Coffee, ice cream and a little bit of Jesus on top. That’s what you get when you visit My Cup Runneth Over Coffee Café in Borden.
Darcy Gray opened the shop on Feb. 1, 2012. She initially bought the building to house her other gig – she’s a retailer for satellite internet and Direct TV. After realizing the space was too large for just her satellite side, she began thinking about what she could do with the other side.
“Somebody said, ‘Well, why don’t you just open up the coffee shop you’ve always wanted?’ and that’s basically it,” Gray said.
Gray said she has always loved coffee shops and hers has been on the horizon for years.
“We wanted to do a coffee shop and a ministry at the same time, so that’s why it’s called My Cup Runneth Over Coffee Café,” she said.
“We wanted to do a coffee shop and a ministry at the same time, so that’s why it’s called My Cup Runneth Over Coffee Café.”
As for the name, it came to her as she was sitting in the parking lot at church, looking toward her shop.
“The only thing that came to my mind was Psalm 23,” Gray said. “God said, ‘What else would you name it?’”
It references Psalm 23:5-6: “You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life” (NIV).
“If you walk in the door, you’re going to know what we are – it is faith-based – the photos and everything,” Gray said.
Women and youth have held Bible studies there and they keep a prayer box right at the entrance. Patrons can leave a request anonymously and Darcy and her staff pray over the requests weekly.
Women and youth have held Bible studies there and they keep a prayer box right at the entrance. Patrons can leave a request anonymously and Darcy and her staff pray over the requests weekly.
“We pray over those for years,” she said. “We never throw them away.”
When the coronavirus pandemic hit, the shop was able to stay open since it had a drive-thru.
“When it first shut down, our community rallied around the small businesses,” Gray said. “Probably for four weeks, we were busier than we have ever been in the (nearly) nine years we’ve been open.”
She said the community is famous for coming together when they need it most.
It helps that they are attached to Borden High School, just a half a block away. Gray said kids came there and hung out daily, before the pandemic.
“Just, honestly, being able to be a place where somebody can come in and feel safe (is special),” Gray said.
Many of their employees grow up through the shop and it acts as a part of their family.
“They start off at the high school level, we see them through college and then they take off,” Gray said.
Their customers also become a part of the family.
“We have had the same customers come back over and over for the almost nine years we’ve been open,” Gray said. “They’re the best part.”
Right now, customers can enjoy take-out and drive-thru options. Gray said the most popular item is the Graze Box, which is a charcuterie box for two
Right now, customers can enjoy take-out and drive-thru options. Gray said the most popular item is the Graze Box, which is a charcuterie box for two.
“It’s just taken off like crazy,” Gray said. “We also do chocolate-covered strawberries on Valentine’s Day and we typically sell about 250 dozen. They’re all hand-dipped.”
The shop also has soft-serve ice cream cones, candy blasts and milkshakes, along with a variety of coffees, such as the Facebook-featured Iced Caramel Latte.
“I always want to keep what we have – but I’d love to make different and new food,” Gray said. We are trying to do more charcuterie stuff. It’s wildly popular and really fun.”
When talking about the importance of supporting small businesses, Gray said it’s always tricky for every business to balance supply and demand.
“It’s coffee at the end of the day, it’s $1 a cup – so that’s the difficult part I guess for every business is being able to sell enough product and selling the products customers want.”
Gray said it takes a lot to run a business and it’s important now more than ever to visit and sustain small businesses in the community.
“Small businesses are all suffering. The lifeblood of America is small, family-owned businesses,” Gray said. “We have to sell more than a lot of the big chains do, but you also recognize who we are when you walk through the door of the shop.
“Small businesses are all suffering. The lifeblood of America is small, family-owned businesses. We have to sell more than a lot of the big chains do, but you also recognize who we are when you walk through the door of the shop.”
Gray said they’ve also been making and selling hundreds of masks.
“I always go a million different directions,” Gray said.
To keep up with everything the shop is doing, follow them at facebook.com/mycuprunnethovercoffeecafe.
“We’re there for sandwiches, caffeine, and if you want to talk about Jesus, we’re there for that too,” Gray said. •
My Cup Runneth Over Cafe & Ice Cream Shop is located at 105 Market Street, Borden, Indiana. Find more information at facebook.com/mycuprunnethovercoffeecafe.
Story by Darian Eswine
Photos by Michelle Hockman
silivingmag.com 