A DeKalb couple will blend two types of stimulants for public consumption in its upcoming venture.
Horror-themed coffee shops can be found across the U.S. There’s even one in Chicago called The Brewed. Wally and Annie Porter are huge horror movie buffs so the idea for this type of shop was right up their dark alley. They visited The Brewed but want to bring creepiness closer to home.
“We really want our community to feel like they have a local place that they can, like, rely on,” Annie said, “that they can have, you know, hangouts or study sessions or, you know, just something to kind of connect, because we're also going to be running community events.”
She said she and Wally moved to DeKalb a year ago and saw something that needed to be met.
“There's no, at least in like the Main Street, there's no local coffee shops yet,” she said, “they just have your usual like Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts and things like that.”
Both she and her husband are artists. She’s an illustrator. Walley works in digital marketing with a background in video and film.
She called their skills the perfect combo and said the shop will showcase their artistic flavor. The space will include what Annie called an artist alley with her works as well as creations by local artists.
“And then as they continue walking, kind of in the middle section,” she added, “we're going to have our horror movie like video and rental space, because we kind of want to bring that back, that Blockbuster feel, so they'll be able to kind of go through this whole nostalgic experience. And then in the back is the coffee shop.”
Not only are they looking to satisfy potential customers visually, but they are also focusing on auditory effects. Wally said he has friends who can help to create something eerie. Annie explained other types of sounds.
“We also kind of plan on having certain movies playing that they can, like, plug headphones into,” she said, “or, like, have their AirPods connect to, so that if someone wants to listen to a movie while they're drinking their coffee, they can do that.”
The couple is looking at locations in downtown DeKalb. Wally said they want to be accessible to the college kids and people who like to walk. But before the building is secured, the future owners want to construct something else.
“We got to build that customer base and loyalty first,” Wally said, “while we're looking for a place and all that because, we open, we don't want to spend two, three months trying to build a customer base while we're open, burning through money.”
Although the shop will highlight horror, Wally said this shop will be for the entire community.
“And you don't have to be like, Gothic or a horror fan to come and enjoy it,” he added, “you know, if, as long as you don't mind a little blood and gore here and there, it's yeah, it's for everybody.”
The couple will self-fund the project but are asking for about $10,000 in crowdfunding.
Wally said they have a GoFundMe and had just created a Kickstarter account. The two said if they are not able to secure extra funds, they will still bring the thrill to the city.
The tentative opening date for “I Know What You Rented Last Summer” is sometime this fall.
