CINCINNATI, Ohio — Opening Cream + Sugar Coffee House has been a dream in the making for co-owners Taren Kinebrew and Crystal Grace, both of whom own other businesses in Cincinnati.

“It’s amazing that we were able to take what we both love from two different businesses and figure out a way to make that merge into one,” said Kinebrew.

They had planned to open the coffeehouse back in March, but by that time most businesses had closed due to COVID-19.

“Once everything happened and businesses started opening back up, we just made the decision to pull the trigger and see what happens,” said Kinebrew. “Honestly, we have been slammed every single day since we’ve been opened.”

And one of the things that keeps people coming back is the plant-based and healthy food and drink options.

“We know that in the African-American community we tend to suffer with diabetes, high cholesterol, things like that,” Kinebrew said. “So, we wanted to make sure that we gave or presented a food option that was not only tasty and good, but also healthy.”

And this is something that customers seem to love. Kinebrew says she’s truly appreciative of all the support.

“I think the community needed it,” she said. “We have a huge following, both of us independently, so we’ve gotten a lot of support there. The community has definitely supported us. People are intentional about spending their dollars and we’re just so happy that they’re spending their dollars with us.”

Although they’ve received huge backing from the community, Kinebrew admits that there are concerns around how the pandemic could potentially impact their business. But she says they are doing all they can to make sure their employees and customers are safe.

“Our customers understand the importance of safety,” she said. “So, we can only do what we can and hopefully everybody will stay safe during this time.”

Cream + Sugar Coffee House is open Monday through Saturday, between 8 a.m. and 2 p.m.