WHY WE LAUNCH TOURISM INITIATIVES AT DEJA BREW
Blackford Directory editorial by Tim Norris Jr

This Guy Was Doing Grassroots Tourism Before I Made It Cool 😎

I don't drink coffee at home. I don't order coffee at restaurants. I really don't drink much coffee at all. I do drink coffee at Deja Brew. I'm not a coffee expert or enthusiast, I’ll leave the coffee review to people who know a whole lot more than I do. For me, coffee is probably the smallest part of this story.

I think I first met Gordon at a Blackford County Small Business Group meeting. I don't remember much beyond an introduction. I know I started visiting Deja Brew in the summer of 2023. At the time, the Blackford Directory was a hobby. Sirron Resource Partners was a side gig. I had no plans to become a full-time entrepreneur. I was looking for a new career closer to home after years of commuting. I started accepting freelance work while I searched for the next opportunity.

When I would leave Deja Brew, I used to tell Gordon I needed to get back to work. He repeatedly reminded me that people came to Deja Brew to work all the time. "Bring your laptop." Eventually, I listened. Gordon offered his establishment as a place to meet clients. I also put some routine back into my life. Sometimes I would get up and go to Deja Brew just to leave the house to my wife while she got ready for work. I'm also an insomniac and often work all night. A trip to Deja Brew isn't always the beginning of my day. Sometimes it's a break for my mind and body after a 20-plus-hour workday at home. Sometimes I bring my laptop. Sometimes I go there because I need to get away from my laptop. Somewhere along the way, Deja Brew became my office away from the office.

Gordon and I have spent more than three years talking between customers, deliveries, cooking, phone calls and all the other business involved in running a business. We've discussed everything from space travel to real estate. I'd love to tell you Gordon and I had one defining conversation where we mapped out a plan to promote tourism, support small businesses and connect people from around the world to Hartford City. We didn't. We mostly just talked. A surprising amount of what I do today grew out of ordinary conversations just like those.

"I Don't Think I've Met You Before"

If someone walks into Deja Brew and Gordon doesn't recognize them, there's a good chance he will ask a very simple question: "I don't think I've met you before. Are you from around here?" It's an open-ended question. Some people aren't interested in talking, they get their food or drink and they go about their day. Other people tell us they just moved to town. Some are passing through. Some are visiting family. Some are in town for a class reunion, golf tournament, 5K, an event at Sigma Phi Gamma Park or Blackford Junior-Senior High School. Some are attending or visiting Taylor University. Some are visiting Lake Placid Christian Conference Center. Some of them are paranormal investigators.

Sometimes regulars sitting near the serving area join the conversation while Gordon prepares the order. That's how I started meeting people. I've met visitors from across Indiana, across the country and around the world at Deja Brew. I've met people visiting paranormal locations. I've met representatives from organizations that use Deja Brew as a meeting space. I've met traveling teams. I've met people headed somewhere else who simply stopped for a drink. I've become friends and acquaintances with a number of the regulars.

I met the folks from Montgomery’s Horse Drawn Carriage Services at Deja Brew. I met paranormal investigators who later appeared on Blackford Directory TV at Deja Brew. Nathan Richardson discussed an idea for a haunted attraction with Gordon and me while sitting at the bar. I jokingly called it Barnage of Carnage. Nathan loved the name and immediately started using it. A few months later, hundreds were standing in line to walk through a barn at the Blackford County Fairgrounds. The first year raised money for a local student who had experienced an injury. The second year supported Shop-With-A-Cop. The name started as a joke at Deja Brew. That's the kind of thing that happens to me there.

One of Gordon's customers found a bicycle that I plan to turn into a parade float. Fourth Friday LLC became an official entity over a laptop at Deja Brew. The Declaration of Independence had to be signed somewhere. 🤣 After three seasons of Fourth Friday, and one last text to Ashley asking, "Are you sure, sure?" I grabbed my debit card and laptop and headed to Deja Brew. I walked Dustin Maddox through the Indiana Secretary of State website to finally create the Fourth Friday entity. This isn’t the first business started sitting at Deja Brew.

