coffee & cream

What is the Coffee and Cream? It is a coffee and ice cream shop we hope to open in South Milford. Why would two people who don’t drink coffee want to open a coffee shop? That is a really good question. Since moving to the South Milford area we have been praying about finding/creating a third space for people to gather (see blog on third spaces).

In July of 2021 we were having breakfast with another couple that has the same heart as ours, for Jesus and our community. They had been praying with us for the same thing. The old brick building in South Milford had especially been on Andrea’s heart, so our friends said let’s call the owner and see what the deal is with that building. The owner is an HVAC company called J.O. Mory and the president said, why don’t you come look at it now. And so that is what we did.

This building (really 2 brick buildings connected) was built in 1893 and had been many things over the years from a bank to a grocery and clothing stores to having offices for J.O. Mory at one time. But it has been many many years since it had been really used except storing a few things. While general maintenance had been done over the years here and there, lots of work would have to be done to get it to a usable place to have a coffee shop there.

I shared our dream and vision of a coffee shop to the president as he showed us around the building, with its historic stamped tin ceilings and areas where beautiful big windows once were that had been boarded up for many years. We could all envision to one degree or another what this could be, but we also saw all the man hours and financial investment it would take.

As the president went back across the road to his office, I was thinking there is no way this could happen outside of a miracle of God. We estimated $20,000 to $30,000 to just get it to a place to start thinking about a coffee shop. Our friends said we could maybe fundraise or get grants to cover this cost. But again, that would be just enough to get the building into a usable place not all the expenses of converting it to a coffee shop. I will be honest, I was overwhelmed by the thought, and I think I said out loud, that if God wants this to happen, He will have to make it happen.

My thought was let’s pray some more and get together with are friends in a few weeks and see how we felt God was leading. God was ready to move a little faster than Andrea and I were. Two days after our tour of the brick building, Andrea and I drove by and noticed water being pumped out of the basement, two days after that we drove by again and saw doors open and could tell work was being done inside. I called my friend and said “Hey, do you know what’s going on at the building?” He had noticed the same and had contacted the president. When we had shared our vision with him, he got so excited he decided to start the extensive repairs almost immediately. Just some of the work they are doing is replacing floor joist and floors, foundational and brick work on the outside, water, and sewage (that’s how long it has been since this building has been used, it currently doesn’t have either), heating and cooling, and much more.

I was blown away by how quickly God was moving. While those repairs would take many months, we knew we needed to start moving. We contacted some family friends who started a coffee shop in March of 2020 (and survived) and met with them. They were and continue to be such a blessing. Andrea started taking a “Coffee Shop Startup” class online that came highly recommended. We began building a team around us, that love Jesus, and have more business and coffee experience than us. Things keep moving forward and miracles keep happening. We are excited what God has in store and will keep you updated as things progress.