HAYESVILLE – The line of salivating customers stretched nearly out the door Saturday morning at Brew’d Coffee & Donut Shop.
Other smiling patrons gathered at tables, sipping coffee and sampling sweet treats on the store’s opening day.
It’s a dream come true for owner Margi Yeater.
“I’m just thrilled that I can do this,” Yeater said, surveying the crowd. “I’m a people person, so this right here, I absolutely love it.”
Yeater, 55, always dreamed of having her own coffee shop.
It wasn’t until Ben and Kim Ferguson opened Village Point Market and began transforming the village that Yeater started eyeing 7 W. Main St. as a location and got serious about the idea.
Margi and her husband, Sam, grew up in Hayesville, raised their kids in the village and now have grandkids in the area.
Margi loved the idea of creating a fun place with a cozy feeling for people to visit in her hometown.
The donuts were almost an afterthought.
“My husband said if you do coffee, you’ve got to have something to go with it,” Margi said.
Inspired by a cousin who opened a donut shop in Georgia, Margi began making donuts at home, selling them at events and by special order.
Perfecting the flavors and textures of her signature sweets was what Margi describes as “an up and down emotional roller coaster.”
But the product has been worth it. Brew’d now sells 16 kinds of donuts, including various frosted, filled and cake donuts.
The donuts are baked rather than fried, and all are made fresh in the store.
Local customers have quickly grown attached to favorites like cream sticks, and Margi’s apple fritters sold out within a couple hours of the store’s opening.
For now, Margi brews coffee from Caruso’s Coffee Roasters in Cleveland. She may add other brands in the future.
The shop brews light roast, dark roast, decaf and a flavored coffee of the day. Pour over coffee and hot tea is coming soon. The menu also includes iced coffee, frappes and fruit smoothies as well as hot chocolate, fruit juices and milks.
In addition to her menu, Margi has poured time and love into the building at 7 W. Main St., which she rents from Bill Anderson.
Once home to the village’s first hardware store, the shop most recently was used as a residence.
Since taking occupancy of the building last April, the Yeaters gutted the entire building to create Margi’s dream shop from the ground up.
Sam built custom tables for the dining room and constructed the new awnings outside the store. The pair also added a drive-thru window that opens to an alley beside the shop, where customers can pull up and order coffee and donuts to go.
“I took very short baby steps with everything, but I knew my vision and just worked on it a little at a time,” Margi said.
The business is still a work in progress, Margi said, adding that she will be responsive to customers’ requests and do what it takes to keep them happy.
Margi plans to keep her full time job in payroll at the Ashland County Courthouse, but she works hard at the store on evenings and weekends. She has hired about 10 part-time employees to help keep the shop running seven days a week.
The Yeaters are thrilled to be part of a new wave of growth in Hayesville.
“It was so stagnant for a long time, and now it’s just going places,” Margi said. “That’s thanks to Ben and Karen Ferguson for starting to get Hayesville back on the map.”
The Fergusons inspired Margi to follow her dreams, and now she is encouraging others to do that same.
“A group of students from the junior high came into the shop yesterday and I told them, I said, ‘I’m 55 years old, so don’t ever think you can’t follow your dreams… Even if you fail, you’ve got to try.’
Brew’d is open 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays and 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Sundays. For large quantities or special orders, call 419-922-1006.
For more information, visit www.brewdcoffeeanddonuts.com or find Brew’d on Facebook.
