Rose & Lois café is opening Saturday, March 7 with live music and free menu samples, including drip coffee, soups, sandwiches and charcuterie board items (olives, prosciutto, cheese, crackers and candied pecans).
“Those of you who have followed our mobile coffee bar know that this café opening has been in the works for quite some time,” said Owner and Operator Rachel Priddy. “To have the café now opening is a dream, and I am so grateful to those who have encouraged and supported us along the way.”
“Rose & Lois” is named after Priddy and her husband Cain’s two daughters, Amberlee Rose, 1, and Anna Lois, 3. Both girls are also named after their great-grandmothers, so the business name carries special significance for the family as well.
The mobile coffee bar will continue to service local farmers markets and festivals, and a second trailer is now available specifically for private events including weddings. The café, however, brings full circle the local café experience that Priddy was passionate about creating: A place for life to take place. To get work done, play with your kids, connect with others in the community, read, and savor the moment – all while enjoying exceptional specialty coffee roasted locally.
In December 2018, Priddy was on maternity leave contemplating returning to a career in sales. As a food scientist, she had been in technical sales for most of her career, but with two kids two and under at the time, she wanted to build a lifestyle that would allow her not to travel away from her family while still exposing her to people, as a self-proclaimed “people person.” This launched her trajectory of building a coffee shop business. (The mobile business was born after initially pursuing a café while patiently negotiating on different locations for a lease.)
After finding a roaster whose coffee Priddy “fell in love with,” Blue Mind Roasting of Indianapolis, she set to work growing her knowledge of coffee. After initially working to develop flavors, specifically coffee flavors, at a flavor house in Indianapolis, she then called on a large coffee retail chain, selling them flavors and helping with development of flavor profiles for coffee and syrups. From there, she began “drinking from the firehose,” as she calls it, trying to educate herself on as much about the beautiful world of coffee as possible.
“We could not be more excited to be going into our space at 7249 E. 146th St., Suite 110, Carmel,” Priddy said.
The location borders Westfield, Carmel, Fishers and Noblesville. Priddy says she was dedicated to having a drive thru as she understands the challenge parents face constantly buckling and unbuckling car seats. She also wanted outdoor seating, which this location offers in a back patio.
Additionally, the café features a small meeting room to host other local entrepreneurs when meeting clients, and a children’s play area to accommodate family life. The café is located just around the corner from home for the family, and Priddy has enjoyed biking to the café to monitor progress with her kiddos.
“To me, launching the café is just a microcosm of life coming together,” Priddy said. “I see it as an opportunity to invest in our community (including a worldwide reach of coffee purchased sustainably to provide a livable wage for the farmers), connect with the lives of other people, and teach our employees and our kids strong work ethic, customer service, problem-solving, responsibility, integrity, and so much more. Thank you for joining us on this adventure!”