The Wall

The first time you see the visitor wall, it's impressive in an almost overwhelming way. It started as a map. Visitors would write where they were from on little slips of paper attached to pins. Eventually, there were so many tags that the map disappeared. Today, it's more of a bulletin board collage. I didn't read every tag. Nobody does. I read enough to understand the scope of what was happening there.

At that point, Blackford County Eats had already taught me to think about local and regional economic impact. Blackford County Eats began as a local supporting local campaign. We were mostly educating consumers about local options they may not know about. The group evolved into encouraging participation and providing valuable feedback to local eateries. Then I started thinking beyond the individual meal. If someone from Pennville eats in Montpelier instead of driving to Bluffton, they may also buy fuel here. If someone from Matthews stays in Blackford County instead of going to Muncie, they may buy groceries or a retail item while they're out. If someone from Dunkirk comes to Hartford City instead of Portland, the economic impact of keeping that consumer in our community may extend beyond the restaurant.

Regional tourism wasn't really on my radar. International tourism definitely wasn't. Then I started paying attention to Gordon's wall. I started paying more attention when he asked strangers where they were from. I started listening when visitors explained why they were in Hartford City. I didn't read every tag. I read enough.

Miles Mean Minutes

I once met travelers headed toward the James Dean attractions in Fairmount. I don't remember where they were from or if they even said. They were accustomed to planning travel around city traffic and were ahead of schedule. They had discovered that the drive itself was more enjoyable than they expected and it wasn't taking as long as they anticipated. Out here between the cornfields, miles mean minutes.

That idea stuck with me. We live close to Taylor University, Ball State University and Indiana Wesleyan University. We are within driving distance of attractions, events and destinations that bring people from across the country into our part of Indiana. Sometimes Hartford City is the destination. Sometimes we're on the way. Some travelers are surprised by how quickly they can get from one small Indiana community to another. Others deliberately add miles to their trip.

Flyer Paranormal and other paranormal investigators have made Deja Brew a pit stop on trips to destinations outside of Blackford County. They have traveled miles and miles out of their way just to stop, sometimes on the way to their destination and again on the return trip. A visit to Spirits of Marco in Marco, Indiana, may include a Deja Brew stop in Hartford City. A paranormal investigation at Mysterious Monroe House or the Old Blackford County Jail may include a selfie brag from Deja Brew. People hours away comment about their last visit. Others talk about when they're coming back. Somewhere along the way, Deja Brew became a destination of its own. This guy was doing grassroots tourism before I made it cool. 😎

Gordon Knows Who Is Open

Gordon doesn't promote Hartford City from a script. He listens. If someone tells him they're here for a class reunion at the Elks, he may ask if they've been there before. He'll reassure them that it's a great venue and tell them they should expect a good time. He may ask who the entertainment is. If he knows the band or DJ, he'll tell them something about them.

If someone asks for something, Gordon knows what businesses offer and who is open, with recommendations based on the time and day. If someone wants a taco salad, he may send them to the Flip Flop. If someone wants coffee beans and Gordon doesn't have a specific blend, he may recommend Who's Your Coffee Roastery. Depending on the time of day and what someone is looking for, he may send them to Who's Your Coffee Roastery, Richard's Restaurant, Common Grounds Coffee House, Obi's Outpost or The Sip Studio. I've personally heard Gordon recommend all of them and many more local businesses and resources.

Gordon doesn't promote Hartford City in the abstract. He knows who is open. More importantly, he seems genuinely interested in the people who walk through his door. If it's their first visit, he may ask how they heard about Deja Brew. Some saw something on social media. Some were referred by friends or family. Some picked up a business card or promotional material at a paranormal venue. Some just moved to town. Some have lived in Blackford County their entire lives and somehow made their first visit five years after the business opened.

The open-ended questions let the customer do the talking. Gordon listens. He is also learning. He's gauging social media reach versus word-of-mouth growth. He's hearing why people are in town. He's learning which events are bringing visitors. He notices return customers. Then he uses what he knows to help the next person. That's grassroots tourism. No committee. No formal entity. No grant. One cup of coffee at a time.

The Blackford Directory Wasn't Really the Blackford Directory Yet

In April 2024, the Blackford Directory didn't really exist yet, at least not as you see it today. Our Facebook page was only a few months old and had fewer than 300 followers. Blackford County Eats was growing and I wanted a similar outlet for all local businesses. I had the idea. I built the social media presence. It just wasn’t doing much yet.

