Burley Oak gearing up for coffee-inspired cafe in downtown Berlin

Bryan Brushmiller admittedly was never a coffee drinker until he opened Burley Oak Brewing Co. back in 2011.

The long hours required caffeine.

But after a while it started to bother his stomach.

A trip to Portland, Oregon, in 2015 introduced him to cold brew coffee and changed Brushmiller’s life in more ways than one. Not only did it give him a less acidic version of his new routine, but also a newfound appreciation for coffee.

And as a brewer, the appreciation turned into product.

He started using some old equipment at the popular Berlin brewery and, at first, was just making coffee for the employees at Burley Oak. By the end of the year, Burley Oak was selling cold brew.

Two years later, fully immersed in the coffee scene while aging beans in bourbon barrels, Brushmiller and Burley Oak are channeling their love for coffee into a new venture. Coming in July (they hope), The Brewer’s Cafe will open in downtown Berlin, taking the place of the former Berlin Coffee House at 17 Jefferson St. behind the Atlantic Hotel. The cafe joins On What Grounds for coffee options in Berlin. 

“There was this emptiness in the community where we didn’t have that coffee shop,” Brushmiller said. “It’s a centralized location. People would meet there. So after it was closed for a couple of months I approached the owners and said, ‘We can’t just have this as a lawyer’s office or something.’ ”

Brushmiller is making sure no lawyer’s office pops up.

Burley Oak has partnered with Rise Up Coffee Roasters out of Salisbury.

Earlier this year, Brushmiller joined Rise Up founder Tim Cureton and others in Costa Rica to do some research on Costa Rican coffee beans. The trip was business and pleasure for Brushmiller, who has been traveling to Costa Rica since 1996 to surf.

But never before on those trips did he take a six-hour dirtbike ride up the Nicoya Peninsula to source some coffee.

“It was kind of neat to be in the motherland, seeing how people do it,” he said. “You really don’t realize, not having a cellphone and not having direction. We were following the coast up, just making lefts.”

With the help of carpenter Al Beaulieu, Brushmiller is completely renovating the interior of the old space, though he’s using a lot of what was left behind. They sanded down some old Berlin Coffee House tables into a counter where a seating area will be, recycling everything they could.

The dark brown floors now have a brighter color.

“Give me a piece of wood and I’m a happy camper,” Beaulieu said.

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Other features include a 75-year-old mirror from the hotel, and there’s still more decorating, including light fixtures to complete. Brushmiller mentioned barrel stave walls.

“This is a blank canvas,” Brushmiller said as he stood over a not-yet-finished interior. “Now let’s make it funky.”

Like a traditional coffee house, The Brewer’s Cafe will be open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. and offer free Wi-Fi. Brushmiller estimates there will be about 50 seats.

Coffee will come in the form of cold brew, pour overs and french press. Other drink options include sodas from housemade syrups, shrubs, kombucha and a small selection of beer and wine.

As far as food, Burley Oak has partnered with the Brooklyn Baking Barons, makers of the famous honey whiskey cake, who will oversee the food program.

The Barons — Chris Poeschl and Tony Lanuza — have drawn praise from celebrities in the food industry like Mario Batali, Michael Symon and Padma Lakshmi. The pair relocated to Berlin from New York last year when they needed a bigger kitchen.

The menu at The Brewer’s Cafe will feature breakfast and lunch items. Brushmiller said breakfast will include oatmeal, breakfast sandwiches and quiche. Lunch items — sandwiches and salads — will lean on the healthier side.

Everything will be made from scratch and cooked in induction and convection ovens.

“I’ve never really been a food guy,” Brushmiller said. “I can make beer and coffee and stuff like that. I was just gonna make grilled cheeses. This is a little bit better.”

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Brushmiller, a Berlin local since the age of 17, is hopeful this new addition to the community helps the economy downtown.

“We feel like we can use our branding and our reach around the mid-Atlantic to bring people to Berlin,” Brushmiller said. “Not just for the brewery, but now into Berlin for the coffee and food. We’ve always wanted people to come here, and the brewery was the catalyst for them to see other places in Berlin. We hope that we can affect the growth and the economic impact.”

Meanwhile, at the brewery, Brushmiller and his staff are gearing up for expansion as well. The building next door which was used for storage and some production will house a tap room at its front. With a stage also being built between the two existing structures, Brushmiller thinks the brewery will be adding about 100 seats.

Indeed, the beginning of the summer has been a busy one for Brushmiller.

Luckily, he has cold brew.

Jeff Neiburg can be reached at jneiburg@delmarvanow.com.