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Brewed Expressions: Coffee with a smile

CINDY WOOD/independent feature writer

The concept was simple. Offer a good quality product, smile, and be nice.

Fawn Taylor hands out a drink at Brewed Expressions Monday morning. The new business handed out free coffee to all veterans and active servicepersons on Memorial Day. (photos by Cindy Wood/Van Wert independent)
Fawn Taylor hands out a drink at Brewed Expressions Monday morning. The new business handed out free coffee to all veterans and active servicepersons on Memorial Day. (photos by Cindy Wood/Van Wert independent)

Anyone who knows Frank and Cheryl Bowen knows it wasn’t all that difficult for them. After all, they’ve both been working with the public for a combined 42 years: Frank at the Van Wert County Sheriff’s Department and, most recently, as chief Common Pleas probation officer, and Cheryl as a dispatcher with the city police department.

“Well, I guess I just like to talk,” Frank said with a laugh. He gets to do a lot of that in his “official” duties as chief greeter at Brewed Expressions, one of Van Wert’s newest small businesses. “The people keep talking back to me, so I must be doing something right.”

The Bowen family has long been engrained in the community, and they expanded that hometown hospitality in February by purchasing a drive-through coffee shop at 1114 S. Washington St. in Van Wert. “I retired in 2012 and, well, I guess I’m working again,” Frank said. “But we all just like working with people.”

While the couple is actively involved in the venture, the older Bowens leave the day-to-day business operations to son Frankie and daughter-in-law Laura.

“We had an opportunity to buy this and, of course, we were a little worried because you just never know,” Frank said, “but it’s just going great and we couldn’t be happier with it.”

In its first four months of business, there were bumps and bruises along the way, but things have smoothed out and Brewed Expressions is now running like a well-oiled machine, offering a variety of hot and cold gourmet coffees, espressos, frappes, in addition to baked goods from Van Wert’s own CakeCrazy.

“A month after we opened we had to buy a new espresso machine and that’s pretty much like buying a new car,” Frankie Bowen said. “Anytime you make an investment like this you’re going to run into that kind of stuff.

“A lot of little things added up quickly and that was scary for us,” he added. “It was horrible at the time, but we had a lot of support from other small businesses who helped get us back up and running pretty quickly.”

“Running” might be an understatement. Since opening just four months ago, the business has gained a huge following of “regulars” who drive through every day for what some fans have called their “liquid IVs.”

So what’s their secret? “Well, it’s good coffee first of all,” Frank said. “I’ve been drinking coffee my whole life and a lot of people like me just have to have their coffee, no matter how hot it is outside.”

And on those 90-degree scorcher days when hot coffee might not sound so appealing?

“We started marketing our cold drinks in April and changing our menus to a lot of iced products,” Frankie Bowen said. “Our red velvet drink has really taken off and it has actual cake mix in it and people comment that they really love it. We were kind of worried at first that the business would slow down in the summer, but it’s actually maintained itself, and even gotten busier on some days.”

That’s welcome news for the family — and for the legion of followers the business has quickly amassed. Utilizing social media, Brewed Expressions has offered contests and promotions such as “show us your best ‘selfie’” to bring in business, in addition to partnering up with Niswonger Performing Arts Center to offer free coffee samples during events and shows.

“The first day we were there we served over a thousand cups of coffee,” Frankie said. “We do a lot of cross marketing by handing out their flyers and offering free tickets for our customers, so that’s been great for both of us, I think.”

On Memorial Day, Brewed Expressions offered free coffee to any veteran or active military serviceperson, furthering its efforts to be a community-oriented business.

“We also did over five hundred coupons to the hospital staff during Hospital Appreciation Week, and we just dropped off 1,400 coupons to Van Wert City Schools,” Frankie noted. “We’ve spent a lot of time coming up with ways to get involved in the community and we’ll be around this summer at the fair and walking in the Peony Parade as well.”

Frankie (left) and Frank Bowen adjust the lighting to their new business sign on South Washington Street in Van Wert.
Frankie (left) and Frank Bowen adjust the lighting to their new business sign on South Washington Street in Van Wert.

While there are daily challenges in running a small business, the Bowens concentrate on the number one mantra to any successful business. “The customer is always right here,” Frank Bowen said, with his son adding, “We really want to be a positive part of a person’s day, so if we do something wrong, we’re going to make it right.”

And the family never underestimates the power of what a simple smile can do for someone’s day.

“People who are waiting in line now just expect dad to come out and start talking to them, and they roll their windows down to chat with him,” Frankie Bowen said. “We don’t want it to be just a place where you drive through and get your coffee. We want to be friends with our customers, know your name, and know what your favorite drink is. We realized very quickly that a smile goes a long way and we want to have an environment that’s fun for people.”

Hence the business name. While it was a difficult process coming up with the name, the family finally decided on Brewed Expressions.

“I can’t tell you how many times we went to supper and talked for hours about what to name it,” Frankie Bowen said. “But our slogan is to express yourself through your coffee, so the name just kind of fit with our brand. We started everything from scratch and made it our own.”

And to further their commitment to their hometown, Frankie and Laura Bowen have partnered with OSU Extension to speak to local students about coming back to Van Wert after college and making a life here. “I went to school in Nashville and lived in a big city, but it just never felt like home to me,” Frankie said. “So we want people to know that you can go away to college, and still come back to your hometown and make a living.”

The Bowens have managed a way to do just that, and they’re having a great time doing it.

“We love it,” Frankie said, adding that the business is always looking for ways to make things more convenient for its customers.

If all goes as planned, the business will offer a smartphone app early next year that will allow customers to not only order from their phone, but pay for it as well.

“It will be connected to our register and everything can be done from the phone, so if you’re in a hurry you can just pull up, we’ll hand you your coffee, and off you go,” Frankie said.

Right now, the family is concentrating on growing the business and keeping their customers satisfied … and coming back.

“There are a lot of people who have helped us out along the way,” Frank Bowen said, pointing out that Mark White, owner of the complex where the business is located, has been instrumental. “I tell you what, you can’t ask for a better guy,” Frank said. “Anytime we’ve had anything come up, he was right here, keeping our drive plowed or whatever we needed.”

And the biggest thanks, an obvious from any small business owner, goes to?

“Most definitely our customers,” Frankie said. “We wouldn’t be here without our customers, and everyone has been extremely supportive. It’s been more than we ever expected, and we’re so thankful.”

Spoken like a true small business owner.

For more information about Brewed Expressions, call 419.605.5528, or visit its Facebook page.

POSTED: 05/27/14 at 7:06 am. FILED UNDER: News