Rising Stars: Meet Gerald Brubaker of New Paris

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gerald Brubaker.

Hi Gerald, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
The Cedar Coffee, is located in a beautiful area of Ohio, nestled in the small destination town of New Paris on the IN/OH border just off of I70. Put a pin on the map between Columbus, Cincinnati and Indianapolis and there we are!

It all started with an idea to serve the community, provide a place to unplug, and connect with people over coffee. We pride ourselves in baking our pastries and chocolates onsite, featuring locally sourced ingredients, and providing a superior coffee experience overall!

Additionally, in 2023 we opened up our wine bar – The Cedar Wine – serving a nice selection of small batch wine produced onsite at The Cedar by a local wine maker. We offer a special menu in the evenings on Fridays/Saturdays to pair with the wine offerings, including charcuterie boards and specialty flatbread pizzas – and we have options for coffee-based cocktails as well!

From early summer to late fall, we oftentimes will have a local artist strumming a guitar on the deck or stage overlooking the lake.

Since opening, our community has expanded quickly, and we have served wonderful people from almost every state! We open weekdays at 7am and weekends at 8am, on Friday and Saturday nights we stay open until 9pm or later.

Stop by for an hour or enjoy the weekend, we look forward to serving you!

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
The original opening was planned for 2020, but due to the pandemic that year, the opening was delayed to March, 2021.

We are also located in a small rural community – that is the best and can also be the hardest, but it always makes us focus on being better! Our location is fairly limited in terms of foot traffic but we host live music and other community events seasonally as well.

We’ve even developed golf cart parking for campers at the nearby Natural Springs Resort and we see some regulars that pop back in each summer!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
We are grateful to serve our community with a wide selection of craft coffee, handmade chocolates, and gourmet pastries, all made onsite. For breakfast enjoy a panwich or breakfast wrap, for lunch a sandwich and soup, all made fresh in our kitchen!

We also host meetings, birthday parties, graduation celebrations and bridal/baby showers onsite as all indoor/outdoor areas can be reserved.

Also, The Cedar Lodge, directly across the street from The Cedar Coffee, opened in 2024. The opening of The Cedar Lodge includes multiple outdoor spaces for your reception, reunion or retreat, with several options for overnight stays including the main lodge and a cozy lakefront cabin overlooking our private spring fed lake, and a floating tiny house on the lake! The lodge and cabins are listed on airbnb, making it the perfect weekend getaway, all at The Cedar!

Are there any apps, books, podcasts, blogs or other resources you think our readers should check out?
Books:

The Difference Maker by John Maxwell

Developing The Leader Within You by John Maxwell

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.thecedarcoffee.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/TheCedarCoffee
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheCedarCoffee
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/the-cedar-coffee-new-paris

Image Credits
The photos labeled 1-4 are credited to Photography by Kate (@photo_graphy_by_kate)