When Jonathan Joiner moved to Albuquerque last year, he noticed something – the Downtown corridor was flush with bars and clubs, but there were few amenities for families and people looking for more casual activities.
Joiner knew he wanted to open his own business and after coming across an empty space at the corner of Gold and 2nd Street, he decided to open up a beer and coffee lounge that caters to a more casual atmosphere than the one normally found Downtown.
Buds & Beans, at 119 Gold SW in Downtown Albuquerque, opened March 11.
The new restaurant and coffee shop, located at the former Wine.Dive. wine bar, serves up a menu of freshly made coffee drinks, local craft beers, pastries and “comfort food.”
“It’s not a coffee shop, it’s a little bit more,” he said.
Joiner, who passed through Albuquerque last year after leaving the military, said he was drawn to move to the city and open a business because he fell in love with the mountains.
At first, he said he only wanted to open up a coffee lounge, but eventually he landed on incorporating beer and food into the idea.
The goal, he said, was to create a space where people could gather similarly to a bar while also having a place that can act as a community spot for those living nearby.
“Right off Central it’s mostly just clubs and bars and stuff like that, it’s not really a place where you can just sit down on some couches, be around plants, have coffee,” he said.
The space also allowed Joiner to bring in one of his passions – plants.
Joiner said that since the cafe is situated in a former wine bar, the wine racks were still in place when he took over the space which allowed him to convert the former wine wall into a living wall with hundreds of pothos plants.
Eventually, he said he would like to either sell the pothos propagations or have a take a plant, leave a plant area in the restaurant and also feature local artists’ work on the walls.
Buds & Beans is open from 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday.
Visit bnbabq.com for more information.
