Brian Churchill’s great mystery began in the most ordinary of ways one day, taking the garbage out when he saw them.
There, on the ground out behind Brenda’s Place & Bakery on Graff Avenue, were two cases of coffee mugs. Before you go thinking it was just some random place for a person to leave their unwanted housewares, it felt pretty intentional since all the mugs were emblazoned with a ‘B’ on them.
Yes, that’s how the Great Graff Avenue Mug Mystery began. It’s been a talking point between Churchill and his customers since then, as it keeps them all guessing.
“I saw them there and I was amazed because they look just like the ones we already have here,” he said. “So far, I haven’t been able to figure out who left them, but I have my theories.”
The mystery behind the generous stranger’s gift is just one of the ways that Churchill and his loyal customers have been bonding since he took over the business in November 2024. It was Remembrance Day when he was behind the counter for the first time. A few people came in for coffee while Churchill was cleaning, and the relationship has been blooming since.
“The people who’ve been coming here have all been a big help for me,” he said. “One gentleman who was sitting here looked up under the cooler and let me know I needed to fix it because he was a retired HVAC mechanic and could tell. One of my waitresses' husband is a plumber so he’s in here helping fix things for me, too. It’s been a real team effort so far to help me get going, but also to help me meet everyone.”
Churchill said he’s heard people comparing him to the original ‘Brenny’ when it comes to how he treats his customers, and he attributes his customer service to the reason why people who hadn’t come in for a few years are now returning.
“It wasn’t that homely atmosphere before but they’re all coming back now saying that I’ve created a home just the way Bernie and Brenda did,” he said, referring to the original owners. “The old owner’s husband is coming back in with friends of his – I see them in here at least once a week, sitting up by the windows. But that’s only part of it because people feel like they have a place of their own now, and that’s what I wanted when I came to town.”
One of the more common occurrences at Brenda’s is that strangers don’t really eat alone. Take cab driver Don; Churchill said he comes in and sits with different people all the time. He knows lots of people around town and enjoys just sitting with different people.
“It’s that atmosphere we’re creating, and I guess it just caught on when someone brought those mugs here,” he said.
Churchill gets emotional just thinking about how someone thought enough of him and his efforts to make Brenda’s Place a little more like home with new mugs, and while he thinks he might have a pretty solid idea as to who gifted them, the not knowing for certain is part of the fun for him and his customers.
“There’s a lady who comes in and I know that her husband’s not well, so I made some shepherd’s pie for her to take home,” he said. “She’s in here almost every day and I know she’s taking care of him, so I did it to help because they’re part of this family. I think people are noticing (that connection) and that I just want to help, so I think that’s where (the mugs) came from. Not knowing for sure who actually gifted them to us is quite fun because it shows me more about the community. I’m new here and have only been living here about a year and a half, and this is the first restaurant I’ve ever owned – it’s my dream, and I can’t explain how good it feels to just be embraced by the community like this.”
As far as the mugs go, Churchill is okay if the mystery lingers. He had plans to buy some NHL-themed mugs to celebrate his love of hockey and give customers another talking point, but the nearly-60 mugs that just showed up out of the blue are proving to be a focal point of their own.
“I knew we were getting low, and that’s when I started thinking about the NHL mugs, but then these just showed up,” he said. “I really just want to say thank you to whoever did that.”