Location, location, location: Evansville-based Penny Lane Coffeehouse succeeds with northside shop
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Northsiders are enjoying the fall flavors of Evansville-based Penny Lane Coffeehouse at its new location. The downtown Evansville staple opened Penny Lane Coffeehouse North at 601 E. Boonville-New Harmony Rd. near Highway 41 at the end of May.
After several other expansion attempts over the years, owner Brian Bennett told Inside INdiana Business he’s finally found success on the north side.
“It eclipses our downtown business by at least 25%, which is amazing because our downtown does extremely well,” he said.
Alexis Riley, manager of Penny Lane Coffeehouse North, has received a lot of positive feedback since the shop opened and expects the new location to thrive.
“People really like local,” she said. “We’re building that customer base and the regulars, and it’s just going to be uphill from here.”
About Penny Lane
Penny Lane Coffeehouse was established in Haynie’s Corner Arts District in 2000. The first owner drew inspiration from coffee shops she had visited in Colorado, according to Bennett. He got involved with the business when it was sold to its second owner by promoting the eclectic coffee shop on social media.
“100% organic and vegan, back in the early 2000s was very expensive overhead. And that trend hadn’t really kicked in, and so people didn’t understand it. And it developed a cool following because of live music and that hippie kind of environment,” he said.
When the second owner decided to go out of business, Bennett seized the opportunity to take over the coffee shop in 2012.
“I was like, ‘Why don’t I buy it and I’ll throw my hat in the ring and try it?’ And so I learned the entire coffee business and how espresso is roasted and everything, and it was tough the first few years,” he said.
Sierra Schmitt, manager of the downtown location, believes Penny Lane is unique compared to other coffee shops because of the sense of community in the area.
“Over the years, [we’ve had] the regular customers coming in and making friendships with us and with each other. We have some core groups of regulars that come in every single day or every few days and then new customers coming in get to see the crowd and interact,” she said.
Before the northside expansion, Bennett tried to bring the coffeehouse to other parts of Evansville four times, including Lamasco Bar on the west side and a former pizza place on the east side. However, none of the locations worked out.
“We finally said, ‘Okay, let’s just stick with what works. Let’s have the downtown location and call it a day,’” said Bennett.
‘It seems like a huge market’
Bennett, who’s from the north side, said establishing Penny Lane Coffeehouse North made sense because of the lack of coffee shops. Besides Dwell Coffee Company in Darmstadt, which closed in March, there weren’t many options in the area.
“I had always said the problem with that area we’re in is there’s limited commercial real estate. And I said if something ever opens up, I’m gonna do it because it seems like a huge market,” he said.
When Bennett learned the Wendy’s location on E. Boonville-New Harmony Rd. was becoming available, he started talking to the landlord.
“He wanted to lease it to a national place for stability,” said Bennett. “But then he’s like, ‘My son goes to your downtown location almost every day.’ And I was like, ‘No kidding!’ And he’s like, ‘So I’m gonna lease it to you all.’”
Bennett said the northside coffee shop emits the same vibe as the downtown location.
“The one thing I say to all my staff is, every single person that walks through the door, you’re making their day. They’re treating themselves. That’s their time to get something that makes them happy. Therefore, I want you to be happy. If you’ve had a bad morning when you walk in those doors, and you start serving people, be happy,” he said.
While the downtown coffee shop features 1960s and 1970s pop culture, the northside location boasts 1980s, 1990s and 2000s decor. Plus, the drive-thru offers grab-and-go options.
“The difference in this location is, with a drive-thru, we have to pre-make the sandwiches. If a mom of four orders four drinks and four sandwiches, we don’t have time to fry up four eggs in a drive-thru. It’s just not feasible,” said Bennett.
Riley attributes the success of the northside coffee shop to the business’ reputation and the accessibility of the location.
“With the Penny Lane name being as big as it is locally, and people around this [northside] area not getting to downtown, they wanted to give it a go. They want to try it out. They’ve heard of it, but they’ve never been, and that plays a big part in it. And we’re just accessible, especially right off [Highway 41],” she said.
Settling in
Even though Penny Lane Coffeehouse North has only been open for a few months, the shop has experienced some staffing changes because of employees going back to school.
“Thankfully, for coffee shops, everyone thinks they’re the cool jobs. So when other places have hiring issues, we seem to always have applications flowing in,” said Bennett.
Bennett is considering adding outdoor seating and live music in the future. He’s also experimenting with menus beyond breakfast.
“We’ve started a new lunch menu. We’re waiting on the response to that for a few months because we’re surrounded by lunch and dinner restaurants. So I want to gauge things slowly so we don’t try to do too much too fast,” Bennett said.
When asked about further expansion, Bennett insisted he’s content with focusing on the new coffee shop’s livelihood for now.
“I’m just extremely excited to see where [the northside location] goes and if it can be as successful as our downtown location,” he said. “What we figured out is the locations of the other four that failed were terrible. And just by the success of [Penny Lane Coffeehouse North], it’s definitely location, location, location.”