Farm House Brew set to expand to Cloverdale

A family business that has been serving up coffee in Monrovia is set to make a transition to Cloverdale this summer.

Michael and Carrie Syczylo own and operate Farm House Brew in Monrovia and will be taking over possession of the Sweet Clover Coffee building, which is located at 202 S. Main Street, Cloverdale, and will be opening their second shop this summer in Cloverdale. The husband and wife duo look to open Farm House Brew in Cloverdale on August 1, but note that there is work that needs to be done to hit that deadline. 

"Our goal is August 1. We will do soft openings before we do our grand opening. We have a little more work to do to get the shop ready than we expected. If we are not ready by August 1, we will not rush this just to say we opened by August 1. We are going to try really hard. We think we can get the shop turned around in two or three weeks, but we do have some remodel work to do to get it set up like Farm House Brew," Carrie told The Putnam County Post.  

As for how the business started, Carrie said it was the result of a desire to bring good, local coffee to the area. 

"Our family started Farm House Brew six and a half years ago in Monrovia. We are a local family who had a strong desire to bring local, good coffee to our rural community, and, thankfully, we have been successful," Carrie said. 

Carrie's husband, Michael, said the family has always been "coffee connoisseurs," and realized Monrovia needed what he describes as a "good coffee shop."

"One of the reasons why we started this is because our youngest daughter came home from school one day and said kids were going to Starbucks every day to the point where they are late to school. We were like this is a no brainer, and we had to open our own shop here. If the kids were willing to go 15-20 minutes to the surrounding communities to get coffee, there is definitely a need in our town. That is one of the reasons why we started. We saw a need and where excited to offer that," Michael Syczylo said. 

As for why Cloverdale, the husband and wife team said it just made perfect sense.

"We always said if we were going to go anywhere else, it would be a small community, like Greencastle or like Cloverdale. These two spots have always been on our radar because we know we can mimic what we have done in Monrovia. The thing that is beautiful and the reason why we want to come to Cloverdale is because there is a coffee shop there. We want to come to come to Cloverdale and the setup is the same as in Monrovia. The school is a block away, the municipal building is right next door, and the bank is a couple blocks away. Farm House Brew will be able to come in and mimic what we have done in Monrovia and be a good support system for the schools and for the community," Carrie said. 

In addition, Carrie said the focus of Farm House Brew is both coffee and community. 

"Our focus besides coffee is community. We are in some weird times, no matter where we are, and we think people desire to have consistency in life. We know we need to be able to lean on and build our community right now, and a local coffee shop does that. Over the last six and a half years, we've celebrated great things with people, we've grieved with people and a coffee shop should be able to offer the community a safe place to gather, meet friends and family and should also provide a very good cup of coffee," Carrie Syczylo said. 

Both Michael and Carrie said rural communities are near and dear to their heart, and that is another reason why they sought out Cloverdale.

"It almost seemed like when we opened the coffee shop that people in the rural area didn't believe they could have good coffee or, maybe, even thought they didn't deserve good coffee in their area. We have always lived rural and we are passionate about the rural lifestyle. We want to be the people to provide good coffee in rural areas that will be worth the drive and keep people coming back," Carrie said. 

One of the vital parts of the coffee shop is the roaster, according to Carrie. 

"Our beans are brought in once a week from Columbus, Indiana. Our roaster roasts the beans on Tuesday and brings them on Thursday or Friday. We let them sit a bit and then we are ready to serve organic coffee. We do all of our recipes and we want to make sure we are doing things that are handcrafted, come from our hearts and we put good coffee in a cup in an atmosphere that makes you want to come back," Carrie said. 

In addition to coffee, Farm House Brew will also feature food options, lotus drinks and more. There are also plans to offer a drive thru at the Cloverdale location. 

"It's your coffee shop. We are going to run it and see it through. We want to be here to serve good coffee and fresh food with smiles. When you come in, you should feel welcome and everyone is welcome," Carrie noted. 

Carrie said in addition to coffee and food, residents should expect Farm House Brew to get involved in the community, noting the business has been active in a community garden and other initiatives in Monrovia. 

"We want to be a support system for the community," Carrie said. 

Michael echoed those sentiments.

"We are thrilled. It's not just handing you a cup of coffee, we are building relationships with individual customers, the school and the community. We are going to build the relationships like we did in Monrovia and I think that is what makes everyone successful. We want to be that beacon of hope when people aren't feeling their best," Michael said. 

For more information on Farm House Brew, visit www.farmhousebrew.org.