NILES — When Muta Mwenya opened Atomic Bean Coffee Jan. 15 in downtown Niles, he said he did so not to make a profit but to make his city a better place to live in.

The 205 E. Main St. business opened for the last time on Saturday, Sept. 21. It officially closed Tuesday, Sept. 24, about nine months after it opened.

The closure was a few weeks in the making. Mwenya said he had to meet with stakeholders to confirm the decision.

Mwenya, the lead pastor at Relevant Church in Niles, cited bad timing, bandwidth and resources as causes of the café’s closure. The realities made it difficult for him to deliver the excellent service he hoped for.

“I really believe in the future of Niles and even the now of Niles, and I want everything that’s in Niles to be excellent,” he said.

Despite Atomic Bean’s short-lived run, Mwenya believes his café made a difference in the community and considers its nine months in business a success in measurements outside of longevity.

“One of the reasons we opened the shop was to make an impact in the city,” he said. “Honestly, I’ve seen incredible life change take place from the coffee shop already.”

Its impactful work began in its business structure. Mwenya donated part of his business’ profits to Relevant Church.

Mwenya would also host community hangouts for youth monthly at Atomic Bean, which featured live music and games. He plans to continue to open the Atomic Bean’s doors once more for a hangout, as he has his lease for the building until the end of October.

Atomic Bean’s impact also extended to its employees, customers and neighboring businesses.

“We weren’t just serving coffee, we were serving second chances,” Mwenya said. “We were serving hope. We were serving encouragement and motivation, and we didn’t want people to walk into that space and simply grab a cup of coffee. We really wanted their lives to be impacted.”

Some of its baristas were hired onto staff despite what would traditionally be considered employment barriers. Now, that employee and others have found full-time jobs despite Atomic Bean’s closure.

Some of the café’s customers were fighting through barriers, too, Mwenya said. Students faced midterm exams. Others were adults facing financial hardships.

Atomic Bean offered them a space for growth. Mwenya said he would sometimes spend hours hearing peoples’ stories when he made it into the shop.

“The connection to people is what we really loved about the coffee shop,” he said. “I have very fond memories. Plus, with being only open nine months, the relationships were awesome.”

Relationship-building extended to other downtown restaurants and organizations. Atomic Bean’s popular dirty hot chocolates had their key ingredient sourced from Veni’s Sweet Shop. The caramel in its mochas were from The Brass Eye, a two-minute walk away.

The Niles Main Street DDA the Greater Niles Chamber of Commerce were Atomic Bean’s “biggest champions,” Mwenya said.

“These were my brothers and sisters on a mission to try to make our city better,” he said.

In retrospect, Mwenya considers Atomic Bean as a temporary gap between for downtown coffee business. When Top Heavy Coffee closed late last year, Atomic Bean moved in at the same site.

The area’s caffeine needs will now be serviced by The Rage and Gabrizio, restaurants that opened this summer.

While Mwenya believes his coffee was better, he said he never viewed either business, nor nearby Brew Ha Ha, as competitors. Rather, they were partners to make Niles a better place to live, work and play.

“It’s a loss of great coffee, but not a loss of a great environment,” he said.

Mwenya comes from a family of entrepreneurs. Atomic Bean was not his first business endeavor, and he does not plan for it to be his last.

For now, though, Mwenya said he will “lean in” on his primary endeavor: being a pastor. It is what drew him to Niles, and it will allow him to impact his city in different ways than Atomic Bean has.