Brewers Cafe

 

3

14

Ken H.

Boalsburg, PA

1/15/2009 1 photo

An excerpt from my book going LOCAL!

Here's a nice little place, or perhaps a hidden treasure, one might say. It's an official contender for the world's smallest coffee and sandwich shop, tucked neatly between Keene's Barbershop and a cozy Cape Cod home. It's Boalsburg's newest old neighbor - Brewer's Café. Why new/old? Because Brewers has been serving up coffee, drinks and great sandwiches for several years, but now has a new home. Actually, it's in the renovated garage of the Cape Cod next door

Jen Bishop , a young woman who was fed up with the high rent and restrictions of her former location and also renting an apartment to live in at the same time, decided to buy herself a place to both live in and work out of. In a rare moment, a sweet place came up for sale along Church Street and was just what she needed to try and keep her business and  life going without losing all of her profits to rent. She did something that they do a lot in Europe, where people convert a street-side room of their home or a space next door into a little shop - a pastry shop, bakery shop, tobacco shop or something.

Here's how she was able to pull that off: Back in the day, the founding fathers of the Boalsburg Village Zoning Office put into local law a cottage industry clause. This allows those in the village district who own a home, to turn a living room or dining room into a retail shop! And a lot of people over the years have done just that.

Now maybe you can find an old house in a cool downtown or neighborhood district that needs some TLC and bring new life into it and open up that café that you've always dreamed about. Be proactive! Meet with your local government to see how you might do this and revitalize your town. Maybe then you can be like Jen who just took a chance and now owns her own shop next to her own home. Two dreams in one have now come true.

I encourage you to come to Boalsburg some day and stop in at the shops here and ask the owner/operators about their efforts. Sure, they will probably joke about being crazy to do what they do, but I bet all of them would not want anything else. There's a spirit here, but it's the same spirit that's in every little town all over the world. It's an indie spirit, a spirit of passion, pride, service and love that these owner/operators have.

Jen must love what she does or she would have given up, but she didn't. Her dream, hard work and a desire to provide a special little niche in the community are working both for her and for you. She offers variety of sandwiches and wraps both hot and cold, soups, salads, sides, drinks and of course coffee. All at very affordable prices and all made to order. Go check it out, but like I said at the beginning, it's a tiny place. Take a big appetite but just few friends - otherwise some will be standing outside.

Enjoy!

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