WESTLOCK — For two weeks now, a silver truck with a stream of lights, three flower pots, two tables and probably the best coffee in Westlock has been posted behind the Peavey Mart or in the lot souith of Westlock Motors.
Behind the wheel and the espresso machines are two sisters, Miranda, 24, and Jenna Deuck, 22. But behind the idea is the “silent partner” in Cool Beans Coffee, youngest of four Brianna.
I stood outside on Friday, in the used car lot where they had the truck parked, while Miranda was helping the last few customers to trickle in as the heat wave was picking up, all in search of the “on ice” section of the menu.
Their mom, Rhonda was sitting at a table with some family members, and I was sipping a b4, one of their special menu drinks: a peach Bubly soda with a shot of passion fruit flavour (there are options). It has two meanings, Miranda told me, and they searched for a long time to find a suitable name for it, “nothing cheesy.”
b4 stands for “Brianna’s Best Bubly Beverage.” It also means ‘before the tragedy,’ before the silent partner, Brianna passed away when she was 17.
“She was very much of a gentle soul, very kind, she never had anything bad to say about anyone, only positive,” Miranda told me.
“When it happened, I was living in Saskatchewan. They were coming to see me and my mom called me after it happened, and I think I screamed. I couldn’t cry, I couldn’t do anything, I just screamed. It was the worst thing I could’ve heard.”
Miranda says she’s a woman of God, and she can’t imagine moving past without prayer. People wake up from nightmares, she woke up into hers, she explained.
“I think that out of every terrible thing can come a good thing. We did grief counselling with the Soul Sisters Memorial Foundation, that was really helpful, they taught us some good tools and honestly, I'm a believer and I think that we could’ve never made it through without (faith).”
In some twist of fate or, more accurate to Miranda’s description, act of God, Miranda came back to Westlock and stayed. “I needed my family,” she said.
She and Jenna kickstarted the coffee idea in March, found the truck (she says it only needed a bit of cosmetic work), did research and set off June 17 for their first official day in business. The coffee experience was already there for Miranda.
Brianna had come up with the name in high school, she built a website for the coffee shop, and thought through the entire vibe of the place.
When we spoke, Miranda was holding a copy of a pamphlet Brianna had built that read: “Kindness is like coffee, it awakens your spirit and improves your day. Fill your cup up with both.”
Hence, the Cool Beans logo: “coffee poured with kindness.”
b4 got on the menu because “Brianna loved Bubly, I have so many pictures of her holding a Bubly of all different kinds. There’s actually a can left on her desk in our basement,” Miranda said.
For the record, Miranda is partial to coffee (an iced americano with a splash of cream and a hint of maple syrup), and Jenna to the chais (chai latte with almond milk, a shot of vanilla).
They’re on Facebook and Instagram, and in person Tuesdays to Thursdays and Saturdays south of Peavey Mart and Fridays in Westlock Motors' used lot, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
“Our big thing is quality, being friendly and homey to people and making them feel like they are our top priority in that moment.”
