Bar Eleven Coffee brings big flavor to a small town

Blackwell residents looking for a gourmet “pick-me-up” coffee experience without having to travel out-of-town might be able to find what they’re looking for by visiting a new traveling coffee shop.

The Bar Eleven Coffee Co. is housed in a small, enclosed trailer and travels to several local sites. It can be found through the week either at the old Sunny Cannon parking lot next to Kay Electric Cooperative on East Doolin Avenue or at the Blackwell Animal Hospital and livestock sale barn off West Doolin Avenue.

Bar Eleven is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Business owner Oakley Lehmann is a Kildare native with a taste for business. Her mobile operation might be only a few weeks old, but Lehmann said it’s growing fast.

“Lance and Tracy Cochran and the men and women at the Southern Plains Livestock Auction were a huge blessing, letting me set up Bar Eleven out there,” Lehmann said.

“I’ve gotten to meet so many people in the short amount of time that I’ve been in business. And, of course, I have to thank Haley Bruey, who operates the animal hospital. I simply wouldn’t be here if all these people didn’t let me come set up here.”

Bar Eleven stemmed from Lehmann noticing a need for coffee in the area. She said she set out to capitalize on that demand in a major way.

“There isn’t any local and down-to-earth place like this here, and I just knew that it would bring a lot of joy,” she said. “After all, who doesn’t love coffee?”

And it’s not just coffee that Lehmann is offering at Bar Eleven. There’s something for everyone, and there’s more to come, she said.

Lehmann’s truck offers cold brews, iced teas, Italian cream sodas, chocolate milk, homemade hot chocolate, house drip coffee, iced or hot cappuccinos, blended frappes, breves, ice Chai lattes and iced “Cowboy Coffee,” which is a cold brew with espresso.

Bar Eleven also offers homemade baked goods, including cinnamon rolls, sausage rolls and caramel rolls.

“Customer input is a huge thing for me,” Lehmann said. “If someone has a suggestion on any menu items, that is something I take very seriously, and I will try to accommodate that as best as I can.”

Bar Eleven’s coffee and products are made “as locally as possible,” said Lehmann, who prides herself on supporting area businesses to supply her ingredients.

Lehmann is the star of the show at Bar Eleven.

“When you’re a business owner, you’re married to that,” she said. “I set up the truck, I work it, I work out the menu, I go home and I order ingredients. I work on different flavors and perfecting what we have available.”

But she doesn’t do everything alone, thanks to her support system.

“My parents and boyfriend have helped me along with every step of the way, and I could not have done this without their extreme dedication to helping me and my business succeed,” she said.

For more information, visit Bar Eleven’s Facebook page. The shop’s phone number is 580-395-0629, and its email address is barelevenco@gmail.com.