Less than one year after graduating from Colonel Crawford, Ella Agee is balancing college classes and entrepreneurship as the owner of Honey Bean, a mobile coffee business built around homemade syrups, faith, and a dream she turned into reality.
BUCYRUS, OH (CRAWFORD COUNTY NOW) — A year ago, Ella Agee was a high school senior wondering what her future might look like. Today, the 2026 Colonel Crawford graduate owns Honey Bean, a mobile coffee business serving drinks across the area.
After working at Spot’s Rolling Bean, Agee began considering running her own coffee truck. Around November of her senior year, she started weighing her options and envisioning a path outside the traditional route of heading straight to college.
Initially, startup costs gave her pause, and college seemed like the safer choice. With encouragement from her family and boyfriend, however, she decided after graduation in May to take the leap and start her own business.
Although Agee originally hoped to convert an old school bus into a coffee truck, her father convinced her to take a different approach. Instead, he transformed a Chevrolet P-Series step van into Honey Bean’s mobile coffee shop, completing the conversion just days before the business’s grand opening at Colonel Crawford’s annual fall festival.
Looking for a way to separate Honey Bean from other coffee businesses, Agee focused on making all of her own flavored syrups from scratch. From June through September, she spent countless hours perfecting recipes and refining the process.
Today, Honey Bean offers more than 20 flavor options, including sugar-free caramel and vanilla syrups, cold foams, boba, and gourmet whipped cream. Customers can customize specialty coffees, lattes, cold brew, Americanos, chai, lemonade, energy fizzes, dirty sodas, and dirty Red Bulls.
The name Honey Bean actually came to Agee while she was working out and listening to Olivia Rodrigo’s song “Honeybee.” Meanwhile, her mother was sending her lists of possible business names. When Honey Bean appeared on both of their lists, Agee knew she had found the right name.
The Honey Bean logo features the phrase “Brewed With Purpose” alongside a small cross, a reflection of Agee’s Christian faith.
Following her baptism before graduation, Agee’s pastor asked how she planned to serve God. Describing herself as naturally quiet, she said adding the cross and slogan to her branding felt like a simple way to spark conversations and share her faith with customers who were curious about its meaning.
While managing Honey Bean, Agee is also a full-time college student studying physical therapy.
Her long-term goal is to open a storefront while continuing to operate the coffee truck. At the same time, she plans to complete her degree, viewing it as a backup plan should the business ever fail to meet expectations.
To see Honey Bean’s daily schedule, seasonal menus, and occasional specials, follow Honey Bean on Facebook, Instagram, or to see behind-the-scenes videos on TikTok.
