Rose & Lois is a dream for coffee enthusiasts with littles. The café is nestled at the corner of 146th Street and Community Drive in Carmel. It features indoor and outdoor seating, a very entertaining children’s play area and a drive-thru window. Their mission is to “Inspire, uplift and bring delight to humanity through the vehicle of exceptionally crafted beverages served with promptness in a clean and beautiful setting.”
How Rose & Lois Began
Rachel Priddy, owner of Rose & Lois, left her job in corporate America and put almost everything on the line to fulfill her dream of opening a café.
“I started Rose & Lois because I wanted more flexibility between my work and home life,” Priddy says. “I had just given birth to our second, Amberlee Rose, a month before I started dreaming about opening a coffee shop. The night I first had the thought of opening the cafe launched a compulsive drive for me to research and begin taking all the steps to get our doors open. Early on in the process, I dove into my ‘why,’ and it was because of my daughters Anna Lois, two at the time, and Amberlee Rose, and this sparked the name of our business.”
Final construction of Rose & Lois coincided with Governor Holcomb’s order to close restaurants in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Priddy was devastated. But luckily, Rose & Lois survived because of their drive-thru window, which officially opened on March 19, 2020.
Spring brought good news, and they were able to officially open their doors in May 2020.
A Place for Meetups
Since the fall of 2020, my family has used the café as a place to meet my sons’ math tutor. One of my boys thought for a long while that Rose & Lois was a math café, because he would go there weekly to study his math and enjoy a hot cocoa.
Unlike any other café in the area, while my son is being tutored, I am also able to sit quietly with a cup of tea or coffee and read a book or finish work while my other boys play quietly in the play area. I am able to squeeze in at least an hour of work, oftentimes more, as I usually find myself at the door pleading with my boys to leave.
A Cafe for Families
Priddy has worked hard to create a space that is inviting to families. In addition to the play area, there are events specific to introducing children to food and science, sometimes both at the same time.
“The STEM events we have hosted and continue to expand really get me excited,” Priddy says. “We made greeting cards with LED circuits this past winter, and I just brought in a pH sensitive tea that turns from bright blue to bright pink when placed in an acidic environment. We have plans to experiment with color chromatography on coffee filters, talk about why popcorn pops, make cotton candy and more! I love tying in my food science degree with family-friendly events.”
There are plenty of healthy and tasty menu items for kids, including quick lunch cups that include veggies and a protein (like hummus), vegan nuggets, cheese sticks, locally made granola bars and more. If you are looking for a treat, try their hand pies/pop tarts made by Blu Moon Eats. If cookies are your sweet spot, they carry a Cookie Monster Ice Cream and a Milk and Cookie Flight with three different flavored milks to dunk your cookies.
With such a difficult beginning, it has been a joy to watch Rose and Lois thrive and become an integral community gathering spot. If you find yourself in the area, do yourself a favor and check them out!
More Info
Rose & Lois is located at 7249 E 146th St #110, Carmel. For more info, visit roseandlois.com
