Rebuild the Buffalo Brew after devastating fire

Hi, my name is Bobbi Busch (Stinson).

Back in June 2021, my husband Sean Stinson Jr. & I, were presented the opportunity to take ownership of the Buffalo Brew coffee shop, located on the Rosebud Sioux Tribe Reservation, in Mission, SD.

Owning an indigenous cafe/food truck/bakery type business had been one of our dreams and something we would talk about often, so without hesitation, we gathered our savings and jumped on the opportunity.

We spent our personal, hard-earned savings on purchasing and revamping the Buffalo Brew, with visions of it becoming more than a coffee shop.

We wanted to accommodate more than the coffee lovers.

We envisioned our shop being a safe and happy environment for our whole community to enjoy.

On top of being new business owners, working out the kinks of the business, making necessary adjustments, finding reliable employees, etc., we have a family (3 children and 3 dogs), and we are both full time employees (Sean at the Lumber Shop and I am the Office Manager/acting Manager of the Tribal Youth Shelter).

Amongst a few other recent unfortunate events, around 1:00am on February 8, 2022, the coffee shop was broken into. Thankfully, the wooden door connecting the coffee shop to the lumber shop was the only thing damaged and the cash drawer and cans of redbull were the only things taken.

Being a small business, just starting out, even little losses are extremely tough & somewhat discouraging.

Going forward, it is after the break-in that we realized the impact the Buffalo Brew has started to make in and for our community. We added a student discount to our system and quickly started discussing ideas for a "customer appreciation day", something to give back to our community & the people that support us.

Then... Sunday February 20, 2022 around 5:00pm, our whole world was stopped abruptly, when we started receiving calls, pictures, messages, etc., of heavy smoke rolling out of the building that housed the lumber shop and the coffee shop.

Fire crews fought all night, through freezing temperatures, but the fire burned relentlessly and ultimately burned everything to the ground.

The building wasn't ours, but we lost everything inside.

Everything from the cups, drink carriers, cup sleeves, syrups, frappe mixes, to-go trays, lids, filters, coffee beans, ground coffee, espresso machines, blenders, coffee pots, storage containers, shelves, ice makers, another cash drawer, ipad, card reader, tables & chairs, rugs, baking trays, soup pots, utensils, trash cans, our flags, outdoor furniture, holiday decorations, our fridges, our stove, deep freeze, the bakery display, LITERALLY EVERYTHING! We also lost all of the decor that we've been collecting, including custom paintings, bead work, beautiful indigenous artwork that can't be replaced, and our amazing employees lost their workplace and their income.

We are determined to bounce back from this, but with all pride aside, we know we can't do it alone.

Any and every bit of help, whether it be for equipment and supplies, or for a new building, or to help our employees, will be soooo greatly appreciated.

Lastly, please trust, the Love will be returned to our community when we are back on our feet again.

Thank you, from the bottom of our hearts.

ps: By “community” we mean everyone that has supported & still continues to support us & our dream.  

When it is time for us to give back to our support system, to our community, we will return the love ten-fold.