Stephen and Marilyn Martin came to Demorest’s special-called meeting Tuesday bearing gifts – iced coffees of various flavors for city officials – to celebrate their impending arrival in town as the owners of Farmhouse Coffee.
The coffee shop purchased the Temperance House from Lawrence Bridges, and the Martins are hoping to open before the Fourth of July celebration in Demorest.
They also are seeking an alcohol license to sell beer, wine and liquor in the pub side of the business. Bridges only previously sold beer and wine in the Public House.
“We are looking forward to expanding into Demorest,” said Stephen, who simultaneously is opening a third location in Gainesville to go along with their home base in Cleveland. “We have talked about this for a year and a half, and we prayed about it a lot. Lawrence approached us and we knew it was something we really wanted to do.”
Demorest City Council informed the Martins that approval of the liquor license would be contingent on one of two things – having a permanent residence in Habersham County, or designated a registered agent who will be responsible for any code violations at the property. That registered agent will have to be 21 years old and a resident of Habersham County, and it would be that person who would receive any citations for violations.
The Martins indicated their son was turning 21 in February and was potentially interested in occupying the apartment above the coffee shop, giving them a future candidate for the registered agent position.
That apartment has been the center of controversy in Demorest before, when Bridges listed it as his home address during the time when he intended to run for city council in 2021.
Then-Mayor Rick Austin challenged Bridges in a public meeting, claiming he did not actually live there. Bridges insisted at the time that it was his legal residence. Austin asked at a 2021 meeting if it had been inspected, and former Fire Chief Ken Ranalli said the building inspector told him fire safety improvements were needed in that apartment before it could be occupied in a previous instance.
Ranalli said Piedmont students were previously removed from that apartment and that the inspector had to be contacted before it was livable.
Bridges said he cooperated with all inspections even though he did not have to, and that he added one additional smoke detector that was required. He later pulled out of the city council race to pursue other opportunities.
Stephen Martin said the selection of an agent and the apartment would not be top concerns until after the coffee shops in Demorest and Gainesville are up and running smoothly. He stressed that they were looking forward to coming in and being part of the Demorest and Piedmont University community.
“We love serving students and teachers, and we want them to drink a lot of coffee,” Martin said. “We are obviously trying to make a profit, but it is important to us that people are seen, heard and valued. That mission is important to us.”
Bathrooms underway
Ground was broken Wednesday on the bathroom project in Demorest Springs Park.
City Manager Mark Musselwhite said the goal for completion of the bathrooms and pavilion is late fall, pending supply chain issues.