Eastern Market – Whether you want a creative cup of coffee, a quiet place to work, or a spot to host your next big event, Bea’s in Eastern Market has you covered. This multi-use space is the brainchild of Bea Wolnerman and her husband, Eli.
Bea comes from a family of entrepreneurs, and opened her own corporate gifting business in her home. It wasn’t long before she was running out of space, so she started looking for a co-working spot in Detroit, but none of them really seemed to suit her needs so she decided to create one.
In 2018 Bea and her husband bought an old meat packing building in Eastern Market. The old space had been abandoned for 30 plus years, and needed a lot of work. As their building was under construction, they wanted to get the word out about their new space, so she came up with an interesting idea.
“I actually discovered the smallest piece of land for sale in Detroit. It was right on the Dequindre Cut,” explains Bea. “This little piece of land was up this wall, it was covered in weeds. I decided to turn this lemon of a piece of land into lemonade by creating the Bea’s Squeeze Lemonade Stand.”
The plan was to pass out lemonade on this busy pedestrian walkway, and spread the word about her new business. Unexpectedly, their little lemonade stand really took off. Now they are in 25 states and have 3 flavors including their classic lemonade, pink rose lemonade and lavender lemonade.
Finally, on February 27th of 2020 Bea’s opened its doors in Eastern Market. They were able to get the grand opening celebration in before they had to close due to COVID. Bea didn’t let that stop her though, and in June they re-opened with a slightly new focus. Originally it was planned to be a café, and co-working space with a big warehouse so people could create products for their businesses. With COVID, a bunch of people in a big open room was not ideal, so instead they started renting out the warehouse and their rooftop patio as events spaces.
They still have the co-working boutique with induvial offices and conference rooms for rent, as well as a lounge area. In their café, they have shelves lining the wall for small businesses to sell their wares, and they are always game for a small business pop-up.
In their café, you can get a classic coffee, or a create-your-own-adventure-style drinks. There is a one-sheet you can fill out to create your own unique drink. You start by picking out the base (coffee, soda water, or their signature lemonade), then you add in a flavor (they have unique ones like orange blossom black pepper and juniper coriander, a milk (they have non-dairy options as well, and even ice cream!), and finish it with a garnish (floral ice cubes, cotton candy, or a waffle, to name a few).
No matter what lemons life throws at Bea, she will always make lemonade.
“Stay strong, just keep moving forward,” says Bea. “Just take one small step at a time and you’re going to get there.”
Bea’s is located at 1533 Winder Street in Eastern Market.