Drive-thru coffee; city scavenger hunt; Grow Waynesboro — The buzz

STAUNTON – A new drive-thru coffee shop is coming to Staunton, search the city with a new event from the Staunton escape room and there’s a new batch of start-up grants for Waynesboro businesses — here’s the buzz.

Coffee

A new drive-thru coffee shop will be opening in mid-May at Staunton’s Terry Court Shopping Center.

What used to be the bank teller station of DuPont Community Credit Union will now be Queen Bean Drive-Thru Coffee.

Owner Erin Etzel said there will be two windows offering service. She’ll be serving up Trager Brothers Coffee out of Afton along with tea from Teatulia and finding a local kombucha provider.

“I lived out in Nellysford when I first moved here and had their coffee and found it delicious,” she said of Trager Brothers Coffee.

She will also be serving up some local treats, including some from Paris Cake Company and Paradise Donuts.

“I’m trying to do as local as possible,” she said. “It’s a very environmentally conscious business. My stuff is going to be compostable, recyclable. I’m trying to make as small of a footprint as possible.”

Etzel as the sole owner of the business has invested her own money through loans and will be renting the space. She will be hiring other employees to help run the shop with her.

Etzel is relatively new to the Staunton area, she moved to the city in July. She moved to the area from Maryland in 2016.

“I’m still getting to know the area, but I love Staunton, it’s the sweetest town,” she said. “I’m ready to settle some roots down for a bit.”

The idea came about back in December, when she was commuting to Charlottesville for work and wanted to grab a coffee on her way out.

“There’s nothing on this side of town,” she said.

She’s been in the food industry since she was a teenager and became a certified natural food chef in 2003 and she’s been doing that ever since.

“I’ve sort of been a gypsy a lot of life,” she said.

Now in her 40s, she’s putting down some roots and bought a home in the nearby neighborhood of College Park, so her new commute to work is fairly quick.

The drive-thru will be open Monday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 5 p.m. — but those hours could adjust once she opens. For more information visit Queen Bean on Facebook.

Hunt

Staunton’s Crack The Code Escape Room is escaping its own room and bringing a city-wide escape event.

On May 5, Escape Staunton will start at 2 p.m.

“We are excited to offer our first Escape Staunton event again this May” said Beth Brown, of Crack The Code Escape Room, in a release.

Pre-registered teams will start at Crack The Code Escape Room and receive clues to solve a series of puzzles and preform physical tasks, the release said.

Throughout the event, players will be challenged to find 16 fictional FBI agents around the downtown Staunton to win the grand prize, which have been donated by downtown businesses.

“This event is a great way to get a group of friends out and explore Staunton a little closer,” Brown said in a release. “Escape Staunton is such a fun, interactive event that gets players using their brains and searching the city to find the elusive missing agents.”

Crack The Code opened in January 2017 and offers a puzzle solving adventure.

Crack The Code Escape Room and is kind of like a live version of the game Clue. Clues to help with the puzzles can be given via televisions, phone calls or radio transmissions and each room has a set of puzzles to complete before you can escape.

“We feel this is a great way to get the public involved and out and exploring everything downtown Staunton has to offer,” Brown said.

The Escape Staunton event costs $40 per person and the last day to register is May 1. Visit EscapeStaunton.com for more information.

Grow

Waynesboro entrepreneurs now have a chance to win some grant money thanks to Grow Waynesboro.

Those who want to launch a Waynesboro business by March 2019 are eligible for up to $10,000 in start-up grants awarded by Grow Waynesboro.

Grow Waynesboro, which is a program under the city’s economic development department, is focused on finding and funding new waves of start-up businesses.

The last competition held in 2017 garnered 28 business proposal hoping to win a portion of $51,000 — only four were awarded grants.

Those wishing to be part of the new batch of grant opportunity must submit business ideas by May 22.

“Our goal between now and May 22 is to reach as many potential entrepreneurs as possible,” said Courtney Cranor, Waynesboro Assistant Economic Development Director, in a release. “At this stage in the grant award process, we want to encourage as many ideas and submissions as possible. This is the community’s moment to articulate what small businesses it would like to start, grow and support in the coming year.”

All small business ideas will be accepted through the GrowWaynesboro.com portal through May 22. Applicants will be selected to proceed to an eight-week business planning class and intensive small business coaching program, the release said.

“Grow Waynesboro is comprehensive in its approach,” said Greg Hitchin, Waynesboro Director of Economic Development, in a release. “We’re combining top-notch business training with start-up grants to ensure that our 2018-2019 businesses have both the capital and expertise they need to succeed in Waynesboro.”

Once entrepreneurs have successfully completed the business planning course, their final ideas will compete for up to $10,000 in a start-up grant award and a panel of judges will prioritize job creation, filling empty storefronts and the ability to successfully launch by March 31, 2019 in their review of the final proposals, the release said.

“Our 2018 initiative builds on the growing entrepreneurial ecosystem aided by our previous two years’ programs,” Cranor said in a release.

The 2016 and 2017 Grow Waynesboro grant cycles resulted in the opening of now iconic Waynesboro destinations, including Blue Oregano Culinary Services and Make Waynesboro, which offers community ceramics classes in the Mill at South River near the Waynesboro Greenway.

2018 represents the first year the program will continue with entirely local funding, with start-up grants provided by the local investments of regional sponsors including Lumos, Union Bank & Trust, and Shentel, with additional fundraising continuing throughout the grant cycle.

“Successful local businesses know and believe in the potential of the Waynesboro economy,” Cranor said. “Their commitment to funding the 2018 grant cycle demonstrates the full cycle of a successful local economy, with our most established businesses lifting up and assisting the next generation of entrepreneurs.”

For more information go to GrowWaynesboro.com.

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The buzz is a short recap of area business trends. Send ideas to reporter Laura Peters at lpeters@newsleader.com or follow her @peterslaura and @peterpants.

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