Caffeination
for relaxation sounds counter-intuitive, but it’s not just a concept. It’s real
and happens six days a week at Cherry Ghost Coffee House. As you turn west onto
Washington’s Main Street from Highway 57, Cherry Ghost Coffee House is the
first building on the right. Folks here love their coffee, but they feel even
stronger about their community.
In
October of 2008, Vickie and Brian Sherman launched their dream business. It was
a coffee house with a conscience, serving organic, free-trade coffees freshly
roasted in Brown County and brought regularly to Washington; a high-quality
product people could feel good about consuming. They served it in an
environment that is difficult to describe. It’s funky. It’s hodge-podge. It’s
eclectic. It’s … well, it’s home to a number of people, if only for a few
moments each day.
Fortunately,
in late 2014 when the Shermans decided to pursue other dreams, their vision of
a home for the community was too deeply entrenched to cease. Their friends
Julie and Eric Bassler purchased the business and it continues today much as it
has been since it began, because that’s what people love about it.
When
you stop in, what will be the first thing to catch your eye? Will it be the
posters of bygone concerts by folk, blues, and Americana icons? Folks here love
all types of music. Will it be the strings of colored lights or the challenge
of finding two identical chairs? Nearly every item on display is unique. Or
will it perhaps be the organic teas, the espresso machine, or the freshly
prepared baked goods, delivered that morning and proudly displayed on the
counter beneath a glass dome on a cake plate? Maybe, but I don’t think so.
Those
things surprised me, but what really captured me was how the décor reflects the
clientele. Older patrons gather around a table near the front window, chatting
and crocheting and greeting each person who comes in. High school students pop
in during a break in their day, laughing and enthusiastic. People of any age
come in, sit down, and visit with their friends. This exchange is natural.
Historically, coffee houses and tea houses have been places where ideas are
shared, news is exchanged, and patrons find a home outside their own walls. It’s
that way at the Cherry Ghost. People aren’t rushed and they’re happy to see one
another.
From
7:30 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and from 7:30 a.m. to noon on
Saturday, Cherry Ghost Coffee House is open for business. They re-open
Wednesday and Friday evenings from 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. On Wednesdays, musicians drop
in and play together while guests chat, listen, or both. On Fridays, special
guest musicians come in and entertain. The Cherry Ghost has also hosted game
nights, fund-raisers, and book signings.
If
you are looking for a chance to meet new people, a place to relax, and a spot
to appreciate for its character and for the characters who congregate there,
try the Cherry Ghost Coffee House. Don’t be surprised if you want to sit for a
while. New visitors are welcomed, continually, eventually becoming regulars and
sharing this spot with their friends. Ask anyone there and they’ll tell you
it’s an easy place to be and a hard place to leave.
Cherry Ghost Coffee House
424 East Main Street
Washington, Indiana 47501
(812) 259-2944
Published in November 2015 edition of Striving for Success magazine
