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Claudia Sivers is amazing A cup of coffeeShe thinks of her grandmother Queen Estelle’s kitchen, the air warmed by the heat of the oven and the aroma of her grandmother’s blackberry cobbler wafting through the air.
Shivers, 49, is the founder of Queen Coffee Bean, a coffee company in High Point, N.C. Her menu is inventive. — Customers can flavor their espresso drinks With Ethiopian cinnamon buttercream, candy apples, chocolate cherries and more, the coffee shop is cozy and bustling with board games and customers who stay a while to chat. Shivers hopes to recreate the comfort of Queen Estelle’s kitchen with every latte she serves.
“What tasty drink can I make you today?” Shivers asks each time the door opens and a new customer walks in, be it a regular or a weary traveler on a road trip.
Shivers founded Queen Coffee Bean in August 2020 after serving nearly a year in prison for a non-violent crime. After returning to work, he worked the 4 a.m. shift at Starbucks. He wanted a change and to start his own business, but he was worried his criminal record would block other job opportunities. Currently, Queen Coffee Bean averages $2,500 in monthly sales, but Shivers says the amount can fluctuate.
Her experience is not uncommon for incarcerated people, according to 2022 data released by the Bureau of Justice Statistics. About one-third A quarter of people released from prison are not employed within four years of their release. Meanwhile, the nonprofit Prison Policy Project says that Almost five times More likely The unemployment rate is higher than that of the general population, and many Even if they manage to find work, the wages are low.
But that changed for Shivers when he enrolled in Inmates to Entrepreneurs, a nonprofit that trains former inmates in business skills.
Shivers enrolled in the program’s eight-week course in fall 2020, taking classes in sales, accounting, marketing and customer service while developing her business plan. She said her experience in prison influenced her vision for Queen Coffee Bean.
“I want them to feel at home,” she said of her clients. “If they’re inmates, they just want to go home.”
The group told Business Insider that 471 people enrolled in classes in August, including groups from five correctional facilities across the country.
Pineapple Upside Down Latte, one of the drinks on offer at Queen Coffee Bean by Claudia Sivers. Photo by Claudia Sivers
Trembling Hope Queen Coffee Bean builds community and creates local jobs
When he first started his business, Shivers roasted his coffee beans in a popcorn maker he bought on Amazon, and although he couldn’t afford a professional coffee roaster, he says it worked well enough.
Before offering custom drinks, Shivers’ main source of income was selling coffee beans that she roasted herself. This, along with her own savings and donations from friends and family, allowed her to set up her own coffee shop. Queen Coffee Bean. She works at a local church every Sunday and uses the money she earns to run her coffee shop.
Shivers said that while she was responsible for financing her own business, the Inmates to Entrepreneurs program provided her with training and a community. For her, the organization was a “safe space” where she could learn without feeling like she was “red-lettering,” she said. She wishes more people understood how mentally taxing the prison experience can be and the importance of resources to help former inmates build their self-confidence.
“I’m an entrepreneur,” she says. “Being an inmate is just a small part of my life.”
Shivers has expanded her business over the past few years to include a brick-and-mortar store and a line of home-roasted coffee products, which she attributes in part to her growth after one of her early customers sold her a professional coffee roaster she needed at a discount.
Shivers also said her store is purposefully located in a low-income neighborhood in High Point, an area that is underserved by many chains, and she said she hopes Queen Coffee Bean will be a place that builds the local community and creates jobs.
After noticing her business thriving, Shivers joined the board of Inmates to Entrepreneurs to help other formerly incarcerated people. She encourages aspiring entrepreneurs to learn fast, invest in their customers, and build a caring community.
“That’s really the mission of Queen Coffee Bean,” she said. “Love is at the root of everything we do. If you’re going to love this drink, you have to love yourself and you have to love other people.”
Coffee roaster at Queen Coffee Bean. Photo by Claudia Sivers.
Have you faced any challenges finding a job after being released from prison? Would you mind sharing your story? If so, allisonkelly@businessinsider.com.