When I was invited to participate in planning the Blackford Blackout Eclipse Celebration, my initial role was making a website and helping with outreach. I suggested we use the new Blackford Directory Facebook page as the social platform instead of creating a new page or group for an event that would only happen once. I didn’t want this to get shelved in a binder when the event is over. I wanted to capture the eclipse audience somewhere we could recycle it for whatever came next.

The planning of Blackford Blackout led me back to one of my earliest Blackford Directory ideas: welcome packets. The eclipse gave me an opportunity to try the idea on a manageable scale. We purchased hundreds of bags. ADM Custom Creations helped with printing costs. The Charles W. Brown Planetarium at Ball State University and Paul Kraus of PK Heating & Cooling provided enough eclipse glasses to put one in every packet and distribute glasses to residential care facilities in the area. The packets included public eclipse viewing locations, meal information from the Blackford County Indiana Extension Homemakers Association and a list of events we had assembled to turn the eclipse into a weekend-long experience.

One family had traveled from California and was staying with relatives elsewhere in Indiana, outside the area with the longest totality times. They stopped at Deja Brew for drinks. We gave them a welcome packet. They had been passing through. They decided to stay in Hartford City instead of driving farther south into larger crowds and heavier traffic. I don't know if Gordon's hospitality sold them or if it was my photocopied black-and-white single-page brochure with Anna's logo design on the front. I'm sure it was the brochure. 🤣

They asked about coffee mugs and eclipse souvenirs. We sent them to ADM Custom Creations. After my marathon of events and viewing locations, I made it to ADM and they were still there, finishing an order and talking with everyone. They headed out to get ready for the eclipse. I made it back just in time to watch totality with Anna from the alley beside the shop. Grassroots tourism is very glamorous.

That family didn't come to Hartford City because of the Blackford Directory. They didn't come because of a tourism campaign. They stopped for a drink. Someone gave them information. They stayed. They spent money at another local business. They left with a better understanding of our community. That's it. That's the whole idea.

I Didn't Invent Paranormal Tourism

After the eclipse, I started learning more about paranormal tourism in Blackford County. I knew it had existed for over a decade. I knew it wasn't insignificant. I had no idea how significant of an economic driver it had already become. I was also totally ignorant of how huge the paranormal industry is nationally and internationally.

I've known Dann Allen of Save the Old Properties, or S.T.O.P., for decades. I had private tours of the Old Blackford County Jail when it was still his personal residence. I knew about the Mysterious Monroe House. I knew people came here to investigate. I didn't have relationships with the teams, investigators or other venues. Gordon did.

He built those relationships one cup of coffee at a time. He would let me know when he heard investigators were coming to town. We would find their public social media and share information about their visits. We compared notes about teams, venues and events we were learning about. Gordon pointed out return visitors. We promoted them even more. He encouraged teams to meet with me for interviews. He facilitated our videos. He shared our content in paranormal Facebook groups and helped us quickly expand our reach.

The plan was to put everything together and launch Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County during the last week of 2025. That was the plan. Then Flyer Paranormal announced open interviews at Deja Brew and invited anyone with a story about Monroe House to come down. Gordon immediately reached out to me: "You should come down and meet these guys."

I bought HauntedandParanormalBlackfordCounty.com and created the Facebook page before the interview so I would have something to reference. Gordon encouraged me to launch early and build as I went. This was not the strategy. This was not the plan. We had no followers. We had no content. We had no budget. We were breaking pretty much all of my own marketing rules. I still wasn't sure any of it would work.

Then Flyer Paranormal told us Blackford County was the most welcoming community they had visited in the United States as paranormal investigators. I'm going to call that a milestone. If these guys drove hours to get here and wanted to stay longer because they enjoyed how they were treated in my hometown, this was no longer an idea to sell more coffee and fuel. It became a responsibility to live up to a reputation we did not set out to build.

I didn't invent paranormal tourism in Blackford County. I brought it out of the shadows and highlighted the impact it was already having on our economy and our visitors. Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County began as a digital welcome packet to bridge the gap until the physical paranormal visitor packets were produced. Then it exploded – By our intended December launch date we were well on our way towards 13,000 followers.

