Today we’d like to introduce you to Stephen Martin.
Before Covid, Stephen owned a video production company, but when the pandemic hit, because most of his business was with corporate clients, calls fell silent. Outside of helping clients create zoom rooms or stream events, there was minimal work. Whereas before he was traveling around the country 2 weeks out of the month, now he was able to be at home with his wife and 2 boys, Caleb (19) and Joshua (17) riding dirt bikes, hiking, and making s’mores every night. Around May of 2020, as he and his wife Marilyn were driving through the downtown square of Cleveland, they noticed that a little space (about 300 square feet) was now vacant. This space had been occupied for the last 8 years since they moved into town from South Florida. Stephen always hoped that someone in town would open a really good coffee shop on the square and he and his wife always thought that spot would be perfect for a little quaint cafe. Fate would have it that the ones opening that desired shop would be the Martins. Stephen and Marilyn got the keys in October 2020 and had their grand opening March of 2021.
When imagining what owning their coffee shop would be like, the expectation was that this little chill shop would only require one of them to work at a time, maybe two at the busiest times of the day, but they never imagined that once Farmhouse Coffee opened, they would be working a tireless 80 hours a week and their sons working 50 hours. Finally, in May they were able to hire their first team member and get some sleep. The shop has now been open a year and a half, and in addition to overseeing the Cleveland location and their talented team, they have built a coffee trailer that they use to cater events and use as a tool for brand awareness. On Monday, August 15th, they opened up another space on the square called Farmhouse Commons which serves as seating for their coffee shop customers and is being rented out as a premier upscale small venue. Recently they also announced their plans to open a second Farmhouse Coffee location in Gainesville, GA.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
You know, anytime you’re stepping out to do something – to take a risk – there are always people who love to give unsolicited advice, explaining all the reasons why you SHOULDN’T do what you are thinking about doing or why the deep end of the pool you are about to jump in is dangerous and how. You probably will not get out of this alive or at the very least, if you put all your chips in, you will be homeless. So, honestly, the biggest challenges we have faced are from well-meaning advice givers and of course, the limits that we undoubtedly are tempted to place on ourselves in the process. I would say another “good” challenge is the growing pains of a successful brand launch. Because of the rapid growth, we find ourselves constantly redefining our roles and grinding our teeth as we have to delegate yet another responsibility that we finally felt adequate in doing just to grab ahold of a new task that makes us feel very Inadequate. Of course, once we feel like we’ve got a handle on that one, our roles will change again and we’ll have to get a bigger pair of leadership shoes.
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Farmhouse Coffee & Farmhouse Commons?
Farmhouse Coffee was birthed out of the desire to serve the best coffee and when people come to get that coffee, they will be seen, heard, and valued. When that vision is accomplished, community is created, relationships are built and people will leave feeling less alone. And honestly, what Covid did is isolate people, which inherently brings a sense of aloneness and disconnection. We wanted to restore that connection, get people walking around the square, getting out of their houses, and having a sense of normalcy again.
Farmhouse Commons is just another piece to our puzzle in the square. The whole idea for Commons was birthed from the desire our customers had to not only walk in and pick up their coffee, but to get their coffee and sit down for a while with their friends. We really didn’t even have the idea of renting it out until we had already started envisioning what Commons would look like. After that we thought, “well, maybe we could make this place even more spectacular and rent it out as a venue.” We really wanted it to feel like a giant living room that no one would want to leave.
We specialize in coffee, but honestly, when people make statements about the impact we have made in the community, I would say that we would just as rather be known for that than JUST making good coffee. Our slogan is Rise and Shine and you gotta have that caffeine to “Rise” and wake up, but then everyone really needs that personal and relational connection to be able to go out and “Shine” in the world.
How do you think about luck?
When it comes to luck, we are of the belief that there are no coincidences. We have a saying that we are just following the bread crumbs.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @farmhousecoffee.co / @farmhousecommons
- Facebook: @farmhousecoffee.co / @farmhousecommons
Image Credits
All photos are credited to Amelia Skye Cinema except for the one photo with the line going into the coffee shop photo which should be credited to Fredrick Giles
