I am an Ocala native. I graduated from Vanguard High School and the University of Florida; BA English – advanced writing. (‘Noles are always welcome, I suppose). I hold master's degrees from National Louis University – MA in school guidance counseling and mental health counseling, and an E.Ds., in Leadership. I once worked in public education in various capacities.
I retired relatively early from education to focus on pursuit of my two life goals:
- to open a small business
- to become a novelist.
I have published my first novel, The Country Butcher, though I do not believe it is destined to win awards or change lives, and I have opened this coffee shop, which realistically could win a few awards and absolutely will change lives. Each was far more difficult to achieve than I had expected, but combined, the difficulty was compounded to a level of near exhaustion. Nothing worth doing is easy, right?
In addition to my background in education, I am a veteran of the United States Air Force. My dad is a retired Ocala Police Lieutenant, and my wife is the International Baccalaureate program director at Vanguard High School. There are many nurses and firefighters in my life, too many to list here. Therefore, it is Brown Dog Coffeehouse’s great honor to offer sincere thanks to the following people: educators, first responders (to include nurses) and Veterans who served with honor.
My wife and I have had the good fortune of traveling to Europe every summer for many years – it’s difficult to keep track of the exact number, but that has had a tremendous influence on us both.
I have had the idea to open a small business here in Ocala for a long time but could not settle on exactly what industry. All those trips to Europe helped me to make that decision.
I was never a connoisseur of coffee. But I knew I could do better than that mega chain (St. Arbuck’s). Brown Dog Coffeehouse promises to make you feel welcomed and important. You are not a sale on an assembly line. You are the heart and soul of this little business, and we want you to love every bit of food and drink you taste, as well as every interaction you have with our staff.
My original idea was [redacted because I might still find a way to make it work] but I am not a baker.
I settled on a coffee shop (to my wife’s delight), but I wanted it to be unique and bring a pinch of that European flare that we enjoy. A coffee house was obviously the way to go, modernized, where appropriate of course – just check out our Wi-Fi! - we want you to feel like you can settle in and enjoy some you time.
The aesthetic settled on, I still needed a name. I was hard set on a European theme of some sort, so I went through dozens of theme options and a few hundred names within those themes. I even tried variations on the nicknames I have for my daughters, but nothing felt quite right.
We have a chocolate Labrador retriever named Murphy, and he is like my girls’ little brother. I often refer to him as the brown dog. That was a name option very early on. But it didn’t fit the idea I was determined to fulfill. I spent over a year tossing name ideas at my wife and kids until I revisited my old notes and threw that old “Brown Dog” at them again. They all (still) loved it.
You can find other “Brown Dog” cafés, coffee roasters, and delis around the country. But there is no Brown Dog Coffeehouse other than the one you enjoy right here in Ocala.
And about that brown dog. He is a shameless liar!
You can tell by the look on his face and the waggle of his posterior. He will try to convince you he is starving and that just the tiniest bite of your food will probably save his life. Do not trust him. He is fed well and has a few small restrictions on his diet to avoid allergic reactions. He can be very persuasive, so you have to be strong. Stay strong; resist his charms. I am counting on you! Please do not feed him. If too many patrons feed him, he might have to stay at the house, alone, away from your loving ear scratches, and high pitched “who's a good boy.” And nobody wants that.
