Faces of balance: Anita Boose & Kaitlynn Vassalle
This mother and daughter created one of Beaufort’s most popular cafés
By Hannah Massen
Business is personal – something that Anita Boose and her daughter, Kaitlynn Vassalle, know well. They have expanded their definition of “family business” to also include their customers, and they like to think of their cafés as “an extension of [their] family’s living room.”
Vassalle, Boose, and Boose’s husband, Ken, who have lived in Beaufort for over 17 years, founded Urban Brew + Co., a local coffee bar and spacious lounge-style café with a single mission in mind: “We want everyone to feel like family when they walk in.”
The café stays true to its owners’ eclectic styles, as it’s furnished with plush chairs, rustic accessories, and long, blonde-wood tables, making it an ideal workspace for digital nomads or rainy day haunt. While the ambiance is reason enough for customers to choose Urban Brew + Co., the menu boasts a wide variety of artisanal coffees, smoothies, sandwiches, salads, and brunch favorites.
Vassalle, who joined Urban Brew + Co. after working in the food and beverage industry and as a bookkeeper, appreciates how well she and her mother’s strengths complement each other. While Boose is Urban Nest’s design expert and merchandiser (and a self-proclaimed “people person”), Vassalle is a fellow merchandiser and is the café’s social media marker.
She particularly enjoys the creative freedom she has in her business, online and off.
“We have always felt that the best form of advertising is word of mouth and also social media because you are able to share more of the heart of the family/business you’re supporting,” Vassalle said. “We feel our social media and happy customers reflect those things best.”
While Vassalle and the Booses are dedicated to creating a comfortable, welcoming space for their community to enjoy, the family has struggled to achieve a steady work-life balance from the start. Until recently, Vassalle and Boose ran a second business called Urban Nest, a Beaufort home, accessory, and gift boutique with a coffee bar so customers could “sip while they shop.”
But after weathering the COVID-19 pandemic while running two businesses, followed by Boose’s father being diagnosed with cancer, Boose and Vassalle realized their priorities had changed. It was time to slow down.
In August, Boose and Vassalle posted a message to Urban Nest’s Instagram account, explaining their plans to liquidate Urban Nest’s brick-and-mortar store and host pop-up markets alongside local artists once a month instead.
“We feel that this change will be the healthiest way for us to continue to do what we love because frankly, we cannot continue on like we are physically or mentally,” the message continued. “It’s honestly a shock for us too, but our family plans on uniting together on a daily babis at our sister location, Urban Brew + Co.”
As “huge foodies,” the mother-daughter team enjoys having family dinners, exploring new restaurants, and traveling in their spare time, but many of their days off are still spent working. Even so, Boose said that hiring the right people has made a world of difference.
Key Takeaways
1. Don’t go into debt when you start. Our business began with the cash we had in our pockets and we’ve learned to grow slowly and gradually always is most effective. Our customers have loved to watch us start something and grow it and in a sense, they’ve grown alongside us. It’s just that much more satisfying to look back on your beginnings.
2. Lead by example. Don’t be afraid to get your hands dirty as an owner.
3. Recruit people on your team who really understand your mission. As owners, our interviews are most important. Make sure your staff is a reflection of your character. This takes much more time but is so worth it.
