Heather Madden
Published: November 8, 2006
Do you know that joke where someone walks into a bar and there is a Priest, Jewish man, and an Atheist woman? Well, the joke was not actually a joke. And the bar was actually a church and a coffee shop.
The Factory church and coffee shop is a place where people of different backgrounds, beliefs and personalities can congregate together.
The Rev. Nathan Monk, 22, along with former PJC student, Nina Castillo, 23, brought their ideas together to create a place where people of all ages could help better the community, have a place to enjoy themselves, and — if they were interested — participate in church services.
According to The Factory’s carpenter, Aaron Moring, 23, The Factory was the name of Monk’s original church, where the congregation first met to feed the homeless under the I-10 overpass on East Lee Street.
“I happened to stumble across this place looking for a good coffee shop and found God instead,” Heather Teague, 23, PJC student, said.
Castillo, shop manager and executive director of St. Mark Evangelical Church, wanted to give people a “creative outlet” in Pensacola. She said she and others were faced with the decision “to either leave Pensacola for a big city, or bring the big city to Pensacola.”
So together, and with help from local people who shared similar interests, Castillo and Monk created The Factory.
Monk said that The Factory “resembles roots of an earlier generation, even though it’s a church.”
“This is one of the few places [in Pensacola] where people of all ages are welcome,” Monk said.
But how does a coffee shop, a place to help the community and a church function together in one place?
The Factory is actually owned by St. Mark church. All of The Factory’s profits go towards the Elijah House, the church’s ministry to the homeless.
The ministry feeds 140 homeless people every Sunday. Through the ministry, a community has been created.
“The church and the coffee shop go hand and hand. It’s the family you never knew you had,” Teague said.
Most of the coffee shop regulars also attend Monk’s church services and help feed the homeless.
“We don’t want anybody to go hungry,” Teague said.
Monk hopes to get people to realize that “young people are an important part of society.”
As a coffee shop, The Factory provides a laid back environment and has menu options ranging from miso soup to popsicles and coffee.
Coffee shop barista, Andrew “The Beav” Baldwin, 18, said his favorite drink on the menu was the Coffee Jihad, invented by Moria Dailey.
“The Coffee Jihad is named for being a holy-war inside your brain,” Baldwin said.
Made with eight shots of espresso, and priced at $4, it is the most caffeinated beverage sold at The Factory.
“The food is cheap, the coffee is cheap, and it’s open late to suit my sleeping patterns,” Baldwin said.
So what else does this place have to offer?
The Factory is also a local venue. Castillo, also in charge of booking bands, said, “We really like to give local artists a place to play. We won’t turn any band down just because we don’t like them.”
Bands such as Among Them, Jonni Greth, and We Are Action have performed at The Factory.
As far as other plans go for The Factory, Castillo said she wanted to host art shows and small-scale theater there in the near future.
So if you are in the area, or just curious, stop by the Factory. Who knows, you may find your niche.
“You’ll see a punk kid, a goth kid, a priest, and a homeless man hanging out, but people don’t understand that,” Teague said. “But if they give it a chance, I think they’d understand.”
The Factory is located at 422 N. Palafox St. For more information, call 850-266-7000.