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Banking on Relationships - Jay and Lisa Jones and State Bank President Kevin Day 

If you’ve ever visited Waterloo, Ill., you’ve likely heard of Bean Tree Cafe.

Bean Tree, as it is affectionately known by locals, is a staple of the community of Waterloo. It is a social hub, where regulars meet and mingle during the week and tourists stop for coffee and one of the cafe’s popular breakfast or lunch menu items.

Over the 13 years they’ve been small business owners, Jay and Lisa Jones have found themselves ingrained in the community in ways that go beyond serving coffee and omelets. They have supported countless fundraisers over the years, and they also take their own advice when they ask people to shop and dine locally.

“What makes a community great is when you do life in it,” Lisa says. “We make our money here, but we also spend our money here. Whatever it might be, we look to do it here first.”

That’s one of the reasons they first began their banking relationship with State Bank in 2011 with Scott Goeddel, vice president and relationship manager.

“Our original business loan was with State Bank and we’ve never had a reason to switch anything around,” Lisa said. “State Bank meets all our banking needs, both personally and professionally.”

That commitment to building local relationships - and supporting other local businesses – touches every area, even extending down to the food being served at Bean Tree. The breakfast meat on the menu comes from Schneider’s Quality Meats in Waterloo. And those salads everybody raves about? The mixed greens are supplied almost year-round by Feather’s Farm. Feather, coincidentally, happens to be Lisa and Jay’s son, Keith Jones.

“Some of our eggs are also from Feather’s Farm’s pampered chickens,” Lisa said. “And the lettuce we serve - that was picked just a few days ago. We also have a garden behind the café. Tomato plants are in and will be

producing before we know it. The ‘Farm to Table’ term gets tossed around a lot, but we love to find ways to actually practice it.”

Back to the Beginning

Jay and Lisa Jones didn’t really plan on opening a coffee shop. In fact, owning and operating a popular neighborhood breakfast spot wasn’t even on their bucket list.

In 2011, Lisa was working in the attendance office at Waterloo High School; Jay was working as a human resources director in St. Louis. Neither had particular aspirations about owning a coffee shop and restaurant.

But their friends, Jim and Pam Waltmann, did have such plans. The Waltmanns convinced the Joneses to partner up to buy the building at 219 South Main Street, then occupied by the Courthouse Cafe.

Lisa left the school district to work in the cafe full time, and before long found herself immersed in the world of coffee bean roasting, restaurant menus, and staffing. Bean Tree Cafe opened in December 2011.

“When we first started, we thought we’d do this for 3-5 years,” Lisa said.

But as time went on, Lisa and Jay realized they were enjoying running the cafe. So much so that when the Waltmanns were ready to retire to Florida in 2015, the Joneses bought them out and took over full ownership of Bean Tree.

The Good, The Bad and The Memorable

Like any small business, owning Bean Tree has had its shares of ups and downs - and unforgettable moments.

For Lisa, one of those memorable days was during the 2017 solar eclipse when crowds flocked to Waterloo for the event.

“A radio station came to broadcast from the cafe,” Lisa remembers. “We had no idea how much of a fiasco that was going to be. The radio crew set up in the coffee shop, and we quickly became a pit stop for the masses heading to the fairgrounds for the eclipse celebration. It was a zoo!”

Even during the crazy moments, Lisa and Jay have been struck by the way the community has shown support for their business - and have given that support right back.

“The Hope for Lydia Day was a huge day for the whole community,” Lisa said. “We were totally slammed. It was amazing to be part of something that big, it was a really special day.”

Some of the most trying days for the staff and owners of Bean Tree occurred during the pandemic.

“The most terrifying moments we’ve experienced were during Covid. I remember one of our servers asking me on Sunday ‘are we going to close down?’” Lisa said. “At that point, I was clueless as to what was even happening. The governor announced later that day that we had until Tuesday or Wednesday to shut down. It was surreal.”

As the effects of the shutdown began to take hold, State Bank contacted Lisa and got their paperwork started on the Paycheck Protection Program loans.

“As a business owner, I was just trying to keep my head above water,” Lisa said. “When State Bank contacted me about that program, it felt like someone threw me a lifeline! The PPP loans were amazing, they kept businesses alive and still got money into people’s hands.”

“We couldn't have done it without that program and State Bank jumping in there so quickly for us,” Lisa added.

Bean Tree also saw the community rally in a really big way. Carry-out orders exploded during those early days of the pandemic.

To better facilitate all the to-go orders, Lisa and Jay opened the drive-thru window, which is still a popular feature at Bean Tree.

“We ran an extension cord for the POS system and moved it over there,” Lisa said. “Our son does woodworking and made the frame to put in the window and the drive-thru was born.”

The Future of Bean Tree Cafe

Now, several years post-Covid, there are different things to focus on.

“There are always things to look at, to study,” Lisa said. “We don’t make changes just for the sake of change, but sometimes things need to be tweaked a little here and there.”

The core of the menu has stayed consistent throughout the years. The recipes that fill the menu are still reminiscent of the people who have played a role in the cafe over the years.

“Jim Waltmann had a thing for French toast, so the stuffed French toast and the Monte Cristo were his ideas,” Lisa said. “The soup recipes are mostly family recipes; some are mine, some Jim & Pam’s, a couple from old employees, and some from our opening cook – Janice is kind of the soup queen.”

Other menu items are adapted from dishes Lisa and Jay have tried at places they’ve visited or from recipes they’ve sampled at food vendors.

Lisa ran the cafe until Jay retired in 2020. Since then, the duo has been running Bean Tree together. According to Lisa, Jay’s favorite part is walking around talking to the customers with a cup of coffee in hand.

“This wouldn’t be near as much fun if it was in a more populated area with random customers,” Lisa said. “Having so many regulars creates a true sense of community here. I know Jay wouldn’t have as much fun if he didn’t know so many people so well.”

“I love having a business in Waterloo,” Lisa says. “The people that come in, they’re our neighbors and friends. It’s hard to describe how we feel about the relationships we’ve developed with our customers. It’s something we could never have imagined 13 years ago when we started this.

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