As you may know, a new coffee shop came to Council Bluffs on July 20, 2019. The coffee shop is known as Em & Liv’s Hard Bean Coffee. The coffee shop is a small family-owned business located at 149 W Broadway, Council Bluffs, IA 51503. It’s owned by Maggie, her husband Nathan, and Nathans’s father, Bob. They offer a variety of items including coffee, tea, smoothies, sparkling sodas, breakfast items, sweet treats.

The business is extra special for Maggie because it’s named after her two daughters Emma and Olivia who are 7 and 5. She hopes one day she can leave the business to them. 

Like many businesses, everything was affected by covid. Maggie had to find a way to push through and start up the business again.

“COVID has been our biggest obstacle”, Smith said. “We were only 6 months in when COVID hit.  We closed from March 2020 to May 2020 and then had to figure out how to operate all over again. Don’t give up!  If you really want this, stick with it!  It’s not easy owning a small business, but it’s so rewarding,” 

Before starting the business, Smith knew that she didn’t want to own her own franchise at the moment so that’s when she found Hard Bean. 

“I knew I didn’t want to own a franchise because I wanted the freedom to make it my own and hopefully one day franchise my own brand,” Smith said. “ I found Hard Bean, which was started by Scott Bortz back in the ‘90s.  He opened several of his own stores and then transitioned his brand into helping others open their own shops.  The best part is, I pay no franchise fee’s and it’s completely my own.”

Be sure to stop in to try the breakfast burritos and Jazzy Java Mocha drink. In the Jazzy Mocha drink, they use  Jazzy Java coffee, add chocolate sauce, top it with vanilla cold foam and caramel drizzle. If you want to hear and learn more about this amazing business be sure to check out their social media pages such as Facebook, Instagram, and their website emandlivshbc.com