The Fox in the Snow Cafe has become a well-known Columbus treasure since it first opened its doors. The atmosphere is intoxicatingly effortless and the friendly environment moves your café experience along just as smoothly as the coffee goes down.
Photos courtesy of Jeff Excell
As effortless as the shop may seem, every decision, choice and tiny detail of what went into the café has a purpose and reasoning behind it. One dynamic duo put their passions and personalities together to create what they think encompasses the most enjoyable cafe experience.
Jeff Excell and Lauren Culley, Jeff's wife and co-owner of the cafe, both worked at a pastry shop in Brooklyn before their success in Columbus. Lauren was a manager for the bakery side of the cafe while Jeff managed the front of the house.
Culley dreamed of opening her own cafe concept, and upon visiting her family back in Columbus on one occasion, an idea came to her.
Opening a shop right here in Columbus.
They wanted their business to be just that – theirs. What they knew and loved about any dining experience was based upon three vital values.
“We’ve built the cafes on three pillars of what we think makes a really good shop. Executing simple aesthetics, making really delicious food and performing great hospitality,” Excell says.
For Excell and Culley, the food, of course, is vital to a cafe experience. Excell credits the creativity in their menu to Culley, who has an amazing knack and ability to envision how a recipe will look and taste before the concept even exists. But along with pecan sticky buns and egg tarts, what the couple also values, is that each person who walks through the door wants to be in that space.
“Aesthetics is equally as important as how you’re treated and how delicious the food is, because it’s part of the reason people want to be there,” he says.
The couple also wanted to push human interaction, designing the space to be all about communication. The counters are as low as possible for a more open feel, there are no tags or labels on the food to encourage conversation with the barista and there’s no wifi to be distracted by.
Excell insists that the 50/50 teamwork he and Culley have is what really made Fox in the Snow what it is today.
“Starting a business alone, you’d almost have to be crazy,” he says. “When anything hits the fan, you have to have each other.”
While Culley is a visionary, Excell calls himself more of a numbers man, enjoying the management and personnel aspect of the business. The duo shares many responsibilities, but each has their strengths and passions that shine through within the shop.
In the next few months, Excell is looking forward to practicing restraint when it comes to his big business ideas – which he jokingly refers to as "boulder throwing."
“At first, we’re like, we can do this! Let’s do it. And before you know it, the boulder you push down the hill is rolling and you can’t stop it, so you have to do this.”
Culley and Excell just welcomed a daughter into the family, and are excited to enjoy their time together as a family while running the current cafes, one location just recently opening in New Albany.
Of course, there are always thoughts of expanding in the future. But the time, place and situation have to be just right.
Why is the fox, the fox?
A tid-bit about how the name came to be!
For almost a year, Excell and Culley bounced names back and forth while the planning of the cafe continued. It wasn’t until they went to a Belle & Sebastian concert one night when an idea struck Excell – by accident. One of the songs was called Fox in the Snow, and Excell joked that they should use it as the new name. Immediately, Lauren knew it was a winner.
“Everyone tried to talk us out of it,” he laughs. “Everyone thought it was a really bad name at first.”
We're sure glad the name stuck.
Photo courtesy of Fox in the Snow Cafe Instagram - laurasbalancedbites
Mallory Arnold is an assistant editor. Feedback welcome at marnold@cityscenemediagroup.com.
