Before The Main Brew opened this past May on Main Street, the boutique coffee trailer existed in one unforgettable dream for owner Hanah Hatler.
“If I dream, I never remember them,” she quips. When an image serving the people of her hometown from a coffee trailer came to her one night and lingered long into the next morning, she knew it was meant to be. It also helped that the stars seemed to align from the beginning.
The Main Brew sits directly in the parking lot of the building her husband, Jake, owns–and where she used to work as an office manager before becoming a full-time stay-at-home mom to her two boys. As much as she loved her job, she loved the thought of being there for every childhood milestone even more.
“I didn’t want to leave my kids and wanted to stay home,” Hatler recalls, and for the last four years, that is exactly what she has done, thankful for the opportunity to be present for each precious moment. “We’re really big on family, and our kids are so little and [time] just goes by so fast.”
Speaking of time, it took just six months for Hatler’s dream to become a reality. Hatler immediately shared her vision with Jake who, admittedly a little skeptical at first, has supported her throughout this endeavor. “I really dove all into it,” she adds. “I started looking online for trailers and joined Facebook groups to figure out how to even get started.”
Her expectations were hopeful, but even she could not have imagined what The Main Brew would become for her beloved Chattanooga community in record time. “It just exploded from the beginning,” says Hatler. And as happy as she is to be serving them, customers are even happier to make a visit to the coffee trailer in Highland Park, which currently only has two coffee shops at the end of each side of Main Street.
The coffee, of course, is the main attraction, with cold and espresso brews made exclusively with organic locally roasted beans sourced directly from farmers. This commitment to clean and natural ingredients extends to every item on the menu, including the syrups. “Everything that I sell is organic,” Hatler explains. “If I’m not making the syrups myself, I have a brand that I specifically use”–a brand that she says meets every criteria when it comes to being as preservative-free and pure as possible.
“My whole menu is based around the idea of clean ingredients so that you know when you’re getting a coffee from us, it’s going to be as good for you as it can be,” exclaims Hatler. Customers notice The Main Brew difference from the second they spot the sleek black trailer to the moment they take their first sip–and each moment in between.
What has stood out to Hatler throughout this entire journey is the extended pride she feels for the community she calls home.
“The Main Brew, I feel like, has already made such a huge impact in the community,” she says. “I get a lot of people who are able to just walk from their houses, leave their front door and come grab a coffee and meet their neighbors in line.”
Hatler intends to protect this unique opportunity for connection. “That’s kind of the whole mission behind The Main Brew–to provide a place where people can just have community with each other that they might not have had before.”
"I get a lot of people who are able to just walk from their houses, leave their front door and come grab a coffee and meet their neighbors in line."