Cummins and her husband opened the cafe in April.When Rachel Cummins opened a counter-service cafe on the first floor of Sweet Lemon Inn & Kitchen in April, she said her vision for a community space that incorporated local food and culture came to fruition.

Rachel opened the cafe with her husband, Kevin, just off the Square in Georgetown, after purchasing the house, built in 1918, and opening an inn on the building’s second floor in March of 2014.

For Rachel, incorporating local food into her recipes was a priority.

“It is really important for us to work with the farmers because we want to support the local agriculture,” Rachel said.

Nelson Adams, owner of Fresh and Oma’s Brot, provides the sourdough and poblano sourdough bread used on the A+ BLT, Rachel said.

Adams said he enjoys working with Rachel because of their similar views on fresh food. 

Rachel said she builds her specials around seasonal produce from local farmers.

Carolyn Cummins, the front-of-the-house manger and Rachel’s sister-in-law, said the Farmers Market Rainbow Beet Salad is one of her favorites.

“Rachel has a way of making something that doesn’t sound very good, like beets, taste delicious,” Carolyn said.

In 2015, the couple began the remodeling and restoration project of the bottom floor. Maintaining the historic look of the house and keeping it as authentic as possible was crucial during the construction, Rachel said.

Carolyn said the family hoped to keep the cafe updated while holding on to its original charm. The cafe still contains the original long pinewood, some in its original place on the walls of the cafe, and other pieces were repurposed to create bars and tabletops.

The back patio is used to host live music on Friday nights during the summer and on First Fridays throughout the year. The cafe offers picnic packs for diners to take to the city’s Music on the Square concert series, as well as local beer and wine.

“The Sweet Lemon as a company and as a vision has multiple goals, and one of those goals is to give back to the community and provide a good, healthy place for people to come and then to be part of their own community here,” Carolyn said.