Flyer Paranormal

My first interview with Flyer Paranormal was a Facebook Live on their page that I later turned into a BlackfordDirectoryTV YouTube video. I wasn't really sure what they were going to ask me. I was still figuring out what I was doing. It was very off the cuff. We hit it off immediately. They are super nice guys and funny as hell.

Since that first interview, they have been constant supporters. They promoted Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County. They promoted Deja Brew. They promoted Obi's Outpost. They visited local businesses. They purchased products from local makers. They worked with Katt Shop 3D Printing and More. They supported our Kids Costume Giveaway. They donated to Shop-With-A-Cop. They came back. Then they came back again.

When they posted about Blackford County, their followers saw local restaurants, local businesses and local venues. A trip to investigate the paranormal became a selfie brag about stopping at Deja Brew. People who had visited before commented about past visits or anticipating their next trip. That's grassroots marketing at its best. The paranormal community has a different culture. It's amazingly supportive. If you're promoting them, they're promoting you. I wish I could get our local business community to work that consistently.

Flyer Paranormal even took inspiration from our Blackford Directory/Hartford City Sons of AMVETS Kids Costume Giveaway and worked with the M36 Rotary Club on a costume drive in Michigan. Think about that for a minute. A group from Michigan comes to Blackford County to investigate haunted buildings. They meet people here. They drink coffee here. They eat here. They spend money here. They help promote our businesses. They support local children's projects. Then a Blackford County idea travels back to Michigan and becomes a community project there. Then we promote their project back to our audience.

This is the free flow of information. This is why I do what I do. And a big piece of that relationship started because Gordon sent me a message saying: "You should come down and meet these guys."

A Haunted Picture Nobody Wanted

One day, a woman I knew through two other local businesses came into Deja Brew carrying a framed print. I didn't know she was a Deja Brew regular. She told us everyone thought the picture was haunted and nobody wanted it. So she bought it for Gordon. Gordon immediately hung it on the wall.

It's a cute picture. It has been 100% unmenacing since arriving at its new home. It now casually appears in the background of nearly every video I record at Deja Brew. Where else is that story going to take place?

The Place Itself

Deja Brew Espresso Bar at the Vineyard is in historic Hartford City, Indiana. The property is huge for being inside the city limits. Indiana State Road 26 borders the south side of the property. An out-of-service railroad track and a functioning glass facility help frame a property shaped by Hartford City's industrial past. The vineyard sits on the east side. A large, freshly paved parking lot separates the vineyard from the building. Between the building and the highway is a large green space. Railroad tracks from the manufacturing days remain near the south wall of the building. The entrance is flanked by a porch swing on one side and a patio area on the other. The patio has a fire pit and outdoor furniture.

Look up. The second-floor windows still display blown glass panes manufactured in the very same building. Hartford City exists because of stories like this. The Trenton Gas Field changed this community. Natural gas and glass manufacturing created an economic boom, brought skilled workers and immigrants to the area and left a legacy that still physically surrounds us. You can see it in our buildings. You can see it in the Blackford County Courthouse historic district. You can see it in the work of Save the Old Properties. You can see it in the places documented by This Is Us – Hartford City. At Deja Brew, you can drink coffee inside part of that history.

Walk through the door and you're greeted by original brickwork, exposed native timber support beams and a bar more reminiscent of a small tavern than a diner counter or chain coffee line. Large televisions quietly play the news, but no one is paying attention. There is plenty to occupy your attention without a screen.

A table near the serving station displays local information. You may see This Is Us – Hartford City brochures. You may see a poster for a food drive. You may see information from a local organization or community project. Copies of The Courier and Taylor University's The Echo are usually within reach. Some coffee shops keep a couple copies of a Muncie, Indianapolis or New York newspaper near the counter. At Deja Brew, at least every other table seems to represent local media or local content.

