The Ground Floor: Brewing outside the box

Brewed Awakenings has become a rooted Cedar Rapids coffee house with plenty of regulars. But its owners decided to start a new eatery aimed at quenching more than just caffeine cravings.

Brewed Café, which opened July 14 at 1101 Third St. SE, also offers breakfast, lunch and dinner menus along with a selection of wines and beer. Owners said its wider array of food and beverage options are largely locally grown or produced and organic.

“Our beer menu represents Midwest microbreweries. We make our own vanilla syrup and chai,” said Meg Marsceau, site operations manager for Brewed Café and co-general manager for Brewed Awakenings.

“We do as much as we can in-house with high-quality ingredients and a simple menu. We're letting the quality speak for itself.”

The Marsceau family bought Brewed Awakenings, 1271 First Ave. SE, in 2003, and their first expansion came in the form of a coffee bar inside St. Luke's Hospital in Cedar Rapids in 2007. The family, which Marsceau said intends to stay local, has plans to open a fourth location next summer in the form of a cafe inside the new public library.

“But that will be more like the Brewed Awakenings vision and St. Luke's,” Marsceau said. “Brewed Café is the most unique.”

Brewed staff members already run the Carlo concessions bar for the CSPS Hall, and with the Brewed Café now open in the historic building that also houses the CSPS performance center, Marsceau said her family is hoping to catch even more of the event-goers.

“We hope people will enjoy dinner before the show and come by after the show,” she said.

Bakers and chefs at the Brewed Café - which can seat 46 people, not including space in the CSPS lobby - make all their breads, pastries and other baked goods in house, or down the street at Brewed Awakenings. They prepare fresh, local and largely organic lunch options including prosciutto sandwiches with basil chevre, hummus wraps with Greek dressing and vegan soups.

They also serve cheese plates and spring rolls and one daily dinner special that's available between 5 and 9 p.m., along with the regular lunch options.

“The chef will prepare the specials that will change every day based on what's available seasonally and locally,” Marsceau said.

The fare won't be fast-food, although diners won't have to wait too long to eat.

“Everyone orders at the register, and the kitchen delivers the food,” Marsceau said.

Business, so far, has been good, according to Marsceau, and the dinner specials debuted Thursday with “picket-fence braised lamb,” cornbread Rehberg pork roulade and Mediterranean quinoa salad.

“People are curious, and they're popping their heads in, and they're really excited that we're in the neighborhood now,” Marsceau said, adding that the family wasn't afraid to move into the area devastated by the 2008 flood.

“Certainly it was a consideration, but we wanted to join the other community members who were willing to make the jump after the flood and not be afraid of being in the area."

Owner: Nancy Marsceau and Richard Marsceau

Company: Brewed Cafe

Address: 1101 Third St. SE, Cedar Rapids

Phone: (319) 364-0802

Website: www.brewedcr.com

Hours: 7 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday through Wednesday; 7 a.m. to 11 p.m, Thursday through Saturday; closed Sundays.

Staff size: 15 employees at the Brewed Café, and 38 employees company-wide

Favorite Brewed item: “I'm a huge fan of our breakfast cookies and housemade granola,” operations manager Meg Marsceau said. The breakfast cookie is made with gluten free oats, flax meal, bananas, blueberries and coconut.