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Stu’s Brews is taking over the former Old Town Coffee and Chocolates in Henderson Center, giving it a second location.

The sale of the shop’s equipment and its recipes was finalized Friday.

Folks at the Eureka coffee spot, which opened in May 2024, are working hard to set up the new shop at 502 Henderson St., where a handful of cafés and bakeries have been hosted across decades.

“[It’s] pretty cool that we signed and picked up the keys the day after our two-year anniversary,” said Aaron “Stu” Salles, who co-owns Stu’s Brews with his wife Victoria “Hope” Salles.

He said the expansion of Stu’s Brews, which runs a drive-through on Fourth Street in Eureka, will allow the family-run operation to make good use of a full prep kitchen.

Salles said the drive-through started with his passion for coffee and their shared love of food.

“That entity kind of turned into, basically, doing our favorite stuff that we could do, to serve up to other people, within the constraints of a coffee drive-through in a tiny little building,” he said.

After finding success and enjoyment running the shop, the pair moved their eye toward expanding and opening another location.

The drive-through has limits on what food can be prepared through its permit, explained Salles. They can’t handle raw meat or bake bread, and had to get a special permit to use a toaster.

With the new neighborhood spot, he said they will be able to offer a spread of baked goods at the drive through and the new location, made in-house.

Earlier this month, both locations of Eureka’s Old Town Coffee and Chocolates abruptly closed.

When asked about the Old Town spot, Salles said while the location is “fantastic,” scaling the business by adding two new locations at once would be risky.

“We did entertain the idea of taking both locations, but we really decided that operationally, opening two [new] locations at once just wasn’t a sound move for us,” he said.

He said one goal with the future Stu’s Brews Bakery and Café is to honor previous bakeries and cafés that have used the location over the years, like Old Town Coffee and Chocolates, the Corner Cafe and Bake Shop, Vellutini Baking Company and the Eureka Baking Company.

“This cake menu itself has basically been offered here since the 1990s,” he said.

He tells the Outpost this cake menu will mostly stay the same, with a few additions like flavors inspired by signature drinks.

Salles said, if all goes to plan people will be able to order cakes (for pickup only) as soon as June 14, treats that will continue to be crafted by Kristyl Mentink, who’s baked cakes there for the past seven years.

But the customer-facing café part will take a bit longer to finish brewing.

The plan is a new blue and white paint job, alongside a gutted interior to make space for new bakery display cases and coffee setup. Stu’s Brews is also planning new signs and an awning at the location, in place of the Old Town Coffee and Chocolates insignia.

Salles said they like fixing up spots — the drive-through had weeds, hanging gutters and dilapidated asphalt when they took over.

He said customers saw the elbow grease him, his wife, and their family and friends put into revamping the location in between day jobs, and said folks gave the drive-through a try after seeing the hard work the crew put into its curb appeal.

“I really think the same thing is going to apply in Henderson, over here. I’m really looking forward to how beautiful this is going to look inside and out,” he said.

He guessed about 10 people will eventually work at the shop (two have been hired so far, including the cake master) with some overlap in employees with the existing location. They plan to offer interviews to other former employees of Old Town Coffee and Chocolates.

He estimates the cafe will open around Sept. 1, though “it’s possible we could open sooner or later than that. That will become more clear in the next couple of months,” he said.

The founders of Old Town Coffee and Chocolates are happy to see the pair take on the shop.

“Both Gail [Mentink] and I are very pleased that Stu and Hope will be opening the bakery at the Henderson Center location. Our understanding is that they will continue baking the delicious cakes as well as adding their own unique Stu’s Brews flair,” said OTCC co-founder Cathy Kunkler in an email to the Outpost.

“The 20 years of owning and running Old Town Coffee & Chocolates was a dream come true and we dearly cherish the memories,” she added.

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Meanwhile, the Old Town location remains closed. As of Tuesday, the window hosts signs promising to be “back soon!” following the service of an eviction notice last week.

Kunkler said the future of the Old Town location is a work in progress but is anticipating a positive outcome and announcement soon.