A family of Beans are behind the aptly-named new Front Street café Juice 'n' Beans. The mother-daughter duo of Anjula and Ashley Bean officially opened the new café at 61 Front Street yesterday.

The new shop will offer gourmet coffees, organic teas, healthy fruit shakes, ice cream, pastries, sandwiches and much more at a convenient downtown location.

Formerly the home of the tourist-geared Bee's Knees souvenir shop, which the Beans also owned, daughter Ashley Bean told The Royal Gazette she and her mother felt they had to take the shop in a new direction due to the changing nature of Front Street.

"When the cruise ships left Hamilton everything changed," Ms Bean said. "The business was declining as there were just not enough tourists. We decided we had to change direction and do something completely different."

The Beans made the decision to re-orient the location to something which would draw in the locals last summer but did not close Bee's Knees for the overhaul until April of this year. A little over three months of hard work and long hours later, the space has been completely transformed into a bright and sunny café.

The Beans made the change with the help of HSBC Bank of Bermuda and the Small Business Development Corporation. "They helped us a lot with our business plan," Ms Bean said.

The café's offerings should appeal to the health conscious in the community. "All the shakes will be made with 100 percent fresh fruit, not frozen," she said. The shakes can be topped up with various high quality proteins or add-ins intended to target specific health needs, such as The Energizer, The Ultimate Recovery, Sniffles B' Gone and Burn Fat Burn.

"I definitely think people are making lifestyle changes, looking for more natural, heathy foods," Ms Bean said. "People want to look good and feel good and are thinking more about what they are putting into their bodies. "

For those looking for heartier options, however, the café has teamed up with Hickory Stick to offer pre-made sandwiches and wraps and Bouquet Garni will be providing them with pastries.

The Beans also hope to draw clientele by staying open into the evenings and seven days a week. The shops hours will be from 7 a.m. to 10/11 p.m. and the owners hope locals will come to see Juice n' Beans as a great place for an evening coffee with friends or an ice cream. They hope their evening hours will encourage more Front Street businesses to consider later hours. On Sunday, the café will operate reduced hours.

At the moment the mother-daughter duo will juggle duties at the café with one other full-time staffer and they plan to hire another part-time employee very soon.

"We're really excited about the changes," Ms Bean said. "It's been a lot of work , early mornings and long nights but we're looking forward to offering something great with extraordinary service and extraordinary products."