Ladders Coffee Bar in Cambridge aims to brew hope

For Carl Brazell Jr., Ladders Coffee Bar is a place to grab a cup of coffee while sitting out front on the bench and catching up with friends about football or whatever else crosses their minds. 

Brazell said he tries to stop daily for a small coffee with cream because the coffee is good and the location is convenient for him. 

Ladders Coffee Bar, located at at 953 Wheeling Ave., is not the run-of-the-mill coffee shop. It's a gathering place where people can share their faith and have a cup of hope.

According to Troy Woodmansee, senior pastor of Redeeming Passion Ministries, the coffee shop is more an outreach than a business. 

"This is our church's. It's a non profit coop and community outreach program," Woodmansee said. "This is how we affect our community."

Woodmansee operates the Ladders with his wife, Andrea, executive director of the Open Arms Pregnancy Center. The goal of the coffee shop is to spread love and give hope to members of the community as well as travelers passing through. The shop opened in 2013.

Woodmansee noted that the shop does a good business, but money is not the bottom line. 

The couple own their own coffee roasting business, Ghost Roast Coffee LLC, and roast their own coffee along with utilizing local businesses for their supplies to keep overhead cost down. The coffees for Ghost Roast Coffee come from the east coast of Africa, and South America where the church has missions. 

"I try to buy those coffees for our personal roasting business because my wife and I will take money from each bag and send it to the missions in those regions," Woodmansee said. They do not offer any food, but encourage those who want something to eat to first visit Kennedy's, Frances Family Restaurant, Theo's or any other dining establishment in town and order their meals to go and bring them back to the coffee shop to eat while they have their coffee. 

The coffee shop saw an increase in business during the COVID-19 pandemic and Woodmansee said they were blessed to be a light in the darkness and that is the point of what they do. 

Ladders has a steady stream of regular customers, who the baristas know by name,  but many others come from outside the area.

 "We have seen customers from as far away as Hong Kong and from the United States. I have had several customers from Alaska, from the west coast, California and from all around the country," Woodmansee said. He finds enjoyment in talking to the out-of-town customers and he has plans to put a large map on the wall for customers to mark where they are from. 

"It's kind of opened my eyes to how much travel we actually get into our town," Woodmansee said. "It's crazy. People come from Hong Kong, Ireland, Amsterdam, and Germany. We get to put a smile on people's faces."

The proceeds are used to support the church and its mission, according to Woodmansee, who noted they built a house last year in Kenya and have an interesting project about to take place in Cambridge which they couldn't release details on yet.

"My wife (Andrea) and I we really love our town and we have grown to be invested in it. We have been here 25 years," Woodmansee said. "She and I launched this ministry in 2007. We are celebrating our 14th year and we are really just loving our community and want to do what's best for it and try to be a blessing instead of a taker."  

Woodmansee believes it's important to remind people that they are valuable. "This is always first and foremost a place where people can gather and share their faith. The coffee is a bonus, so it's a cup of hope."

Ladders which is open from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to noon Saturdays, and has a variety of espresso drinks, drip coffees and some teas. 

In addition to coffee, Ladders has live music on Saturdays, host church services at 11 a.m. Sundays, Bible studies and fellowship on at 7 p.m. Wednesdays and 6:30 p.m. Sundays at 6:30 p.m. The services are all nondenominational and open to everybody.