of the Artbean mission where art and coffee come together in the most perfectly brewed blend. One of the many things that sets Artbean apart from the rest is their commitment to the artists with whom they collaborate. And their clients are able to glean the rewards of this via a rotating menu--something you don’t often find in coffee shops.
When asked about their favorite menu items, Khanh pointed out how the Yuen Yeung is at the top of their list. “It was Helen who suggested we try this drink. Being from Hong Kong, Helen shared how popular this drink was back home; and, in working with her, we were able to put our own spin on it by using espresso instead of the traditional drip coffee.” If any of us needed proof that a curated selection and presentation of food and beverage is an art form, there you have it. It was here, in the connection forged between an artist and the coffee roaster, that a new menu item was formed--and one that’s proven to remain a steadfast choice for their clientele. And, all of Artbean’s collaborating artists, Helen included, have their art showcased on their installation wall on a rotating basis of every two months, and their merchandise sold on Artbean’s shelves where they set the prices of goods and, in turn, get paid for what’s sold.
And once again, I am presented with living proof of Spencer’s and Khanh’s mission to create a space where collaboration isn’t just a word that’s used, but rather a word in action. A drink that pays homage to both the artist’s home and the business’ creativity plus artist-curated merchandise equals an opportunity for consumer enjoyment. From a business perspective, it’s a win-win for all. Deeper than that, from the Artbean perspective, the fabric of community becomes woven even tighter. “In terms of the merchandise sold here, it varies from artist to artist,” Spencer said. “For instance, some of our artists will design limited edition labels for our coffee that we sell here. We give them commision for that up-front, too.” There is an unmistakable light to Spencer’s face when describing this; and, it dawns on me that perhaps he recognizes himself and his own artistic roots among the artists with whom he partners.
“Having a mission and being able to guide that mission, put the work in, and see the results instead of sitting behind the computer screen. That’s the best part of my job.”
Their devotion to bringing their own unique flavor to their brew is as evident in their beverage menu as it is on the art they showcase. “One of my favorite drinks is one I developed--the pandan latte,” Khanh shared. And, she must have sensed I was about to ask, because she immediately shared, “Pandan is a vanilla leaf, native to Southeast Asia; and it’s frequently used in desserts. See, coffee is a common drink. Pandan is a common flavor often found in jelly form in Vietnam. So, coming up with new drinks like this one speaks to my roots, where I’m from, and my background all at the same time.” Without a doubt, Khanh’s roots are evident in such beverage creation, for it is truly an artistic mind which can forge something so distinctive from the common. But therein lies the foundation of Artbean--a place where coffee isn’t just coffee, it’s an opportunity to bear witness to new art in multiple iterations.
Indeed, immersion of two worlds--one-of-a-kind coffee and one-of-a-kind art--is the spine of Artbean. Walking into Artbean can’t help but remind you of that feeling you get when you wrap your hands around a warm cup of coffee on a cold day and take that first soothing sip. And Spencer and Khanh echo these same sentiments for their neighborhood. “We feel like we got adopted by the neighborhood. We love our neighbors and feel very welcome here. When I think about being in business in Chinatown, I think of it as a business partnership.”
And speaking of partnerships, Spencer and Khanh seem to inherently understand the value of sharing--between the business, the customer, the artist. For them, a true business partnership “is what makes a successful collaboration. So, we want to make sure we provide as much value as we can to the artist--financially helping them sell their art and helping them find a platform to possibly reach new audiences. And it's a platform for us to reach new marketing, as well.”
“I wasn't able to find myself as a person at a traditional desk job. It was harder for me to find my place, my success. But, I feel fulfilled here.”
For Spencer and Khanh, it’s the very nature of entrepreneurship that inspires them each day. “Having a mission and being able to guide that mission, put the work in, and see the results instead of sitting behind the computer screen. That’s the best part of my job,” says Spencer happily. “It means you're actually interacting with people. You're problem solving every day. You meet new regulars. You meet new friends. No day is really the same.” Spencer and Khanh both wholeheartedly agree that for them, Artbean is not a job. Khanh elorated, “It’s an adventure where I can actually be creative. I love food and drink in general and coming up with new drink menus satisfies my desire to be creative.” And while Spencer acknowledges that while “it is as stressful as it is anything else,” with admirable self-reflection, he concedes that “it's kind of a part of my personality where if I'm comfortable, I'm bored. So, I am always trying to move forward. There's a lot of learning and experiencing and making mistakes, and then growing from those mistakes.”
At that moment, the entrepreneur within Spencer was alight and inspired. “Achieving and seeing success in small little things here and there? You get more hits of dopamine when you get something on your own and see the positive results.” It was right then that I realized I was witnessing the power of someone sharing that they were living their dream. “I wasn't able to find myself as a person at a traditional desk job. It was harder for me to find my place, my success. But, I feel fulfilled here.” Real life doesn’t often present itself with storybook endings. But, this is what Artbean creates--the empowered artist, the fulfilled business owners, the interconnected community, the valued consumer. Heroes are made when all players are allowed to be protagonists in their own stories. And through a perfectly brewed blend of coffee and art, Artbean doesn’t give us the fairytale ending. They just give us a fairytale.
Chinatown establishments like Artbean Coffee Roasters are what makes the spirit of our neighborhood. We need your support now more than ever to keep that spirit alive. Together, we can preserve Chinatown businesses and ensure Chinatown will always be open for business. To support Chinatown organizations like Artbean Coffee Roasters, donate to the Small Business Innovation Hub here:
