Deluxe Version
BUSINESS
BREAKING
BREWS!
Former Journalists Open Barnhouse Napa Brews — By Stacey Gualandi
Let’s be honest,findingtheper fectcup ofcoffeethatisluscious,local,andlow- priced can be a grind, even in a popular culinar y destinationlek Napa,Califor nia. But t wo veter an “newsies” who thrive on adrenaline— and caffeine — hope to change all that with the launch of Bar nhouse Napa Brews, a new coffee pub in the hear t of wine country. Friends and for mer FOX News jour nalist s Eric Bar nes and »dam Housley (“Bar nhouse”) say their java joint is an American spin on a tr aditional English pub and offer s qualit y coffee and tea by day; ar tisan beer and wine bynight. Taking risks, liek opening a new business, comes second nature for these enter prising entrepreneurs. They’ve covered everything from civil war s to t sunamis in nearly a dozen countries across the globe and shared a lot f coffeealongtheway. When they left news, Bar nes went o wr k for L i n dblad/ Nat io nal G eo gr aphic E x pedi t io ns as an award-winning photographer. Housley went back to his Napa rot s with his wife, “Sister, Sister” actor and for mer “The Real” host Tamera Mowry-Housley, to run their family- owned Centur y Oak Winer y and open Housley Napa Valley, a Five Star Rated wine tasting room. But it wasn’t until they reunited over margaritas last year at the wedding of FOX News anchor Rick Leventhal and “Real Housewives of Or ange Count y ’s” elK ly Dodd that their idea to go cahot s on a coffeehouse began to percolate. And it certainly didn’t hurt to have a shotfcelebrit ynhemix.
As one-third co-owner and resident taste est t er,sluorH-wy M eysobrno ghuo ani t g-nol time friend to create a lo k for the brew pub, felloact w oan r dinteriodesi r gner»lexisFields (“The Secret World of »lex Mack”), whom she fir stmeton“Sister,Sister”. Now, one year later, Barnhouse is up and pouring in downtown Napa. With all this talk of reunio s, I must fuly disclosethatBar nesandIwored k togetherfor years at Inside Edition, so it was a thrill to spill theteaaboutcoffee,comuni,t y andwhyt e teambehindBar nhouseistheper fectblend. DELUXE VERSION MAGAZINE: Sow hatisBar nhouseNapaBrew s? ERIC BARNES: It wil have k ind of a “Cheer s” vibe w here ever y bo dy is going to k now your name w hen you walk in. It’s got a great lounge area and a room to play darts and shuffleboard. Bar nhouse is somet hing t hat I t hink Napa is l ack i n g. ADAM HOUSLEY: We felt here wasn’t w hat I call a “lo cal”. When you go to England, Ireland, or anywhere in the UK, you have that local where you go early in the morning to get a pastr y and really goo d coffee…t hen later in t he day, you might go back and meet someone t here and get a panin, anot her pastr y and a pint. There’s really not hing like t hat in wine country, at least in the Napa Valley. TAMERA MOWRY-HOUSLEY: Er ic has been a par t of »dam and I’s life since we fir st st ar ted dating. When I found out that he was moving to Napa, I was so excited, and was definitelyexcitedw henhewantedto penupacoffeeshop. It ’s because of Er ic, honest,ly t hat I was like, “Fine, all r ight, let ’sdot his!” DVM: Er ic,didyoualwayswantopenacoffeeshop? ERIC: Had t here not been a pandemic, t his would not have happened. I was mar r ied to t he job at Nat Geo, but COVID shutdow ntr avelandIwasbored.Iwassho tingawedding, w hich I nor mally would say no to but I needed a few buck s, w hich to k me to Sonoma and »dam happened to be at t he wedding…andhereweare. ALEXIS FIELDS: T h e t h i n g t h a t s e p a r a t e d a l l o f u s i s t h e t hing t hat bir t hed t he place t hat ’s going to br ing us all together, which is so amazing.
DVM: Alexis, you also designed the Housley Napa tasting ro m,butw hatinspiredt helo kforBar nhouse? ALEXIS: Well, im ediately wit h e name “Bar nhouse,” we havetoplayont hebar nt heme.It ’sdefinitelygot heupbeat energy of »dam wit h t he shuffleboard t able and t he dar t ro m, and t his laid- back chil vibe wit h fireplaces and sofas w hichismoreoft heEr icside.Soit ’sreallyareflection ft he guys who run it. DVM:Sow heredoesyourcoffeecomefr?om ADAM: Ever y t hing here is going to be lo cally sourced. Bentley ’sisour asterandBar nhousewilbeoumrailnabel. L ike our wines, all of our coffee pro duct s wil have a name an d a st o r .y Th ey ’r e al l o cal an d affo r dabl e. Th ey ’r e al l sm al l bu si n ess. ERIC: We’llbet ak ingsomepastr iesfromt helo calbaker ies, and we have an incredible donut maker w ho as some k il er donut s. We have a lo cal lady of Br it sh ancestr y w ho makes the most amazing sausage rolls, pasties and paninis. They’re justbr il ant. TAMERA: I ’ m h u u u u u n g r y ! ! ! H a ! ! B u t r e a l l y , t h e c o f f e e i s fant astic. I double up sometimes wit h coffee — I call it my upper — and t hen w hen I want o just like chil out, I’ll have myglassof(Housley)wine.Theper fectpair ing. DVM:Whatset sBar nhouseapar t? TAMERA: Inclusivit .y That ’s w hat ’s so great about Housley Napa, and we’re car r ying t hat over into our coffee shop. Ever yone is welcome here. It ’s about love, people and community. ADAM: We have a saying at the tasting room: “Friends and famal ily wayswelcome.”Wedon’tcarewar yohu e.Wedon’t care w here you come from. We don’t care w hat you identify wit h.» slongasyou’rek ind,you’rewelcome. ALEXIS: That ’s t he greatest par t of t his project, t hat it ’s com unit y- minded, and we’re mak ing sure to really ser ving t he people of Napa Valley. So t hat keeps us all in check I t hink,anditkeepsusallwit hapositiveat ti ude. DVM: T h i s j u s t m i g h t b e t h e r i g h t c o f f e e s h o p a t t h e r i g h t time.Soloksit eikl ojrual n istsandactorscanotget rwk erh nicely! ADAM:Itdependsonw hyouask ! ERIC:Nobo dyhask il edeachot heryet.Haha! To shop online, go to: barnhousenapa.com
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