SIOUX CENTER—It’s been five years since Paul Albert of Sioux Center accomplished his dream by purchasing Butler’s Café & Coffee in town, and just in time for the summer heat, he’s come up with a new line of drinks to help people stay cool and refreshed.
To celebrate five years of ownership, Albert plans to have an open house, though the date has yet to be set. To stay up to date on when it will be held, Albert recommended people follow Butler’s Café and Coffee on Facebook or @butlerscoffeevibes on Instagram.
Albert knows a coffee shop isn’t usually a person’s first place to turn to for a cool drink during the summer, but there are plenty of options for customers.
“We sell more than coffee. Most coffee shops do. There are iced drinks and smoothies and things like that. Even soda pop,” Albert said.
There are even new drinks available: agua fresca, horchata and Australian lemonade.
Agua fresca is a fruit-based drink with naturally sweetened juice. Butler’s will initially offer several simple flavors: strawberry, mango and pineapple. More options can be added in the future based on customer feedback and requests.
“I have a young Hispanic girl on staff who was the one who said agua fresca would be a tremendous idea. She came from California and says it’s big out there and could be big here,” Albert said. “Feedback is always huge. I encourage feedback from my baristas and my customers. That’s how we come up with drinks.”
Horchata is also popular within different Spanish cultures.
“It’s more of a rice milk, honey and cinnamon type drink that’s very delicious,” Albert said.
Then there’s the Australian lemonade featuring real lemons and condensed milk to give it a thicker, creamy texture.
“Maybe not quite as healthy of a drink, but it’s still very flavorful and delicious,” Albert said.
After five years of running Butler’s, Albert knows how easy it is to get stuck in a rut, ordering the same drink during every visit. With these new drinks, he said it’s the perfect time for customers to find their new favorite.
“Just because it’s 95 degrees out, doesn’t mean we don’t have an option for you,” Albert said.
Albert is grateful for the chance to offer these drinks to the public, since owning a coffee shop was his longtime dream. He compared it to being like Sam from “Cheers,” getting to build relationships with his customers.
Those relationships helped through hard times with the COVID-19 pandemic restrictions and impact on business.
“I had a lot of people come through that I never saw before because I think they really thought we needed to rally around small businesses that are getting hurt by this,” Albert said. “The silver lining is that after we came out of that, after the restrictions were lifted and people were able to go out again, there was this exuberance.
“Sales increased exponentially just because people were sick of being in the house and sick of being told they can’t go here or there, or they had to wear a mask or stay 6 feet apart. Once those restrictions lifted, people were glad to be in some kind of normalcy again.”