CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. (CLARKSVILLENOW) – When you walk through the whimsical doors of Ravenwood Coffeehouse and Creations, the smell of fresh, robust coffee and friendly baristas greeting you immediately bring a smile to your face.
The local coffee shop, known for their homemade syrups, Black Rifle Coffee and medieval ambiance, was voted the 2019 “Best Place to get a Cup of Coffee” in Clarksville.
But this week, the Jennett family, owners of Ravenwood, announced they will have to close their doors on Aug. 14 due to financial hardships from the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as the building they lease, at 1525 Wilma Rudolph Blvd, being sold to a new owner.
They’re asking the community for help staying open by supporting their initiative to relocate.
“We love this business and we’ve invested so much into it. Our family has invested everything we’ve had into it,” Erica Jennett said in a Facebook message to their customers. “Steven (my husband) and I have taken out so many loans and we are tapped out. Our business is too young to have its own line of credit. Unfortunately we don’t have the funds to move to a new location.”
An ongoing family dream
The veteran-owned coffee shop has already overcome many obstacles.
John Jennett retired from the Army in 2012 after completing three combat deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan, and he and Christine, his wife, began going to an event called, “Market at the Mill” in 2016 where they sold Black Rifle Coffee, along with Christine’s homemade syrups and other products.
“We quickly realized how many people loved our coffee and decided to became a Black Rifle Coffee authorized dealer, which is veteran-owned,” Christine said. “People started requesting us to be open during the week, so we opened up a coffee shop in a small Amish built shed building. Eventually, we became too large for that building as well and moved inside of The Mill. … It really fell into our laps to begin with, but we’ve fallen in love with it and this community.”
In 2018, John had a heart attack, bringing the business to a halt as Christine cared for her husband.
“We really missed being able to make our products and putting smiles on people’s faces,” Christy Jennett said. “I don’t want to let people down. You wouldn’t believe the outpour we got when we closed from The Mill. I was selling frappe kits out of the house. They love it, and we love this community.”
The family pooled their funds, and a year later, back by popular demand, was Ravenwood Coffee and Creations. The business is a family affair as John, Christine and their sons, Dakota and Steve, manage and run the shop with seven baristas, and Erica, their daughter-in-law, manages the social media accounts.
“We love the drinks and we love making them. It’s become our life,” Christine Jennett said. “This business is all our funds. Everything we bought outright through our personal funds, but because of corona(virus) we have no capital saved. We’ve been putting in our own money to keep it afloat. We don’t have the extra to put the deposits down (to relocate).”
How to help
Christine Jennett said closing the doors would eliminate jobs for their seven employees.
“My baristas, for some this is their only job. And they don’t have a lot of possibilities, and they are great at this. They are my kids. I don’t want to let them down,” she said.
In a message to the community, they said their goal to be able to secure a new location and redesign it to fit their needs, by raising $50,000 or more to help their situation.
“We need money and a location that will work for us,” Christine Jennett said. “We would like to keep a nice seating area and have drive-thru capability to make it easier for several people.”
The Jennetts said what’s most important is to keep serving the community that they’ve considered home for more than a decade.
“A lot of our followers have donated, and I can’t believe it,” Christine Jennett said. “I love this community. I truly love it here.”
For more on how to help Ravenwood stay open, see their GoFundMe page.