LINN  — Busy Bean Café and Sprouts Bakery and Delicatessen in Linn will be closing this year, but Brendon and Brooke Hostetler are not sure when.

In early 2022, Deutsches Heim owner Danny Hostetler asked Brendon and Brooke if they wanted to take over the store officially. After much consideration, the couple made the difficult decision to decline his offer.

“Dad was very supportive of whatever choice we made,” said Brendon. 

Brooke added, “We thought a lot about it. Brendon has picked up cornhole, and we got busy in different ways. We started things we hadn’t done before, which led us to the choice we weren’t going to continue to run the store. We’re leaving it to Dan as to what he wants to do with the building. I know they want to retire.”

She added that regardless of what the future holds, Deutsches Heim and Busy Bean will be going through some significant changes.

‘We’re excited about moving on to the different things,” Brendon said. “Deutsches Heim has been going since 2009, and Busy Bean since 2019, and we’ve had a fantastic run. We’ve enjoyed it, but all good things come to an end. We’re excited to see if anybody else wants to keep it going, but we’re not sure how it’s going to go.”

The couple posted their intention to close on Facebook and explained that Brendon’s success in cornhole and Brooke’s desire to explore different things led them to the decision.

After playing cornhole at church one time and finishing second, Brendon was intrigued. That was in 2020 when the world was in the grip of the pandemic.

“There wasn’t much going on,” Brendon explained. “I decided to give it a try in the Mid-Missouri Cornhole League in Jefferson City. I almost quit after a couple of weeks.”

“He called me on the way home one night and was like, ‘I can’t do this,’ and I told him we just started and he should keep trying,” Brooke said. “He felt overwhelmed and didn’t believe he’d ever be successful. I told him he should stick with it, and it did.”

About six months later, it clicked, and Brendon began to improve. “All of a sudden, I started to really get a lot better at it, and then I started to travel for it and play in big tournaments.”

Brendon joined the American Cornhole League (ACL) and took a training course with an ACL professional. “I found my niche with it, and my goal is to go pro.”

To do that, Brendon must compete and do well, which has become his dream.

“Honestly, running Busy Bean has been great, but it’s not my dream,” he said. “It’s hard to chase my dream with a full-time operation.”

Brendon joined Throwbra Kai, a cornhole team in Kansas City, and has found success. “They invited me to join, which was awesome,” he said.

Brooke recalls watching competitive cornhole on ESPN shortly after having her second daughter. “The two things that were on during those weird times were drone racing and cornhole, and I was like, this is ridiculous,” she said. “They actually said at one point, ‘this crowd is electric.’ There were, like, 11 people there because this was before it had taken off.”

Now, the sport is big enough that a Pro National event has been scheduled at the Super Bowl, and Brendon said several major networks are involved.

“It went from maybe 20,000 registered cornhole players in the ACL when I started, and I’d say it’s well over 100,000 now,” Brendon said.

There are 256 professionals in the ACL, and Brendon is working to reach that level. “There are no ACL pros in Central Missouri, and it would be cool to be the first one,” he said. “It’s not an easy path, but I’m in it for the long haul.”

They agree it’s not something they expected to become a driving force, but for Brendon, 30, and Brooke, 26, this is a crossroads moment.

“It was a terrifying decision,” Brooke said. 

Brendon added, “We have to take a chance. Who knows what that looks like in 10 years?”

Brooke agreed. “We’re realizing more about who we are as people and what our dreams are, and we want our daughters to feel the same,” she said of Berkeley, 6, and Brenlee, 4.

Once the decision was made, they felt a sense of relief that outweighed the fear of the future.

“My dad understands,” Brendon said. “He didn’t want to force us into something we didn’t want to do.”

Brooke is a shift leader at Walgreens in Linn, and while supporting her husband’s dreams, she plans to explore interests outside of life as a wife and mother. “I’m going to let things come to me,” she said.

Brendon and Brooke are quick to reassure customers that closure won’t happen immediately.

“Don’t panic,” Brooke said. “We’re not closing right now. We’re moving toward it. When we decided to step away, we knew we wanted to do right by it. We’re not going to slam the doors and toss it to the wind. We want to watch it and hope it turns into something cool.”

Closing the store is bittersweet. “We’re heartbroken to walk away from it, but we’re excited to see what becomes of our next chapter,” Brooke said.

Deutsches Heim and Busy Bean Café and Sprouts Bakery and Delicatessen are a combined business, which Brendon said could be just what someone is looking to operate.

“Maybe this is someone else’s dream,” Brooke added. “We want this to be a positive thing, and so many good things can come of this.”

“We hope someone wants to continue the coffee shop because it’s a good thing to have in the community,” said Brendon. “No matter what comes, we ask that everyone continue to support small businesses in Linn. We need your help. We appreciate everyone for making the business a success.”

Employees are aware of the situation and will plan accordingly, Brendon said of his assistant manager, Ashlynne Berkemeyer, and four part-timers.

Follow Busy Bean Café and Sprouts Bakery and Delicatessen for updates.