One of Springfield's beloved beer companies is getting into the coffee business.
Mother's Brewing Company's Cufflink Coffee will host a grand opening Jan. 15, owner Jeff Seifried said. The coffee shop, to be known as the Cufflink Room in a nod to a business that once was affiliated, is located on the Grant Avenue-side of the brewery and will be open from 7 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., seven days a week, he said.
“We wanted to give people a reason to stay from morning until afternoon at Mother's and an easy way to expand our current offerings would be coffee,” Seifried said.
The Cufflink Room is the latest step in a business expansion effort Seifried started when he and his wife and business partner, Lindsay, purchased Mother's from founder Jeff Schrag in May 2023.
The expansion started with the brewery's late-2023 renovation of The BarrelHouse, a venue that can seat up to 250 people, according to the company website. The brewery's outside patio was also opened and spruced up that year, Seifried said.
Activating the Grant Avenue-side of the brewery
The Cufflink Room opens the Grant Avenue-side of the Mother's property to the public for the first time in its history, Seifried said. With about 5,000 cars traveling each way per day on Grant Avenue, Seifried said he hopes the coffee shop will bring in some new customers.
The project may take advantage of the Grant Avenue Parkway project, a $26 million upgrade to that area that is being largely funded by a federal grant. Work continues on a 3-mile stretch from Mother's downtown to the Bass Pro Shops and Wonders of Wildlife Museum. The project is designed to attract visitors, inspire development and encourage outdoor recreation.
“We're activating the Grant-side of Mother's, which has never been done,” Seifried said, adding that the company also built a small deck in front of the coffee shop entrance. “This helps expand our operating footprint internally and provides new a opportunity for people to engage with Mother’s who have not traditionally.”
The coffee company's name was inspired by a business owned by Mother's founder Jeff Schrag, according to Seifried.
Schrag still owns a minority stake in Mother's Brewing Company, according to previous Hauxeda reporting.
The Cufflink Room is housed in part of the building that used to be designated for cufflink storage, Seifried said.
“We wanted to give a nod to where we came from,” Seifried said.
Local beans, ‘diner' coffee
The Cufflink Room will buy its roasted beans from two Springfield coffeeshops, Coffee Ethic and the Mudhouse, Seifried said. Mother's already has a history with the two coffee shops for a number of beers, most notably Winter Grind, a dry English stout loaded with big, bright coffee flavor and drama.
“We're sourcing beans from the people who do it best here in Springfield,” Seifried said.
The coffee shop will use reverse osmosis water for all its brewing processes because “it's the cleanest water you can get,” Seifried said. On top of specialty espresso drinks, the Cufflink Room will feature a “diner blend” of drip coffee, Seifried said.
“What I appreciate some mornings is just diner coffee,” Seifried said. “Meaning, I can drink several cups and not want to run through a wall. So we will offer a variety of [drip] coffee, including a diner blend.”
The Cufflink Room will partner with a Springfield bakery to sell some pastries, Seifried said. The Cufflink Room will also offer a limited food menu, including a German-specialty dish known as “Nussschokoladenwaffel,” he said. It features a warm waffle topped with a hint of sugar and chocolate, he said.
The Presentation Desk
To cater to customers who want to convene at a coffee shop for a business meeting, Seifried introduced the “presentation desk,” he said. Essentially, Cufflink features a large desk that people can use for business presentations.
“The presentation desk is speaking towards those folks in the community that want to have a little bit larger of a space to do a professional presentation,” Seifried said.
Along with coffee, the Cufflink Room will also sell packaged beer and nonalcoholic drinks, Seifried said. The newest addition to Mother's Brewing Company will be available to rent for private events after it closes, he said. Mother's also plans to have some “pop-up” events in the Cufflink Room, he said.
“I would expect unique events to happen here that are open to the public,” Seifried said. “I could see this having pop-up events happening to capitalize on such a small, unique space.”
The coffee shop hosted a soft opening Jan. 8, and will be open this week to “work out the kinks” before the grand opening Jan. 15, he said. Seifried declined to comment on the total financial investment to establish the Cufflink Room.
Mother's will take on about three additional staff members to run the coffee shop, which the company is in the hiring process for, Seifried said. The company has hired Liz Niles as a consultant for opening the coffee shop, he said.
“Mother's has been a destination as a part of the downtown movement since 2011,” Seifried said. “For us, we continue to invest into Mother's and this is the next reiteration of that.”
“As downtown continues to go through its renaissance, (Mother's) will be a part of all of that.”
