Brauhaus Kaffee

All photos by smalltowngirl

I love this coffee shop. 

Still new (open for less than a month, I believe), Brauhaus Kaffee is the newest addition to quaint, downtown Farmington's collection of stores and restaurants. 

The owners, who are residents of Fredericktown, Missouri, have spent the last two years renovating the space.

I'm not sure how old downtown's buildings are, but my guess is that they're from the early 1900s. The sidewalk outside is red brick, and two tables with two chairs each, sit just outside the cafe's front doors. 

The cafe's two floor-to-ceiling picture windows let sunshine stream in, and offer a view of the side of the court house, around which downtown Farmington was built.

Gleaming, subtly distressed hardwood floors are offset by black granite-topped tables and contemporary black leather sofa and armchairs. 

Prints of German artwork hang on the red, exposed brick, and a piano sits in the back. 

Beside the piano sits an empty guitar stand - empty because someone in the cafe has inevitably picked up the instrument to pluck out acoustic melodies each time I've been in the cafe.

I like to think that by way of my Sunday afternoon latte ritual, I'm helping keep Pat, the owner's spirits high. Today we chatted about their scones being hand made from scratch each morning, and about the anticipation over the arrival of their new stove, which will accomodate homeades soups in addition to their already homemade baked goods.

Today, craving something sweet, I ordered a mocha. The taste was just as great as the presentation:

The clientelle is as diverse as one could hope for in a community as relatively homogeneous as Farmington, Missouri is. 

Today, for instance, there were three q-tips (white haired folks), a woman who looked to be my age with a mod, black haircut and a large tatoo on her foot, and another late-20s/early-30s writer-type with a laptop. I couldn't help the excitement, overhearing him voice his enthusiasm about a local, independent magazine.

I hope that Brauhaus Kaffee surives. I take that back, I hope that it thrives, and I have faith that it will. Warm fuzzies will take over my belly when downtowns come fully to life again, and I think Farmington's well on it's way, thanks to places like this one.