BROWNSBURG — The co-owners of Best Friends Coffee and Bagels are on a mission to uplift the entrepreneurs that call their building home.
Nestled on Main Street, the shop is a vibrant part of what Bob Goodpaster and Chico Mbanu affectionately term "The Small Business Hub of Brownsburg," which houses nearly 20 small businesses, many of which remain undiscovered by the community.
Best Friends Coffee and Bagels is celebrating its seventh year in the community. “I love coffee, he’s a bagel guy, it just worked out,” Mbanu said, reflecting on their journey together.
The duo, who met as students at Purdue University, share a passion for their business—and like most small business owners, they've faced their share of challenges.
“It was scary at first, super scary,” Goodpaster recalled. “5-year lease, we had to sign the big loan we had to take out. It was super scary.”
However, with perseverance and support, they found success in Brownsburg, largely thanks to the mentorship of Paul Page, the previous owner of the building who passed away but set them up to own the property.
“He wanted us to have this, and we did,” Goodpaster said. “It's been almost six months now since we've owned it and we've made some major upgrades to the property,” Goodpaster said.
Goodpaster and Mbanu are committed to seeing every entrepreneur in the Small Business Hub succeed, and they mentor fellow business owners whenever they can.
“If you understand the statistics of small business failure, 7 years is actually very good,” Mbanu pointed out. “So we understand the trials and tribulations of being small business owners.”
On Saturday, August 2nd, to bring more exposure to the hub, they are hosting the "Meet the Tenants" event from 2-6 p.m.
“Some of the tenants are like, everybody knows Best Friends is here, but I don't think the public really understands how many small businesses are behind Best Friends,” Goodpaster said.
“We’ve been here 6 years and we still have people coming in on a regular basis saying we never even knew you were here,” Elaina Bibler of Dappered Man Barbershop said.
The hub also houses tattoo artists like Nia Banks of Light Up Ink. “I love it, definitely bringing a lot of attention back here because a lot of people don't know that they can come back here to those doors.”
Goodpaster and Mbanu hope the community supports the hard-working business owners at the hub and comes out to meet them. There will be food trucks & Dappered Man is also doing free back-to-school haircuts from 2-4 p.m.
“The owners of these businesses live here. We spend our money here, we raise our kids here. We support the Little League teams and the schools and things like that,” Goodpaster explained. “That's why small business is important.”
