We're Going to Open a Coffee House!

[LauraA]

Hey all. I just have to share this with you. We (our church) is in the very preliminary plans of opening a coffee house. Pastor asked Dan and I to head this ministry, and we're so excited about it. I would LOVE your ideas, suggestions, input. Here is where we are at:

We've been going to different coffee houses to get ideas. My brain is going to explode.

I can't sleep at night because I'm so excited about decorating it, that I roam the Internet looking for things to cross stitch for the walls, stencils, coffee cups, you name it.

We have a list of names going, but please feel free to offer suggestions. Our Pastor's son came up with "Holy Grounds" which I think is awesome.

We decided last night that we will have to restructure a little bit of the walls in the area we are putting the coffee house. Then we'll paint, get new flooring, and decorate. I guess I'd better learn to make coffee, too! LOL. (Oh dear.) Also, so we aren't so overwhelmed and so the expense isn't out of this world, we are going to start out with coffee and donuts on Sunday mornings. It will be an area for us at church to fellowship and relax. Then we will take the next step of inviting the community in for Sunday a.m., and after that, hopefully, get more equipment and expand hours. We also plan on having artists in for worship, entertainment once in awhile. I'm REALLY excited about that.

We were first going to go with a cottage-y kind of look, but then decided to go more "Lodge". (Outdoor, natural). Do you have any inexpensive ideas on decorating? We want it to be nice, without getting carried away or looking cheesy. lol. We would really like to put up some stone and a fireplace (artificial due to insurance), but those would take up so much space and we don't have a lot.

Does anyone know where to get a good deal on some coffee machines? Brands of coffee suggestions? Also, we need about 24 sturdy chairs to match our pine colored tables.

Maybe I'll start taking some pictures so you can watch the progress. It will be a little slow right now because we're working on SS rooms, but our project is the next one on the list.

[BrandyofPW]

I did this about a year ago on a pretty skimpy hotel budget, I'm sure similar to what you have as well. I'd look around your area for a discount restaurant supply store. They generally have the coffee brewers, chairs (ebay might be the best for chairs,) and other furniture you'll need. If you don't have a store in your area I know there are some online. But again, Ebay is good too. Um, as for the coffee itself does your church do any food service now? Like Sysco, Cheney Brothers, etc? You can order coffee through your distributer if you do. They usually have a few different kinds you can pick from depending on your budget and tastes. Anyway, I hope this is a little helpful for you! Good Luck!

[Labby]

http://missioncoffeeroasters.com/

Just a few pages to check out at that site:
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=16
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=15
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=7

[Kelly]

Wow that's awesome Laura! Good luck! I'll definitely help out whenever and however I can. Can't wait to see the pics/progress :)

I agree with Brandy, definitely check with the church's current distributors to see what they have available.

[LauraA]

I did this about a year ago on a pretty skimpy hotel budget, I'm sure similar to what you have as well. I'd look around your area for a discount restaurant supply store. They generally have the coffee brewers, chairs (ebay might be the best for chairs,) and other furniture you'll need. If you don't have a store in your area I know there are some online. But again, Ebay is good too. Um, as for the coffee itself does your church do any food service now? Like Sysco, Cheney Brothers, etc? You can order coffee through your distributer if you do. They usually have a few different kinds you can pick from depending on your budget and tastes. Anyway, I hope this is a little helpful for you! Good Luck!

Thank you! Yes, our budget will be tight. We are a very small home missions church.

We don't do any food service at all. In fact, the coffee house will really be a coffee room, and will be open to the church first, then we'll expand as we are able to. (As far as opening it to the public). We decided today on the name, "Common Grounds Coffee Room". We're meeting with pastor tomorrow to talk about our ideas, then going to Home Depot to look around with him. It will be a big day for us.

Thanks again!

[LauraA]

http://missioncoffeeroasters.com/

Just a few pages to check out at that site:
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=16
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=15
http://www.missioncoffeeroasters.com/index.cfm?page=7

Awesome! Thank you so much, Steve! I'm forwarding this to Pastor as well as Connie, who is in charge of fundraising. Great info here. We will certainly check this out.

Thanks, Kelly. Prayer support would be so appreciated. Although we are going to open up for only the church at first, our goal is to draw in the community and get to know the people in our area in a more personal way. Pray for open doors, open hearts, and souls to be drawn to Jesus through this.

:)

[Wheels4Jesus]

I think you should stamp on the walls, Laura! hehe (Coffee cups, coffee beans...etc,)

[LauraA]

LOL....you are tempting me. No, really though. Stenciling can give more depth to an image where stamping would be cute, but pretty flat, know what I mean? We're going to name it "Common Grounds Coffee Cabin" now, and go with a cabin/lodge decor. It'll be awesome. Can't wait! And, we're going to start out just opening it to our church and visitors, then gradually move towards opening to the public.

[Lindleigh]

Wow! What a cool idea! I'll think on it and if inspiration strikes, I'll let you know.

[LauraA]

^^^Thank you!:)

This is what I will stencil around the room above the 1/2 wall of pine. I'll have the leaves with a little autumn color in them:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/Raptureready49/Americanhomestencils26dollars-1.jpg

I will put this in some corners or peeking out from behind the curtains:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/Raptureready49/americanhomestencil18dollars.jpg

And I'll have this coming down from the ceiling, unless I find a real one to hang:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/Raptureready49/560-1.jpg

[LauraA]

I'll probably have this stenciled behind the coffee bar, or put it inside a frame. Maybe. Not sure yet.
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/Raptureready49/coffeewordswalltowallstencils.gif

I would love to find a place for this little guy:
http://i211.photobucket.com/albums/bb189/Raptureready49/866.jpg

[JC#1Nashvillefan]

I think that's an awsome idea
Good luck Laura

[DawnAurora]

Neat idea Laura! by all means, better to work the kinks out 'in house' first before putting the thing into public service.

You have NO idea how many multimillion dollar NGOs haven't figured out that basic concept yet!

[LauraA]

^^^I'll have to mention that to Pastor. We had fully intended to open to the public, but then he thought it would be best to stay in house, first. Dan and I totally saw his reasoning and agreed 100%. But I never would of thought of it myself. It's nice to have a man of God with so much wisdom as a Pastor. :)

[sv3]

How exciting Laura! I'll keep you all in my prayers. I hope it's a great success!;)

[LauraA]

Thank you so much! :)