Queen Bean Coffee House is off of the market. Who bought it and what are their plans?
The Queen Bean Coffee House is switching hands from its longtime owner to a Modesto couple who are well known and involved in the community.
Sam Pierstorff and Ruhi Sheikh announced on Facebook that they have purchased the coffeehouse from Debra Martinez. Coffee has been served out of the converted bungalow since early 2005, Modesto Bee archives show.
Queen Bean, at 1126 14th St., was listed for sale in January for $675,000 and had been in escrow for over six months.
“When Queen Bean went up for sale, it became our mission to save it from the fate of becoming a stuccoed law firm or insurance brokerage,” the Facebook post said.
The long escrow was due to the couple’s need to secure financing and to strategize a plan to “relaunch, remodel and revitalize this historic home,” according to the post.
The renamed Queen Bean Coffee & Social House will be turned it into a cultural arts, entertainment and educational hub.
Sheikh is the co-creator of ModShop and Modesto Porchfest. Pierstoff is an instructor at Modesto Junior College, former president of the State Theatre and current executive director of the nonprofit Modesto Artists Movement.
The couple will invest in a new deck, pergola and outdoor serving area for live music events, open mics, weddings and private parties. They plan for outdoor themed movie nights, poetry slams, educational and artistic workshops and classes, makers markets, Porchfest afterparties and “much, much more,” the post said.
The coffeehouse will remain open with its current menu and staff during the transitional phase and renovations.
“We want to thank Debbie Martinez for her belief in us,” the Facebook post says. “Her patience throughout this process has been saint-like and her legacy of creating a place ‘where you belong’ will never be forgotten.”
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