Same location, different name: Chandler’s opens in old Green Bean spot in downtown Greensboro

Featured photo: After being embroiled in some controversy, new owners Joshua and Alexis Chandler gave the old Green Bean location a fresh start with their own coffeeshop/cocktail bar, which opened in early July 2024. (photo by Andy Augustyn/Glasbear)

Three years ago, Alexis Chandler and her now-husband Joshua sat on the patio tables in front of the old Green Bean coffeeshop in downtown Greensboro and wrote their wedding vows. There was a slight chance of rain, and they kept stealing glances at each other while they penned the words.

“I was asking him if we were doing serious or funny,” Chandler explains. “His turned out much better than mine.”

Now, the tables are still there but the sign on the front of the shop is different. Instead of Green Bean, it reflects the name she took that day: Chandler’s.

Since July 3, the spot at 341 S. Elm St. in the downtown landmark has been owned and operated by Chandler and her husband, who works full time as a manager at REI. If someone had told Chandler that she would be owning and running a business out of the storied location back in 2021 when she and Joshua got married, she says she would have laughed in their face.

“If you would have told me that this would have been the location, I would have said, ‘No way,’” Chandler says as she sits at one of the tables near the front window. “The fact that I get the opportunity to hold this space is so unreal; like, Pinch me, is this happening?”

The business came together quickly. When the Green Bean initially closed in September 2023 after the entire staff walked out, new owners — the son of previous owner Amy Foresman — came in to run the business. But it didn’t last long. By April of this year, there were rumors that the shop would close again and that’s when Chandler took the leap.

“I always wanted to own my own bar/restaurant,” she says. “I just didn’t think I could afford this.”

Just three months later, on July 3, Chandler’s opened as a coffee shop, cocktail bar and kitchen. They also offer breakfast sandwiches — one of Chandler’s personal favorite foods — throughout the day. They’ve got vegan options like vegan cheese and vegan egg, gluten-free bagels (all of their bagels are from Greenfield’s) and non-alcoholic options. They also get local baked goods from area bakeries like Black Magnolia Southern Patisserie, Spring Garden Bakery, Sweet Temptations, Bald Guy Bakes and Holland Haus Kitchen. They’re open six days out of the week — taking a “much-needed break” on Mondays, says Chandler — and want the business to be a hub for everyone.

“My vision was to have people of all ages, families, younger people, teenagers, older people who have been coming here for years,” Chandler says. “I think we’re already doing that, of creating that space.”

For those who live in Greensboro, the Green Bean was an institution that was 20-years strong. It served as one of the downtown anchors, along with Natty Greene’s, before the boom that emerged in the last decade. But in recent years, staff expressed frustration and concern with how Amy Foresman, the shop’s owner as of August 2020, had been running the business. They cited lack of pay, mismanagement and lack of care to TCB, which resulted in the staff walkout last fall. After the fallout, Foresman’s son, Caleb, and his wife Lilou came in to manage the shop, but business didn’t last long. By April, hours were spotty and the business appeared to be struggling.

Learning from the past and her own experience working in the service industry, Chandler says that she wants to ensure that her employees get paid a living wage — right now they all get paid $14 per hour plus tips.

“July is the slowest time in the service industry and the fact that we’re doing so well, we should be able to do that,” Chandler says. Her goal is to have all employees making at least $16 or $17 per hour plus tips. 

Chandler, who moved to Greensboro when she was 17 and became a single mother at 20, says she has worked at several businesses in the city including Borough Market and Craft City Sip-In. That’s where she learned the trade of managing people, making drinks and service. It’s all qualities she brings as the new owner of Chandler’s downtown. She wants to provide good service, good pay and a comfortable environment for everyone who comes through the doors. 

During an interview on Monday, Chandler frequently walked outside as passersby peered in through the front window to see if the shop was open.

“Sorry, we’re closed today!” she quipped with a smile as women tried to open the door. “But we’ll be open tomorrow.”

Since opening three weeks ago, Chandler says the community has been nothing but supportive. She understands that given the long history of the Green Bean, that some may have been upset about the change in business. But instead, everyone she’s talked to or heard from says they’re excited to see a new entity in the space.

“It’s been super busy,” she says. “We’ve had lots of people come back and say it feels like it used to.”

The interior is slightly different, too. They’ve painted the walls a lighter color, brought in new furniture and local art covers the main wall that extends towards the back of the shop. Eventually, Chandler says she wants to bring in more live music. On July 18, the shop will be hosting a “family day” and will have music by J. Timber and baked goods by Sweet Temptations Bakery.

As the daughter of a single dad, Chandler says that she’s used to working hard and being independent. Still, she’s gotten help running the business from her family, friends and other business owners in the community like Christopher Pierce of Loom Coffee and Josh King of the Flat Iron.

“It was a true communal effort to make this happen,” she says. 

And that’s what she wants the business to continue to be, even if the sign on the window is different.

“I just want this to be a place where everyone feels welcome,” Chandler says. “I think I’ve always felt like I’ve had a wide range of friends who are all so different. So for our wedding, I thought, ‘Is it going to be weird to have all of our friends in one space?’ And it wasn’t because it was just us.”

Learn more about Chandler’s on their Instagram at @chandlersdtgreensboro.