Shannon Holter, owner and creator of Matthews Brownie Company, bought a building off Main Street and revamped it into a new café.
Right now, the menu includes biscuits and gravy, a variety of sandwiches and classic Midwest sides. The café also serves hot and iced coffee, tea, orange juice, soda and water.
Their pastries and sweet treats include cinnamon rolls, cookies, cheesecake, scones, muffins and Holter’s famous brownies.
Brownie specials feature chocolate, peanut butter, peppermint patty, caramel, turtle, cookies and cream, cookie dough and peanut butter and jelly blondies.
The long list of flavors stems from a collaboration with her granddaughter that began five years ago. The two started brainstorming ideas for things they could make and sell to the community. Her granddaughter suggested the brownies Holter had been baking for their family.
After that moment, a new family business was born.
“We started going into farmers markets with the brownies,” Holter said. “We just had regular brownies with a chocolate ganache topping.”
The brownies were a hit, so Holter and her granddaughter kept experimenting with new toppings and flavors. Holter even built a cooler with drawers to help keep the brownies from melting.
When it came time to find a home for the brownie business, Holter and her husband, Butch, purchased a century-old building and spent two years fixing it up.
“I thought maybe it’s going to be in Upland or something,” Holter said. “There’s a lot more buildings there. But I always liked this little building. I always thought it was cute.”
Holter said she wanted to use her passion for baking to bring something special to the community.
“I always wanted to find something that was meaningful,” Holter said. “Becoming part of the community is what it’s about.”
With the help of family, she offers a variety of pastries, drinks, breakfast items and lunch items. Holter said they plan to continue expanding the menu and rotating seasonal foods throughout the year.
Dipping into fall, Holter said they offer soup. During the winter, they plan to make baked potatoes, and in the spring, they hope to introduce smoothies.
She has been making brownies for 20 years and plans to keep creating new flavors to serve the community.
“I love thinking critically about what ingredients I’m putting into the things I make,” Holter said.
With every brownie baked and cup of coffee poured, Holter hopes her café will bring something sweet to the people of Matthews while connecting the community.
