Today, December 3rd, 2019, marks our 15th anniversary.

As we reflect over these 15 years, we believe we have created a place that has become a downtown destination for quality coffee, food, conversation, and gathering of friends old and new. The place and the people have been a huge part of our family. Our kids have grown up almost always having “the shop” in their lives. The evening we opened, Katie was 7, Emily was 3, and Maureen was 4 months old 8000 miles away. Members of our extended family have worked with us from the start, with both hands and heart. Friends have put in shifts. Of course, all our college student employees have been the best we could ever hope for. And who could forget our longest-serving, non-family employee, Gail?

We opened as Live Wire Coffee & Music, with plans to reach a wider audience with the help of partners and people with the same goals in mind – to create a coffee shop and music venue that reflected our Christian beliefs, but in a way that was relevant to the culture and accessible and non-threatening to everyone. Quickly, however, those initial plans for the business changed, and we rebranded as Upbeat Café. We still had music for a while, but we soon landed in a spot that best suited our community.

The changes have reflected the changes in Georgetown, and downtown in particular. We have seen several other coffee shops open and close, and although we can’t boast of being Georgetown’s first, we can certainly claim the title of oldest! We changed our hours and dropped the music as we found our lunchtime niche.

But throughout these last 15 years, we have always tried to remain true to our original goal, the initial driving force that made us open up the doors for the first time to our family and friends on the evening of Friday, December 3rd, 2004.

Simply stated, we want to serve others.

Upbeat Café has allowed us to show you Christ – whether you realized that was happening or not, this has always been our most cherished priority. It has always been about our tagline: Where people come to gather, and strangers become new friends. Time focusing on others.

So, as we look back, we have much for which to be thankful.

However, we believe that God is calling us to different servant opportunities. Because of that, we will be closing Upbeat for the very last time at 3pm on Friday, December 20th, 2019.

Hopefully, you have also made new friends along the way at Upbeat. It has been a delight to watch people from so many backgrounds and all ages make connections. We cherish your friendships and will truly miss our daily encounters, but look forward to seeing everyone beyond “the shop.”

It has been a pleasure and our honor to serve you and our community these last 15 years.