Changes are Brewing at Friendly Grounds

After two years of building up , one of Santee's locally owned independent coffee shops, Pat and Gary Craft just to keep it up. Barry Sappington, Pastor of Crosspointe Life Church in , is at the helm now.

The on Tuesday, and changes were already in the works that day.

"We want to build on what Pat and Gary have done, keep the open-mic night going, and expand the music and entertainment lineup with Friday- and Saturday-night gigs," Sappington said.

They're even showcasing a comedian during the , which is happening on Feb. 12, with food, discounted drinks and music in appreciation of loyal customers.

Sappington said he plans on expanding the shop's base of pastries and breakfast products, like dry cereals and cinnamon rolls. He also wants to introduce more carryout food, and plans on bringing in deli food from for  everyday fresh grab-and-go-type salads and sandwiches.

They're serving a new brew called Covenant Coffee; Sappington said they'll eventually have a custom Friendly Grounds roast made for the shop. The roasting company is a nonprofit, with all profits going toward foster care in America.

There will be no cutback of hours; if anything, they will opening earlier in an attempt to draw in morning commuters.

Don't worry though, with all these changes, Sappington says one thing that won't likely change is the prices. 

"The coffee shop is for a bigger purpose, to support the community, to provide resources and give profit back to the community," said Sappington. "We can help causes like Covenant Coffee before a cup of coffee is even sold, and then give a part of the profits to causes like Convoy of Hope."

Sappington has been the lead director, also known as Pastor, of La Mesa's Crosspoint Church since 2001, and the new manager of the shop, 24-year-old Justin Unruh, has been leading the young adult community at the church for a couple years. Church members will be working and volunteering at the shop.

"The church family is going to come alongside us for support," said Sappington.

They've cleaned the place up and rearranged and added some furniture, even moved the stage to the front window corner of the shop, but the redecoration isn't complete yet.

The two rooms at the back of the shop were previously used mostly as offices and meeting rooms for the Craft's congregation; now the shop plans on renting those out as off-site meeting rooms for businesses and other activities.

"We want to target the young adult population, have student discounts, change the look of the shop a bit, make it more eclectic with local art and clustered seating," said Sappington.

Unruh, the new manager, is set to play a big part of targeting younger customers and bringing more entertainment to the shop.

The shop will be open throughout all of the remodeling, and they just launched a new website.