BREWS | Go. Just Go!
- John-Michael Scurio
- 2 hours ago
- 6 min read
Eureka Springs has always been an artist town. Not because it says so on brochures, but because the creative impulse is woven into the place itself. The architecture is theatrical. The hills are dramatic. Even Mother Nature is usually making a point, which is why I have often referred to her as, Eureka's Most Famous Artist.
Art belongs here because expression belongs here. Reinvention belongs here. And a little fabulousness belongs here, too.
BREWS, every iteration of BREWS I might add, seems to know that instinctively. But this one, this particular iteration feels like it's achieved a blend of swank and solace.
❤️❤️❤️❤️
In 2026, Chris and Rebecca (in the middle) bought BREWS from John (l) and Bill (r.)
The Road from Tampa to Eureka Springs
Before BREWS, there was Above the Salt, Chris’s Cuban fusion café in Tampa, a place that served beer, wine, coffee, and a whole lot of community. It was deeply personal. A big piece of it came from sharing the food of Chris’s mother with the community. It was a business, yes, but it was also an act of hospitality in the oldest and most human sense of the word.
That place closed in 2018, and Chris swore that chapter was over.
"I didn't think I had it in me to do it again," she said.
But you know how life hears that sentence and laughs.
And then ... here we are. In Arkansas. Reinventing BREWS for Eurekans.
Before BREWS, there was Above the Salt, Chris’s Cuban fusion café in Tampa, a place that served beer, wine, coffee, and a whole lot of community. It was deeply personal. A big piece of it came from sharing the food of Chris’s mother with the community. It was a business, yes, but it was also an act of hospitality in the oldest and most human sense of the word.
Chris confessed that BREWS reminds her of Above the Salt, especially in the ways that matter most. The heartbeat. The sense of involvement. The feeling that people are coming not just for a drink, but for connection. For familiarity. For that small but sacred sense of being recognized when you walk through the door.
"Everyone that has ever owned BREWS, Katrina, Jim, John & Bill and even us, always says - it's Eureka's Living Room."
And it is!
But there is a difference now, too.
Back then, at Above the Salt, Chris and her Mother were in it together sharing their food and culture with the community. This time, she said, “it is all me.”
There is something brave in that. Something stripped down and real. Not inherited, not borrowed, not replicated. Just a person stepping fully into her own creative, commercial, communal voice.
And then there were the former owners, Bill and John, who apparently did what good Eurekans do best: lovingly wore her down until the answer became "YES."
Chris said they broke her down slowly and eventually convinced her. So much so, that she started to think, well, when you are on your own, it is different. So, she went for it.
“The universe told me I wasn’t done,” she said.
In a place like Eureka Springs, there are some ventures that feel less like acquisitions and more like callings.
A Love Story, a Leap, and a Little Bit of Beautiful Madness
When I sat with Chris, I was struck by how often love and chaos seemed to dance together in the story. Which, if we are being honest, is very Eureka Springs.
Why take on a beloved local spot? Why say yes to the long hours, the risk, the reinvention, the work of stewarding a place people already care deeply about?
Chris answered with the kind of honesty that makes you laugh first and think later:
“Because I’m **cking crazy.”
And somehow that answer feels exactly right.
Because nobody opens a community gathering place in a quirky Ozark town for purely logical reasons. You do it because something in you insists. Because your wife's unwavering love and support moves you to action. Because some part of your spirit still believes in third places (Home, Work, Brews!) as well as great lighting and neighborhood conversation. Because you have loved something as a patron long enough that, eventually, loving it as an owner starts to feel less like a choice and more like destiny tapping you on the shoulder.
It may even be due to the fact that Rebecca actually envisioned herself retiring and owning a coffee shop in a small town, one day. Who knew!?
And then ... here we are. In Arkansas. Reinventing BREWS for Eurekans.
For Chris and Rebecca, who have been together for twelve years and now call Eureka Springs home, BREWS was already woven into the fabric of their life here. In fact, they put an offer on their house while sitting at BREWS, fueled by many-mosas and possibility.
You cannot make that up. And in Eureka, you do not have to.
There is a daytime version of the space and a nighttime version, and both were considered from the beginning. The paint color, a rich Nocturne Blue, was chosen because it transforms beautifully depending on the light. In the daytime, it offers depth and calm. At night, with the amber tones and carefully chosen lighting, it becomes moody, intimate, and impossibly inviting.
For Locals. For Artists. For Everyone.
One of the loveliest things about BREWS is that it is pet, people and artist friendly without turning any of those things into branding gimmicks. It simply is what it says it is.
Chris said it plainly: “We are here for Eurekans. It is all about the community.”
That clarity matters. In a world where so many places are trying to be all things to all people, there is something deeply appealing about a business that knows exactly who it is serving and why.
And yet, that local rootedness does not make BREWS exclusive. Quite the opposite. It makes it generous. It feels safe for everyone because it is safe for everyone.
It feels inclusive because the people running it understand that inclusion is not a slogan. It is a lived value. It is in who gets welcomed. It is in who sees themselves reflected. It is in who gets to relax without wondering whether they belong.
It has long been an anchor for artists, and under the new ownership that commitment is continuing in a meaningful way. The plan is to host many art show varieties, and here is the part that truly moved me: all the money goes back to the artists. BREWS takes no cut.
That is not performative support. That is actual support.
Artist and Co-Manager Leon Willis, who moved to Eureka Springs nine years ago, clearly understands the assignment. He loves the tight crew and the authenticity of the people around him. He also loves what he calls “organized chaos,” which, again, feels spiritually aligned with this town in a way I cannot fully explain but deeply appreciate.
Meanwhile, the other manager, Skylar, handles the spreadsheets while Leon is slinging the dad jokes, which feels like a perfect division of labor and possibly the only management structure that really makes sense in 2026.
The whole place sounds like it is run by people who understand that efficiency and humanity are not enemies. That order and warmth can coexist. That a well-run business can still have a soul.
Some places become part of your biography before you even realize they are doing it.
BREWS had already become that kind of place for them. It just all makes sense for things to happen this way.
There are places in Eureka Springs that feel like businesses, and then there are places that feel like part of the town’s emotional architecture. BREWS is one of those places.
Not because it is flashy. Not because it is trying too hard. Not because it wants to be the next big thing. Quite the opposite, actually. BREWS matters because it understands something essential about living in a town like Eureka Springs: locals need places that belong to them, too.
In a tourist town, that matters more than outsiders may ever fully understand.
Because when you live in someone else’s bucket list destination, there is always the risk that your own daily life starts to feel like the backdrop for another person’s vacation. Your grocery store becomes somebody’s quaint stop. Your sidewalks become somebody’s weekend fantasy. Your peace becomes somebody’s itinerary.
That is why places like BREWS are so important.
They give the town back to itself.
So, go!
Go in the morning when the town still feels half asleep and order something warm.
Go if you're visiting and meet some amazing locals.
Go at night when the amber light makes everybody look a little softer around the edges.
Go with your dog.
Go alone.
Go with a friend.
Go if you are new in town and wondering how to become less new.
Go if you have lived here forever and need reminding that Eureka still knows how to surprise you.
Go because places like this do not just happen. They are dreamed up, fought for, lit carefully, staffed thoughtfully, and loved into being.
And go because in a tourist town, locals deserve a place that feels like home.
Go. Just go.❤️
