FRANKLIN — Get an inside look at what goes into you morning cup of Joe. Customers at one Johnson County for-benefit coffeehouse now have the opportunity to see what goes into the making of their morning beverage.
Coffeehouse Five opened its doors in Greenwood with a mission.
As a "For-Benefit" coffeehouse, Coffeehouse Five utilizes their revenue to provide five services to the community. Those include free premarital counseling, free marriage counseling, free addiction recovery programs, free mentor training and another portion of their proceeds are dedicated to help fund other mental health needs.
They first opened their Greenwood location in 2014, and since then have opened locations in Franklin and Bargersville.
The Franklin location is the site of a new, major face lift.
"When we started Coffeehouse Five in 2014, there were not a lot of local roasters," said Brian Peters, co-owner and head roaster. "And coffee every day after it's roasted, loses flavor."
That's why Coffeehouse Five brought roasting under their own roof in 2017 in Greenwood and then moved operations to Franklin, but the roasting was in the back of the building.
Peters says not a lot of customers know much about the roasting process or that they do their own roasting on site, but that's all about to change with the opening of their brand new roasting room.
"People in the cafe can actually see us as we roast," said Peters. "But then we also want to have some events here in this room, invite people in to talk about how we roast, how the process is, where the beans come from, and actually let people roast their own beans."
The roasting room sits inside their coffee shop and is visible through glass windows. The space inside the room is big enough for a small group of guests to get a close-up look at the roasting process.
It's a project made possible with dollars from the Franklin Development Corporation's Commercial Revolving Loan Fund.
Krista Linke with FDC says the not-for-profit organization supports and encourages investment and competitiveness in the historic downtown Franklin business community. The organization provides grants and loans to rehab existing structures and helps store owners make needed repairs to keep the business community thriving.
FDC recently awarded their 100th facade grant, which has transformed the downtown business landscape over the past decade. And with commercial loans, businesses are able to borrow money to make needed repairs and upgrades to their structures, like the roasting room inside Coffeehouse Five.
FDC is a separate entity from the city of Franklin and has all information on how to apply for loans on their website and they can assist business owners in the application process.
Peters says the application process was simple, and that this expansion can help give customers the transparency they are looking for in the products they buy.
"Where their products are coming from, how they are being handled, how they are being sourced," said Peters.
He adds that the bigger roasting space allows them to increase their wholesale capacity. Coffeehouse Five currently provides coffee for several nearby churches and businesses.
"That allows us to obviously increase our revenue that's available to support the mental health services we provide," said Peters.
To learn more about Coffeehouse Five's mission and to visit one of their three locations, visit https://www.coffeehousefive.com/
You can follow them on social media for upcoming roasting room events for the public.
And to learn more about the grants and loans amde possible by the FDC, you can visit https://www.franklindevelopmentcorporation.org/