You may walk in to find large meetings or just an individual sitting alone with headphones and a laptop. By the time you reach the bar, the second seating area becomes visible. Large tables fill the center of the room. Comfortable vintage furniture sits along the windows. A stack of board games encourages visitors to stay as long as they choose. At least one seat near the bar is usually occupied by a plastic skeleton. Often more. They are not there for October. They are year-round customers. Sometimes they're playing cards. Sometimes they're drinking coffee. I don't ask questions.

A display holds bags of coffee, laser-engraved mugs and other items. Another display features a collaboration of tins with a huge variety of teas. A lighted glass display case provides space for local businesses, authors and others to introduce products to Gordon's customers. I wish every public building in our community had something like it.

My Office Away From the Office Is Apparently a Visitor Center Too

I have watched people come into Deja Brew, say hello, get what they came for and leave. I've watched other people come in for a muffin and stay for hours. It's a groovy kind of place where you can be yourself. A lot of strangers have become my friends at Deja Brew. I've met representatives from organizations that use the building for meetings. I've met business owners. I've met travelers. I've met paranormal investigators. I've met people who came home to visit and stopped at Deja Brew because they remembered it. I've met people who discovered Gordon through a friend. I've met people who found promotional materials at a paranormal venue.

I met Josh Richardson there shortly after he stepped into his leadership role with the Indiana Economic Development Corporation. He had returned to Hartford City for a Blackford County Republican Part breakfast.

A Year-End Party With Someone Else's Barbecue

The Lunch-n-Learn series was one of my very first ideas for the Blackford Directory. For most of the year, City Hall was a practical location. For the final Lunch-n-Learn of the year, I wanted something different. We were celebrating the conclusion of our first Blackford Directory Lunch-n-Learn series. I wanted the gathering to be informal. No real agenda. Gordon had already agreed to let me bring catered food into his eatery.

Think about that. I asked a guy who sells food if I could hold my event in his business and serve food from somewhere else. He said yes. When the original catering plan fell apart, I rolled into Obi's Outpost, hat in hand, and asked Michelle for a large order on short notice. She said yes without hesitation.

We served Obi's Outpost barbecue at Deja Brew. Chamber leaders were there. Blackford County Small Business Group folks were there. Fourth Friday at the Fairgrounds friends were there. Gordon let us take over his space. Again. That's the kind of thing this dude puts up with from me.

Your Hometown Away From Home

The name Your Hometown Away From Home is new. The idea isn't. Mike Hylton indirectly inspired it years ago when I spent entirely too much of my life at his shop in Muncie. Mike was the manager. The shop offered a student discount and received a lot of Ball State University traffic.

A student would call a parent because their car was making a noise. They had to find a local shop in an unfamiliar city. Mike had to convince them that, out of more than 100 shops in town, they had walked into the right one. It didn't always look the same, but the result was similar. A polite welcome. Active listening. An explanation of the problem and pricing without jargon. Sometimes Mike would invite a student to put their parents or mechanic back home on speakerphone. It helped connect the unfamiliar with the familiar. It made them feel at home. That approach to customer service is transferable and replicable.

Thousands of students and their families are temporarily separated from the social networks that normally tell them where to eat, where to take a car, what to do on a Friday night and which business won't make them feel stupid for asking a question. They don't need Hartford City to replace their hometown. They may appreciate having another hometown while they're away from theirs. A place where somebody recognizes them. A business owner who listens. A place to sit with a laptop. A board game. A local event. Blackford Greenway. Blackford Disc Golf. Hartford City Memorial Pool. Weiler Plaza. Fourth Friday at the Fairgrounds. Montpelier Speedway. Magic Corner. Shop Blackford Saturday. The history surrounding the Blackford County Courthouse. The work of Save the Old Properties. Things that people living a few miles away may never discover if nobody tells them.

The name came recently. The theory has been sitting in my head since I met Mike Hylton.

Why Deja Brew?

Blackford County Eats was our first real tourism initiative, although we didn't call it that. The eclipse taught me to think about visitors. Gordon's wall forced me to think internationally. Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County taught me what can happen when you identify an audience that already appreciates something about your community and simply make it easier for them to discover more.

Through all of these projects, Gordon became a sounding board. I bounced ideas off him. He made suggestions. We shared information. It was a free flow of knowledge. Deja Brew already had the largest number of regional and international visitors of any local business I had personally observed. Gordon was open six days a week. We had a proven history of collaboration. He pretty much lets me take over his facility anytime I want for free. Why wouldn't I choose Deja Brew to help launch Your Hometown Away From Home?

