Beans in the Belfry — Restaurant in Brunswick

May 24, 2024 - “Beans in the Belfry” merge’s an old 1910 German Reformed Church into a Present day Cafe . . . With wonderful food & coffee ! 👍🏼😃

Congratulations to new owners Eddie & Stefani for picking up the reins of ownership in 2023. They have a beautiful Cafe after renovations by previous owner Melanie DiPasquale, who opened Beans in the Belfry back in 2004.

My wife and I lived nearby, years ago . It’s been awhile since we visited this Cafe. It remains a great lunch place with good coffee & food . We remember the “ live music” on several weekends, held at night at the Cafe, with Gene & Steve wielding guitars. Not sure if “ live music” continues?

On this day, we met up with friends for lunch in Brunswick, at the Cafe. Great vibes walking into Beans again. Folks can order at the counter.

My wife ordered the Bombay Pita ( white curry chicken salad, diced celery, raisins on pita) . . . which she said, “ Delicious “! My friend & I ordered the Smoked Turkey ( oven baked Turkey with pepper jack cheese, cranberry sauce, honey mustard dressing on grilled toast) which I loved !

Beans has a lot to “ crow about” :

Organic grown

*Fair Trade Coffee

*Rest Stop for Hikers & Bikers

*Historic renovated Church downtown

*Homemade Soups & foods

*Bakery Chef made desserts

*Good venue for events & parties

*Learn more about History of Brunswick, MD

Background Of Brunswick ⛪️ 🛤️

1731 - Early ferry crossing between MD/VA

1787 - Leonard Smith selling plots in Berlin

1834 - Early R.R. & Canal construction

1845 - Grist mill est. by Charles Wenner

1890 - B & O moved freight yard to newly renamed town of Brunswick, MD

1910 - German Reformed Church built

1968 - Church closed

2004 - After renovations, Owner Melanie DiPasquale opened Beans in the Belfry

2023 - New owners Eddie Nunez & Stefanie Penaranda took over Beans in the Belfry

2024 - Brunswick...

First off, I really, really want to give this place five stars! The coffee is good, the food is excellent, the pastries are exquisite, the ambience and the random musicians showing up for a jam session -- it's just great! But there's just one thing. You may have noticed that I said the coffee is good, and it it. But I like to toss back an espresso, especially in an independent shop like this. So my one quibble is with the espresso. The espresso machine isn't turning out true espresso. What I've been getting is a shot of moka pot coffee. The thin brown foam on top isn't a true crema. It's not thick enough and it dissipates quickly. The photos show a true espresso. You can see how thick the crema is, and what it leaves behind when the espresso has been drunk. Once Beans in the Belfry produces this, I will happily post the fifth star! OK, for all of you who have read this far, thanks for your attention and don't miss this place! It's worth a trip all by itself, and you can stop off at a number of C&O Canal sites on the way! (Also the Rocky Point Creamery when it's open.) So go there -- just don't get the espresso! To the new owners: You've done a great job! It's even better than before (yeah, they also blew the espresso!) So please get together with your espresso machine equipment rep and your coffee source to work out the proper grind and settings to turn out the genuine article. I really want to give you the fifth star! Oh -- the photos. They're from Coffee Republic at King Farm in Rockville/Gaithersberg. I specify that they drop it directly into the cup it's served in. No shot glasses, no cardboard. New owners -- stop by for a business...

Amazing idea with great potential to convert a church into a cafe. However, it falls very short of expectations. Upon first encounter, I was enchanted, though it quickly wore off as I noticed problems. Firstly, the decor is antiquated and somewhat outdated. Ideas like the pews as chairs is cool, but pews are uncomfortable. They did nothing to make the seats better, so these seats get almost no use despite taking large portions of the cafe. Overall, it is very crowded with a gift shop thrown up all over the place. I'm coming in for a peaceful coffee and food, not to buy your $30 cookie cutter or initialed keychain. It's hard to even find where the line starts. Therefore, the atmosphere lacks greatly where it has huge potential. Then the food: the coffee tasted great with unique flavors such as amaretto or lychee. But the food just falls flat; the salmon bagel was overly salty and the turkey sandwich was just weird being paired with cranberry sauce. Coffee-wise, this is a great choice, but everything else just falls flat. Oh, and the prices are exorbitant. A small, thin turkey sandwich costs you $9 for example, and a regular coffee $5. Service itself was decent, though it felt understaffed and things seemed rushed. There was a lack of cleaning dishes, tables, and the useless knick-knack cabinets. Just one finger swipe and my finger was coated in dust. Not good for my allergies or anyone elses. Staff was friendly, if not a little standoffish.

TL;DR: coffee great, food subpar and weird. Dusty, dirty, and cluttered with useless junk that no one would want from a cafe. Confusing layout, and...