If you ever find yourself in North Central Kansas, do not miss the opportunity to swing into Kettle, downtown Beloit. You'll be glad you did! Famous for their GCOW (grilled cheese of the week), trendy atmosphere, and yummy drinks Kettle proves you can live rural and still be cool😎 In fact, they even won a WeKan! Award specifically for "Giving Beloit A Cool Factor!"
We love Kettle, we go there often. So when Mandy called to schedule a commercial photography session we were pumped!
We were pumped because we love it when businesses, especially rural businesses, recognize the importance of having professional images to supplement their website and social media posts. We know and love Kettle because we live here, but B & Mandy recognize that there's a larger target market, outside Mitchell County, KS that would also enjoy what they have to offer. Having a gallery of professional images to utilize throughout your website and social media is a simple, cost-effective option and one that can really help in telling your business's story.
Since they opened, Kettle has offered unique food and events. They've built a large social following, utilize email marketing, and adapted to allow orders via the Odeko app. They host live music, and will even deliver your coffee to your office! With their anniversary right around the corner, we thought it would be the perfect time to sit down with owner, Mandy Fincham, to highlight more of their business and show off some of their sweet new images 😉
Happy (almost) 8-year anniversary Kettle and cheers to many more 🥂
Interview with Mandy Fincham, Owner, Marketing Manager, Barista, Rockstar. etc.,...Kettle 😂
Q: Kettle’s anniversary is coming up in June, how many years have you been open? Can you tell us about how you started?
A: We will be celebrating our 8-year anniversary! We started with a simple concept of bringing
more fun to the area. We wanted unique food and drink and free live music that our kids could
go to. We wanted our atmosphere to be chic and contemporary but also inviting and
welcoming. We’re so fortunate that Beloit and the area have embraced our vision of what a
fun and progressive small, rural town can be!
Q: Running a small business comes with its challenges, but what are some of the
successes you have seen throughout the years?
A: Successes to us may be different than what you find in the Dictionary! When locals thank us
for having a great spot to meet friends and family. The socialization that organically happens
when you have a comfortable atmosphere. The many travelers we receive who went out of
their way just to visit us! The crowds of people we get on the downtown streets when we have a street dance. Kids and adults alike having fun and enjoying themselves. Workers that spend hours at Kettle just to get out of the office. So many little things like that keep us going and let us know we are successful!
Q: What do you love about rural living, and what benefits do you think a rural lifestyle offers to
your business?
A: Rural living is not for everyone. It doesn’t flash with all the amenities and excitement of a big city. However, if you look just a bit harder, you’ll see the magic of it. The kindness,
perseverance, and tenacity of the people. When something gets done, it’s because its citizens
cared enough about their community to get it done. The beauty of rural Kansas is much more
front-and-center than in the city. The wide-open skies, prairie lands, and rock formations you
just don’t find in the cities. I’ve always said if we opened Kettle in a big city, it probably wouldn’t have made it. The area residents rally around businesses that are trying to sustain their small towns. They appreciate our hard work and want to make Beloit a better place by patronizing us and telling everyone around them about us. You wouldn’t find that in a big city. We really appreciate our rural setting and the people in it.
Q: What do you offer at Kettle? Are you known within North Central Kansas for anything in
particular?
A: We tried to diversify our menu enough that we hope to appeal to almost everyone! We offer made-to-order hot breakfast items, homemade pastries, and gourmet coffee drinks in the
morning. We have specialized sandwiches, salads, and wraps for lunch. We have afternoon
drink fixes with our soda shoppe and ice cream bar and plenty of iced and sweet coffee
drinks. And for the evenings we are open we have craft beer and a full wine list. Our claim to
fame to our grilled cheese of the week. Every week we offer a unique grilled cheese. For
instance, this week is bacon and brown butter pecan with provolone! Many people come in every week JUST to try our grilled cheese!
Q: What do you think sets Kettle apart?
A: I think our atmosphere is what we offer sets us apart. We tried especially hard to offer a
chic and comfortable atmosphere in one of the oldest buildings in Beloit. We care about the
cleanliness of our business, the music we play, the pictures we display, and the colors we
chose. It all adds to our amazing atmosphere! We also make most of our items homemade. We make all of our sauces and dressings in-house, and our famous Castro sandwich (our take on a Cuban sandwich) comes with our own slow-roasted pulled pork that makes our kitchen smell amazing!
Q: You guys do a great job with creating social content, why did you decide to hire a
professional photographer? Do you feel it was beneficial? What do you use your images for?
A: We recently moved to our new location right before our 7-year anniversary of being open. We thought that was a great time to update some of our Website and social media photos. We rely heavily on our presence on the web. We get many customers who check us out on the Internet before coming in. It was important to us to have a professional and enticing presence that encouraged current and new customers to visit us. Choosing Eberle Studios was an easy choice as they work with many businesses to take professional photos, but also the Eberle’s are supportive customers at Kettle and I knew they would know the vibe we wanted to capture in these photos.
"Working with Eberle Studios was professional, fun, and easy! After initially contacting them, Colleen called me to talk about exactly what I was wanting to showcase for my business. She sent a quote right away so I knew how much it would be before they got started. Cole came two different times to take all the pictures we were wanting to capture and did a great job of mixing in with our customers to get candid photos of our atmosphere.
After the shoot, it only took a few weeks to get a large collection of excellent professional photographs that we could use for our business. We loved using a local photographer who knew our business and also a family-owned business that knows the importance of efficiency, honesty, and hard work." - Mandy Fincham
So there you have it folks! Kettle definitely makes the case that Rural can be Cool Make sure to check out their website and follow them on Facebook and Instagram
If you're interested in learning more about Eberle Studios or how commercial photography, graphic & web design, or video production can enhance your business, be sure to check out a couple of our featured projects. And don't forget to join our list to stay up-to-date on client features and B2B offerings!
