The Crème Brews Comfort Downtown

By Matt Weafer
Owensboro 2009

The Crème brews comfort downtown

By Matt Weafer

The aroma of coffee and chocolate hangs in the air at The Crème Coffeehouse at 109 E 2nd St.

Customers watch the downtown bustle from their window seats, sipping lattes as they shut out the day with a book or talking to friends in the lounge or the courtyard.

Crème owners Rosemary Conder and her husband Larry didn’t plan on opening a coffeehouse when they bought the building.

In fact, they already owned the building next door at 107 E 2nd St. and they planned to expand their antique store, The Crowne, into it.

“We wanted to open the wall between the two and make a big area,” Rosemary Conder said. “But it was a different area and in much worse shape.”

But they had already purchased the location.

“I said this building says coffeehouse,” she said.

While decorating, she said, she was trying to capture the atmosphere of Central Perk from the TV series Friends.

“It looked like a fun place to hang out. Really cool,” Conder said. “We had been to a few places in New York City that had that old world eclectic mix.”

Peter Malliaras, a regular at The Crème since the summer of 2008, said, “I come here with my computer and with the free internet, beautiful décor and beautiful coffee, it’s fun. It’s a great day.”

The comfort of the building, which used to be an antique shop, helped create that atmosphere, too.

“It’s a beautiful sitting area,” Malliaras said. “It’s almost like one of the rooms in your house, very comfortable.”

Conder purchased some of the antiques left in the building to furnish the coffee shop and create the funky décor that alludes to downtown Owensboro nearly a century ago.

“We believe in downtown,” Conder said. “We believe there is a possibility and probability of resurgence downtown.”

The character and charm of the older buildings create an ambience while promenading along some of the first roads in Owensboro.

“A lot of people are tired of big box stores,” Conder said. And a private-owned coffee shop in the heart of unique Owensboro retail is the direction the trend is leaning.

After Malliaras moved to Owensboro from Australia with his family, he said the first thing he wanted to do was find a good coffee shop. He said The Crème was “absolutely exactly what I was looking for. If you came in here and opened up your eyes you would think you were in a coffee shop in Australia.”

He said Melba is Australia is considered by some the capital of coffee shops. “We’re big espresso drinkers,” he said.

“I couldn’t find a good espresso,” he said. “No one makes espresso other than the big chains. When you have a big chain you don’t have that personal attention. There’s no love that goes into the coffee.”

“There’s a way to make espresso and there’s a way not to make it,” Malliaras said. “And it seems they know how to make it.”

As downtown Owensboro continues to grow with restaurants and retailers, The Crème is settling comfortably into what Conder expects to be an even busier part of Owensboro.

“The Mystery Writer festival was amazing for us in 2008,” she said. And so was Winter Wonderland.

“We are in the sweet spot,” Conder said.

And they have the right attitude toward customer service to help them succeed.

“When you come in here,” Malliaras said, “you don’t tell them what you want because they already know and they make it when they see you. They know your name they know a little about you.”

Kelly Creed, a barista and night manager at The Crème, said, “We have good people that work here that are willing to do whatever it takes to make the customers happy and make people feel welcome here.”

With some fresh baked cookies and scones and a passion for quality espresso drinks and customer service, Conder hopes for a fruitful future downtown.

View the article in its published form.