When Yanti Bean and Yovina Miller met each other face to face for the first time this spring, they quickly learned of several life overlaps.
Miller, a native of Jakarta, Indonesia, arrived in the United States on October 11, 2006. Two months later, Bean unknowingly joined her after living a stone’s throw away on the island of Java for years.
Today, both are small business owners in greater Glenside. Bean helped found Sumatra Cafe in Wyncote in 2020 with two of her friends. Miller moved to Glenside in 2012 with her husband and launched Miller’s Apiary some years later. 11 years ago, they both became first-time mothers.
“I had heard of Yanti before, and then we crossed paths at an elevateHER event. We chatted about the ups and downs of owning a business in America, and I learned a lot from her in terms of how she runs her business,” Miller said.
Miller’s business offers elderberry syrup, raw honey, and teas, among other health-centric handmade treats. She said consistent access to homeopathic remedies has been worth the trip.
“I love it here. I can learn anything I want. Books on niche subjects were hard to access back home, and they can be expensive,” she said. “I’ve studied beekeeping, homeopathy, herbalism. It’s all there for the taking.”
The academic year is the apiary’s busy season. In the summer, Miller works with her bees and prepares for the coming year. Her business doesn’t have a website (though it does have an Instagram page) and doesn’t ship. Miller says that’s by design.
“All of our customers are locals from Montgomery, Bucks, and Delaware counties. I want to keep it small so that I can manage all of our products myself,” she said.
Bean’s journey to owning a cafe began after managing a coffee shop in Philadelphia. Her friends had found a space for lease in Wyncote and asked if she wanted in. In 2025, she became the sole proprietor.
“I wanted to help create a space for people to slow down, have good food and coffee, and make social connections. It’s been doing wonderfully since we opened. Everyone who comes here becomes an extended family,” she said. “We know 90% of our customers, their wives, their husbands, their kids. Hospitality is, to me, more than just serving food. My goal is to make sure everyone leaves feeling better than when they walked in.”
Bean credits her loyal employees, many of whom are Indonesian and commute from South Philly by train, for keeping with the same vision.
“They’re friendly and happy to serve people,” she said, noting that Sumatra Cafe’s kitchen was expanded over the summer to accommodate more orders. “Our next idea is to offer a drive-thru pickup window so customers can order from the app and continue on their way.”
The new drive-thru window is expected soon, as is Sumatra Cafe’s Hatboro location. Bean said it’s still in the permit process, though a November opening is possible.
Sumatra’s Cafe is also a regular contributor to the Abington Community Fridge at St. Peter’s Episcopal Church (654 N. Easton Road), a mutual aid Miller co-founded last year. She said the refrigerator and adjacent dry goods pantry receives donations three times a week from Dig Inn, Mom’s Organic Supermarket, and Fill-A-Bagel.
“Garden of Health of North Wales lets us pick up food as well. Gardeners in summer are bringing us their surplus, and whenever people have leftovers from social events, they drop it off,” she said. “Last year, I was cleaning the fridge and two ladies were telling me that for Thanksgiving, they got pretty much everything from the pantry. It was wonderful to hear that. An older man told me that he’s been getting most of his food from us as well.”
Despite their busy schedules as mothers and small business owners, Bean and Miller still find time to catch up when they can.
“Yovina and I go out to lunch sometimes and talk about everything from A to Z and Z to A,” she said. “It’s been wonderful getting to know each other.”
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