RISON - Downtown Rison will soon be getting a new business as Chayne and Ashley Besaw of the Rison area have announced they have bought the former Gurnsey Hardware/R&L Hardware building with intentions of converting it into a cafe and boutique.
The Besaws, who moved to Cleveland County nearly four years ago from Modesto, Calif., said they will use part of the building as a cafe offering specialty coffees, breakfast and a lunch/dinner menu featuring smoked meats.
In addition, the Besaws said the building will be used as a boutique to sell their hand-crafted soaps, lotions, candles and wax melts currently marketed under Besaw Heritage Farm. They said they will also want to offer consignment sales of other locally-made, hand-crafted products.
While the cafe will have dine-in seating, Ashley Besaw said they also want to cater to take-out orders, noting that she hopes to have a drive-up window available someday at the back of the building. Chayne also said they will offer delivery within the City of Rison for businesses or offices with multiple orders.
An electrical engineer by trade who now specializes in CNC equipment, Chayne said he has always had a love for cooking and considered pursuing a culinary career.
He said the cafe will offer traditional smoked meats like brisket and pork butt, but will also bring in some cuts that are most people probably aren’t familiar with. Two that he mentioned are “tri-tip,” which first gained popularity in California, and “picanha,” which is premier steak cut in Brazil.
Tri-tip, according to online sources, is a tender, triangular-shaped, lean cut of beef from the bottom sirloin. It typically averages about 1.5 to 2.5 pounds, and is know for its intense, beefy flavor and moderate marbling. Chayne said that, in California, the tri-tip is usually thinly sliced and served on a bun as a sandwich.
Picanha, meanwhile, is known in the U.S. as the top sirloin cap, rump cover, or culotte steak. It is described as having an intense beefy flavor, tender texture and a thick, buttery fat cap.
Ashley said they had just about run out of space at their home to continue manufacturing all of their personal care products and began looking for a location that would provide space for both sales and manufacturing. Much of their sales so far have come through farmers markets and special events.
The Besaws have no connections to Cleveland County. They said they did some research and decided to come here based on the climate, the low cost of living and the political environment.
They have already started working on the building and hope to be open sometime in April.