The next Coffee with The Socialite event is happening in less than two weeks, on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Red, White, and Brew Coffee Co. in Union. I hope to see you there from 9-11 a.m. If you can’t stay for the whole event, you’re always welcome to sit and chat for as long as your schedule allows.
The menu features drip coffee, lattes, smoothies, a wide selection of herbal teas, dirty sodas, yummy baked goods, and more. As a reminder, you’re welcome to stay and chat for the whole event, or stop in and say hi for as long as your schedule allows.
Also, if you want to come, but don’t have any wiggle room in your budget for a latte, don’t worry! I’m putting $50 on a tab at Red, White, and Brew, available on a first come, first serve basis, so you can have a coffee on me at the event!
More about the event:
I spend a lot of time online and the same question keeps getting shared: how can I meet people and make friends as an adult? I’ve asked that question too, so I decided to do something about it.
So what’s Coffee with The Socialite? It’s a chance for people to come together and support local businesses and meet new people.
There’s a new place to get your coffee, baked goods, and cozy book store fix, and it’s all under one roof, at Sugar & Spice Book Cafe in Sullivan at 111 N. Clark St. Located in the former home of Clark Street Cafe & Bakery, the establishment is owned and operated by Jessica O’Dell.
Inside the decor has been completely reimagined, with hints of dark academia aesthetic found throughout. Jessica, who shares that she and her team did most of the work themselves, has incorporated dark hues on the walls, gold accents like a massive gold framed mirror in the cafe’s main dining area and gold framed book quotes, along with leather seating areas, warm lighting, and fireplace features.
A portion of the bookshelves at Sugar & Spice Book Cafe in Sullivan. Photo credit: Amanda Bretz_The Socialite.
Besides the unique, cozy decor greeting customers, the pastry case is filled with made in house goodies that practically beckon upon arrival. Some of the selections and flavors rotate, but typically include items like cookies, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls, pies, cakes, and more. Opening a coffee shop and book store was always something Jessica thought about doing at some point, but when the former cafe announced its closure earlier this year, she saw the opportunity to make her “some day” dream happen.
“I had only really planned to do a book store and coffee shop, but when this building came up I knew I would add food.”
There are multiple spots in the cafe to cozy up with a book and a drink. Photo credit: Amanda Bretz_The Socialite.
The food menu features breakfast and lunch offerings like biscuits and gravy, egg bites, salads, wraps, and sandwiches. And, since the business has recently been granted its alcohol license, there’s plans to launch cocktails, mocktails, beer, and wine, along with with some flatbreads and charcuterie boards, hopefully by the early fall.
Once everything is in place, the goal is to stay open later on Friday nights and offer the drinks and additional menu items as a way to be a new date night or girls night out spot.
The pastry case is filled with all kinds of tempting goodies, but I have a weakness for gooey cinnamon rolls and pumpkin-flavored items – and this treat checked both boxes, so obviously I couldn’t order something else! Photo credit: Amanda Bretz_The Socialite.
“We’re planning on doing tropes or book boyfriend names for the drinks,” she shares about the cocktail menu.
Prior to opening her own business, Jessica worked as a manager at a bridal shop, as well as working in restaurants and coffee shops, and she said that the managerial experience has really helped her now on the entrepreneurial journey.
The drink menu
“I knew I wanted to make all the syrups for the coffees, and we’ve been having a lot of fun making the fall flavors and coming up with fun names,” she shares.
The fall drinks will also be made with homemade syrups, and when the cocktails roll out, those will also be made with in-house, real ingredients not mass produced bottled mixes.
My first visit to the cafe was on a rainy morning, making it the perfect time to order a hot chocolate. Photo credit: Amanda Bretz_The Socialite.
Currently, the coffee selection ranges from drip to lattes available hot or iced, and protein coffee, made hot or iced with the inclusion of various protein powders to help you reach your daily protein goals. There’s also matcha, lemonade, hot chocolate, and a variety of teas, as well as a number of Lotus energy drinks. And, if you want to take a drink with you for later or bring one to your bestie, you can get any iced drink canned for a small additional fee.
The bookstore
Jessica says that the community has shown a lot of excitement about the book selections and they’re in the process of making room for more bookshelves to increase the inventory. Currently, there’s multiple genres available, from thrillers and young adult novels, to a book shelf lined with books written by local authors to a wide selection of romance, including romantasy titles, which is Jessica’s favorite book genre.
Since the books and book shelves were a pretty significant initial investment, Jessica took to Facebook and presented local businesses with the unique opportunity of sponsoring a book shelf. Local businesses took advantage of the opportunity and each book shelf in the main book store area of the establishment features a gold plaque which names the business sponsor.
In addition to bringing in local businesses for sponsorships and hopefully becoming a Friday evening spot for dates and friends to gather, there’s one other way Sugar & Spice Book Cafe is building community, and that’s through an in-person book club.
“We also have a book club that meets once a month and we just have snacks and talk about the book,” Jessica explains.
Spots are limited for the Sugar & Spice Book Club, which currently reads romantasy or romance titles, but the book club is also expanding to include thriller titles as well. Visit the website to sign up for the book club.
I love the cafe so much that I chose it as the site for the first ever Coffee with The Socialite event, happening on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 12-1:30 p.m. I hope to see you there!
After promoting local events for the last 18 months or so, I’m excited to start an event series of my own! Coffee with The Socialite, will be monthly-ish events aimed at building community while supporting local businesses. The first event is all set and it will be held at Sugar & Spice Book Cafe, which is a new coffee shop, cafe, and book store (!!!) that’s in the former home of Clark Street Cafe in downtown Sullivan.
The event will be on Saturday, Sept. 19 from 12 – 1:30 p.m. You’re invited to come and stay for the whole thing, or just drop in any time during the 90 minutes and say hello.
The ‘Why’ behind Coffee with The Socialite
I’ve seen so many people posting on local social networks that they want to make friends, but don’t know where to find their people. I hear you, and guess what? I want to make friends, too! Although the events are called Coffee with The Socialite, they’re not really about me, they’re about building community! I created Small Town Socialite to tell the stories of the people and businesses in the small towns in East Central MO, and as much as I love being able to share information with people online, it’s time to take a break from the screens and meet people.
The first goal of Coffee with The Socialite is to create community, especially for those who are a little more introverted. If that’s you and you’re worried about how you’ll talk to a group of new people, just show up and if you’re not good at making conversation, no worries, I can yap with the best of ’em and have no problem facilitating the convos.
The second goal is to support local businesses. I’m hosting these events at local coffee shops, cafes, and maybe down the road I’ll look at places to get a cocktail or mocktail for some meet-ups.
And, my third goal is that community means UNITY. I believe hard times shouldn’t keep someone from being able to attend my event. I know what it’s like to have a budget with no room for extras, even a cup of coffee, so I’m setting aside $50 for each event that will be on a first come, first serve basis. If you’re unable to make room in the budget but want to attend the event, you can have a coffee on me!
