A warmly decorated interior filled with lush plants, enticing coffee and a student-friendly atmosphere makes a new coffee shop a welcome addition to the Columbia coffee scene, with an exciting twist.
There are plenty of coffee shops in Columbia, but none have the unique quality of Hendrix The Bus Coffee Shop — the customers are served on wheels.
This coffee shop distinguishes itself from others in the area to students, said Victor Nguyen, a third-year computer information systems student.
“It’s obviously in a bus, right? And I think that’s pretty unique, and I think that's quite cool,” Nguyen said.
The over-a-decade-old school bus used to be a rentable bar for events, but one of the owners, Levy Gomez, said he fell in love with Five Points after getting hired from Miami, Florida, to do a private event.
Originally from Cancún, Mexico, Gomez moved to Florida, where people hired him to open restaurants with their money.
He and his wife, co-owner Samara Ruiz, decided to make Hendrix The Bus a permanent coffee shop on Blossom Street in October 2024.
“We drove around the whole city to see spots, and we loved Five Points,” Gomez said. “We looked around Five Points (to see) where we could park ... and we made it happen in a week.”
Ruiz and Gomez's companionship is more than twice as old as the bus. They have been together for 30 years and grew up with each other in Cancún since they were 11.
Gomez said he took inspiration to build the bus from Ruiz, who came up with the idea. Soon after in 2023, Hendrix The Bus was built.
He was struggling with his three other restaurants in Florida after facing a series of closures during the pandemic.
“My wife told me, ‘You’re going to do anything but that, so find something to do to get you out of it,” Gomez said.
In Florida, Ruiz said the strain of seeing Gomez working so hard to keep running the restaurants made her upset.
"It was really tough for him, and he was tired because ... it was too many hours," Ruiz said. "He was always working and very stressed out. It was hard, so I wasn't that happy."
Starting the business in Columbia made all the difference, Ruiz said.
"We love it. We're very happy here," Ruiz said. "I have family here too, so that made the transition very easy, but the people here (are) amazing, and we love the city."
The coffee shop is getting great business from Columbia, and it is receiving a positive response from the community, Gomez said.
Gomez said the shop's large student base is a big drive for its following and success.
“In Miami, we worked for a year, and we had 300 followers on Instagram,” Gomez said. “And we moved here, and in a matter of two months, we're up to almost 1,700 people following on Instagram.”
The bus interior is decorated to create a warm atmosphere for customers. The decorations are inspired by Tulum, Mexico, known for its ‘boho style,' Gomez said. Boho style is carefree and works around natural elements, such as plants, according to an article from HGTV, a home improvement channel.
Gomez said the shop uses an Italian coffee brand called illy and fuses it with Mexican spices.
“If you Google, ‘Best coffees in the world,’ it will always pop up,” Gomez said. “We are incorporating Mexican ingredients because we’re Mexican too.”
The unique cultural flavors, such as horchata, a rice syrup with cinnamon, and masa pan, a Mexican candy infused with peanuts, separate Hendrix The Bus from other coffee shops, said Ian Kruger, a third-year computer science student.
“It's not really something you'd find anywhere else,” Kruger said.
Kruger said he'll keep coming back as a result.
“I’m already back a second time, so a third will definitely be in store,” Kruger said.
Gomez said he’s happy to continue serving the Columbia community.
“We are extremely happy to be here", Gomez said. "We fell in love with the place and the response of the people. We couldn't be more appreciative and thankful.”
Hendrix The Bus is open from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sunday. Gomez said they are working on a smaller mobile unit to sell their coffee at Soda City Market.