'We gotta keep going': Benson coffee shop owners look to the future
It hasn't been long since Dripped + Draped closed in Benson, but the owners are looking to the future. The business, known for its pink building and colored lattes, opened March 13, 2020, the day before the pandemic state of emergency.
It hasn't been long since Dripped + Draped closed in Benson, but the owners are looking to the future. The business, known for its pink building and colored lattes, opened March 13, 2020, the day before the pandemic state of emergency.
It hasn't been long since Dripped + Draped closed in Benson, but the owners are looking to the future. The business, known for its pink building and colored lattes, opened March 13, 2020, the day before the pandemic state of emergency.
It hasn't been long since Dripped + Draped closed in Benson, but the owners are looking to the future.
The business, known for its pink building and colored lattes, opened March 13, 2020, the day before the pandemic state of emergency.
"Just opening a business is a rough roller coaster ride. And when we got hit with that, we were like 'skkrttt...' What are we supposed to do ... because no one could help that," said co-owner Vanelle Littrell.
The owners, who are sisters, say the Black Lives Matter movement brought in a lot of business. They thought it would help them survive, but it was not enough.
"Sales just plummeted month to month and it just got worse each month. And finally, my sister and I had to make that decision," said co-owner Vandra Caldwell.
Caldwell said they thought back to why they started the business in the first place, women.
"Whether that be the clothes that you wear, you can be sassy or express yourself and fierce, and the drinks we wanted those to empower women too, with the health benefits and everything that comes along with that," Caldwell said.
They started their next chapter Tuesday night with the event 'Life's a Drip', a conversation with women entrepreneurs.
"This is actually a transformation for us, to see where this leads, we want to start doing workshops next and start working hands-on with the community and really with other women like us," Caldwell said.
While this pink space will go away, both sisters own other businesses and they're committed to a bright future.
"OK, we got to fix our crowns. We got to get up and we gotta keep going," Littrell said.