Evansville Food Truck Goes Brick & Mortar with Purchase of Former Read Street BBQ
One Evansville food truck is planning to park it with a new brick-and-mortar location where they will serve up delicious coffees and firecakes!
Meet The Milk Barn Cafe
The Milk Barn Cafe started out as an Evansville-area food truck specializing in gourmet coffee and fresh, made-to-order donuts. It all started with the vision of one local man, and the help of his family.
...a dream of mine has always been to open a business of my own. Evansville is home to great donut shops, but something has been missing, especially on the Northside of our town. There are no warm, fresh, made-to-order donuts or gourmet coffee. With the help of my family and friends, my goal is to fill this void with The Milk Barn becoming a part of the community.
Out With the Old in With the New
In March The Milk Barn Cafe announced on social media that they had put the brakes on the world of food trucks, selling their trailer, and setting sights on prospective properties and future potential.
...We have bittersweet news to report. We sold our little red trailer this week. We were sad to see her roll away. However, this has given us the flexibility to either buy a small place, lease, or upgrade to two food trucks...
Brick and Mortar
After selling off the trailer, The Milk Barn has toured "numerous" properties and locations as they weighed all of their options. Should they buy? Should they build? Should they lease? It's a big decision for any small business.
And The Decision Is...
Ultimately, the decision was made to purchase a pre-existing building. And while not located on the city's northside, as they had originally intended, the new location is centrally located within the city of Evansville making The Milk Barn Cafe easily accessible.
The New Location
The brand new home of The Milk Barn Cafe is 421 Read Street - an address not all too unfamiliar for many in Evansville as up until recently, it had been home to Read Street BBQ. You may remember when we reported on the building going up for sale back in January 2022. The 1,400+ square foot building was initially listed as a turn-key business and included an additional empty lot adjacent to the property for just under $200,000. Read Street BBQ served its final plate and closed its doors on June 11, 2022. The Milk Barn Cafe plans to be up and running, with the doors open for business by July 4th, according to a post on the business's Facebook page.
We are very happy to prepare these next weeks to create this space from a little blue building into the red barn you’ve come to know as The Milk Barn, with delicious Firecakes 🍩 and Drips ☕️, and an expanding menu to come😁! We can’t wait to see all of you soon and thank you for your continued support that has been very appreciated!
There is much to do before our TENTATIVE opening date of JULY 4th 🇺🇸 but we are up for the challenge to get back to serving our wonderful guests.
The Milk Barn Cafe Menu
If gourmet coffee and artisan donuts are your thing, you are going to want to be in line when The Milk Barn Cafe does finally open its doors at its new location but don't look for the words coffee and donuts on the menu. The Milk Barn Cafe will be serving up their signature Drips and Firecakes!
What Is a Firecake?
Obviously, "drips" are coffees, lattes, and even hot chocolate, but what exactly is a firecake? Traditionally, firecake was a bread made and eaten by Revolutionary War soldiers and was known for being quick to make and only requiring two ingredients - water and flour. Salt would occasionally be used if it was available, according to USHistory.org and they would be cooked on a rock placed in the fire.
Sweet, Fresh, Made-to-Order
I suspect that the Firecakes at The Milk Barn Cafe may have more than just flour and water in them, I guarantee they are far more delicious. Especially when you factor in that they start with a fluffy vanilla firecake base and then come with a variety of icing choices like the Blue Cow (blueberry icing), Duke (chocolate icing, drizzled in caramel, and topped with nuts) or the Winnie the Moo (Cinnamon and sugar with a honey drizzle). [See the full menu here.]
Caffeine Me
As someone who loves a good iced latte (I basically live off of caffeine), a delicious donut, and supporting our small business community, I am incredibly excited for The Milk Barn Cafe to move into its new digs and open the doors soon. Here's to many moooooooons of successful business!
The Definitive Evansville Area Food Truck Guide