The Wells County Chamber of Commerce staff and Ambassadors officially welcomed Jeff and Heidi Reed with a ribbon cutting to celebrate their new venture, Crimson House, located at 304 N Jefferson St, Ossian on May 24.
Home-like, family-feel, a gathering place are words to describe this unique and classy café decorated with charm and warmth. Jeff and Heidi Reed have a passion for Ossian and the community and wanted to create a place to have business meetings, commerce meetings, social gatherings and enjoy friends over a cup of coffee and delicious food.
Jeff and Heidi did mission work in Africa for 5 years before moving back to Ossian in 2015. “In Pemba, Mozambique there was a house that was transformed into a café and it was so inviting. As we were deciding what we would do when we moved back, the dream to start our home café was born,” explained Jeff.
“Heidi and I decided that if we were going to open this business, we want to do it with excellence or not at all. We took a year to research what it entails to own and run a café/coffee house. The partnerships and friendships we have made along the way learning about the business and those that are successful was invaluable. We realized the value of helping one another and making connections is so important.”
The Reed’s took ownership of the house in August 2016 and started renovation. “It took 8 months to renovate and open with a lot of regulations, codes, road blocks, and hurdles to go through; however, the result was worth the battle,” said Jeff.
Throughout the café customers will find intricate details and décor of items that were repurposed from the family farm in Wabash such as a hutch for the coffee bar, windows made into the menu, a barn pully is holding the lights over the coffee prep area, and much more.
“We purposely made the menu simple so we can do what we do well. Our staff is talented and it is fun to see them blossom and excel at doing what God created them to do,” Jeff stated.
Crimson House officially opened the drive-thru and will be open from 6am to 9am serving only breakfast at this time. “We have committed to support local as much as possible such as offering Ossian Bacon and Ham in our dishes. We want to form partnerships locally to offer a quality product for our customers and community.”
In addition to the various sitting areas to work, socialize, or conduct a business meeting the various rooms and the facility can be rented for showers, events, parties, etc. at a reasonable expense.
