‘Our vibe is light, happy, friendly and fun’: Beans and Berries Café serves up coffee, juice, sandwiches in former tattoo shop space

Soft pink walls.

A vibrant mural featuring beans and berries.

Comfy sofas surrounding tables with plenty of room for a laptop and a latte.

Beans and Berries Café bears little resemblance to the space that once housed a tattoo shop.

Owner Roger Villareal opened the café in late June.

He’s no stranger to the restaurant biz.

“I was co-owner of the Monterey Café downtown, and I owned T’s Lounge on North Monroe for nine years,” he said.

Villareal sold T’s last year.

“I’m old and the bar industry is a tough one,” he said. “I figured it was time for a change.”

Originally, he planned to open a coffee stand, but pivoted when a space opened on Mullan Road, just a couple of blocks south of the Interstate 90-Argonne Road interchange.

Transforming the tattoo shop into a cafe required adding a kitchen prep area, a coffee bar, and some fresh paint.

“My friend Hailey Clawson painted the mural,” Villareal said. “She did a great job.”

In addition to plentiful seating, the venue has a cozy meeting room that seats eight to 10. You can call and reserve it or walk in and use it if it’s available.

“We had the Red Hat Ladies here a while ago.”

Healthy options like cold-pressed juices made daily in-house are at the heart of the menu, and the yogurt-based smoothies proved popular.

Last week, they debuted a raspberry, blueberry smoothie topped with matcha cold foam. The brightly flavored sipper is almost a meal in itself.

“You can add protein to any of the smoothies,” Villareal said.

Beans and Berries serves Roast House coffee and sources its bread locally from Alpine Bakery. Franz gluten-free bread is also available.

Alpine’s swirl rye provides a great foundation for the café’s deli sandwiches. The turkey sandwich was piled high with fresh veggies, including thinly sliced cucumber, sprouts, tomatoes and crisp lettuce.

All sandwiches come with a side of green salad or a rotating house-made side, like zesty Italian pasta salad.

Speaking of salads, you can choose from several entrée-sized offerings.

“Our salads are huge!” Villareal said.

Indeed, the popular Cobb salad filled a plate to overflowing and featured generous portions of fresh avocado, bacon, grilled chicken, blue cheese crumbles, egg and tomato.

Breakfast lovers can choose from a selection of bagel or croissant sandwiches.

“The avocado toast sells well, too,” he said. “All of our breakfast sandwiches come with a juice pouch (housemade cold-pressed) and a slice of watermelon.”

Diners with a sweet tooth won’t be disappointed. Spokane Food and Events provides a variety of pastries, including scones, sweet breads, muffins and the always-popular pink-frosted sugar cookies.

There’s even a kids menu which includes a house-made “Un-Crust-Able,” with a choice of jelly and peanut butter or almond butter.

The cafe offers dine-in or take-out, and online ordering is in the works, with delivery service to a limited area.

Villareal said they’ve received a warm welcome in Spokane Valley.

“We have quite a few regulars,” he said. “Our vibe is light, happy, friendly and fun.”