Thriving through the pandemic: The Brew, light on cream and heavy on nostalgia

An open, wooden ceiling, old pews, a sign outside the door reading, “TR Worshipped,” and a building that is still standing after more than 100 years caught the eye of a realtor named Dick Theurer, who then bought it and turned it into a quaint coffee shop . Since its official founding in 2011, the Brew has been serving coffee and community in the city of Dickinson.

Theurer opened the Brew with the goal of serving coffee and preserving the history of what was St. John’s Episcopal Church, allegedly the site of one very special former Sunday parishioner — former President Theodore Roosevelt.

Since its re-opening and rebranding as a coffee shop, the Brew has been featured in Delta Airlines’ Sky Magazine and other major magazines, owing to their uniqueness and quaint atmosphere.

“It’s so unique because of its tie-ins to Teddy Roosevelt; It’s uniqueness as a coffee shop is definitely a draw,” said Theurer.

With the pandemic came some setbacks and changes, during which, the Brew managed to not only keep the lights on but a stream of loyal customers.

“[Due to the pandemic] we’ve changed our hours, scaled back some. We’ve been closed twice. We have great loyal customers,” said Theurer.

Sheriff Deputy Greg Barrows, Stark County Sheriff’s Office, is one of those loyal customers. Barrows comes in every morning for coffee and brief conversation with the folks behind the counter. Barrows said it makes his day to come in, get coffee and talk to the crew.

“It’s just a great place for people to come get together, have a cup of coffee and sit around and visit,” said Barrows.

There are plenty of places for people to sit and enjoy the atmosphere, including a little room behind the counter filled with antique lounge chairs, a small bookshelf and walls lined with local art.

In light of the pandemic, they’ve recently added DoorDash delivery service, so people can enjoy all the Brew has to offer without leaving the safety of their own homes.

The Brew has a wide variety of offerings, including various types of coffee, including, mochas, americanos and so forth in addition to their seasonal specials such as a sugar plum milk tea, an eggnog latte, a peppermint mocha, a snickerdoodle latte and

“We have a variety of teas, coffees, blended drinks, lots of pastries and all of our pastries are homemade, we make them here. Everything from our cookies, our breads, scones, everything is homemade here, we also have paninis, salads and wraps that we offer,” said barista Hailey Costa.

The paninis are related somehow to some aspect of Teddy Roosevelt, as Panini sandwiches like The Bully are named after Roosevelt’s catchphrase “Bully, bully,” and their most popular sandwich, the Teddy, inspired by Roosevelt’s machismo personality. The Teddy is packed with two types of meat (smoked turkey and crispy bacon), avocado, ranch dressing and swiss cheese.

What’s next for the Brew? Theurer plans to keep on doing what has made his business such a success, namely their unique offerings and high quality services.