By the time I gave the idea a name, Gordon had already spent years doing it. He asks where you're from. He listens to why you're here. He remembers return visitors. He tells you about another local business. He knows which restaurant is open. He knows about an event. He knows the paranormal investigators. He knows someone who may be able to answer your question.

He'll tell me you're coming. I'll find your Facebook page. One of my pages may share your visit. You may discover ADM Custom Creations. You may end up at Obi's Outpost. You may learn about Blackford Greenway. You may come back for Fourth Friday. You may visit Montpelier Speedway. You may tell your friends.

This guy was doing grassroots tourism before I made it cool. 😎

Gordon Just Keeps Saying Yes

This is supposed to be a thank-you letter. I should probably get around to thanking him. Gordon has supported the Blackford Directory since it had fewer than 300 Facebook followers. He supported Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County before it reached more than 13,000 followers. He supported all my wild ideas before there was enough audience to impress anyone.

He introduced me to people. He told me when investigators were coming to town. He encouraged teams to meet with me. He facilitated interviews. He shared content into Facebook groups where I didn't have reach. He gave local businesses space to display products. He let me meet clients at his tables. He told me to bring my laptop. He let me serve another restaurant's barbecue in his coffee shop. He brought coffee and cookies to Barnage of Carnage. He listened to ideas. He gave me ideas. He encouraged me to launch Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County before I was ready.

Gordon has never needed a formal title in any of my projects. He didn't ask to be the tourism guy. He didn't ask to become part of the Blackford Directory ecosystem. He didn't ask me to turn Deja Brew into my office away from the office. He just kept saying yes.

The Blackford Directory is about the free flow of knowledge. People like Don Rogers were already taking photographs. I expanded their voice. Writers like Derek Wilson were already writing. I just shared their work. Danny K Careins and Scott Shaffer are journalists. I'm not. I don’t need to be a news outlet, I simply amplify the reach of our current media. Small businesses already have ideas. Community members already have skills. Visitors already have interests. The goal isn't always to invent something. Sometimes the goal is to notice what's already happening and connect the people who haven't found each other yet. Gordon understands that. Maybe he understood it before I did.

Thank You, Gordon

As my office away from the office, I spend a lot of time at Deja Brew. I've personally met people from across Indiana, across the country and around the world there. I've watched people come in for a drink and leave with information about another local business. I've watched visitors change their plans. I've met paranormal investigators who became collaborators and friends. I've watched an idea for a haunted attraction become a real community event. I've watched business owners meet. I've watched community entities become official over a laptop.

I've watched local information move from a newspaper to a conversation, from a conversation to Facebook, from Facebook to a visitor and from a visitor to people hundreds of miles away. I've watched Gordon build relationships one cup of coffee at a time. Some folks come in and out with barely a word. Others pop in for a muffin and stay for hours. It's a groovy kind of place where you can be yourself. A lot of strangers have become my friends at Deja Brew.

Gordon, thank you for being a cheerleader when the Blackford Directory had 300 followers. Thank you for telling me to bring my laptop. Thank you for offering me a place to meet clients before I had fully accepted that I was becoming a full-time entrepreneur. Thank you for the introductions. Thank you for the information. Thank you for sharing the posts. Thank you for telling paranormal investigators to talk to me. Thank you for letting me conduct interviews. Thank you for letting me take over your building. Thank you for the advice.

Thank you for supporting Blackford County Eats. Thank you for supporting I Shop Blackford and Shop Blackford Saturday. Thank you for supporting Blackford Directory and Blackford Directory TV. Thank you for supporting This Is Us – Hartford City. Thank you for supporting the Blackford County Small Business Group. Thank you for supporting Haunted and Paranormal Blackford County before any of us knew what it would become.

Most of all, thank you for helping people feel welcome in Hartford City. You were doing grassroots tourism before I made it cool. Now I'm asking you to help me do it again.

Deja Brew Espresso Bar at the Vineyard.
In historic Hartford City, Indiana. Your hometown away from home.

— Tim Norris Jr.

Blackford Directory