Prosser coffee house draws national touring bands, music lovers

One of Marty Taylor’s all-time favorite music venues was a guitar shop in Santa Monica.

“They had a backroom, and the backroom had a stage and rows of metal folding chairs. They started having these concerts. It was maybe 100, 120 people at most,” he recalled.

In that up-close-and-personal setting, he saw musical luminaries from Mojo Nixon to Peter Case.

And he took inspiration.

Taylor and his wife, Lenee, opened Brewminatti in Prosser last summer, and it’s quickly become a destination for music lovers in the region — and for a growing contingent of notable, national-touring musicians, especially of the roots/Americana persuasion.

This past Friday night, Peter Case was set to take the coffee house’s stage.

The acclaimed troubadour, founding member of The Nerves and leader of The Plimsouls, has multiple Grammy nods to his name.

Next up is the Chico, Calif.-bred, Seattle-based indie folk rockers The Mondegreens on Jan. 29, with acts from The Brothers Comatose to The Ballroom Thieves set to appear in the coming weeks.

On concert nights at Brewminatti, it’s all about the tunes.

“What we’re trying to create is — we call it a listening room. It’s not a bar. It’s not a place to come make a lot of noise and get rowdy with your friends,” Marty Taylor said. “The focus is on music.”

He’s been a music lover all his life. He and Lenee both grew up in California.

“By the time I got into high school and college, the whole punk rock/new wave thing was kicking off and I got really, really into that. And L.A. was close, so we saw tons of shows,” he said. “I got hooked on live music. It’s always been something I’ve done.”

He and Lenee spent one of their first dates at a David Bowie concert.

They’ve seen many other greats over the years, from Van Morrison to Elvis Costello.

The couple have a daughter, Alison, 24, named for the Costello song, and a son, Christian, 21.

Marty Taylor’s work in the produce industry brought the family to Prosser in 2000.

He eventually moved into a pastor position at Grace Fellowship church in town, and he and Lenee also ran the record store Something Groovy.

It shut its doors in late 2010 after several years, but the Taylors didn’t stay out of the music game long. They formed the company The Roots Cellar to organize and promote shows.

Their first was a Peter Case performance at a local winery. “Once we did that, we thought, ‘Wow, this is fun,’ ” Marty Taylor said. “It kind of grew from there.”

The Taylors opened Brewminatti last August.

The space, at 713 Sixth St. in downtown, has been a coffee shop for years, even before the Taylors came along.

They put their own stamp on the place, remodeling and overhauling the menu.

Brewminatti serves food and coffee, sourcing from regional growers and producers as much as possible. It also serves Northwest wine and craft beer.

Larelle Michener, executive director of the Prosser Chamber of Commerce, said it’s been a solid addition to the Lower Yakima Valley city.

“We’re a small town, and there aren’t a lot of things to do in the evening always,” she said. “They’ve done such a great job bringing in a wide variety of music. There’s something for everybody.”

On concert nights at Brewminatti, the crowd is a mix of Prosser locals, plus music lovers from Tri-Cities, Yakima and beyond.

Although the Taylors’ venue draws larger acts, the couple also are adding local musicians to the mix.

The Brewminatti venture has been rewarding, they said.

“Everyone has been encouraging and supportive and kind and enthusiastic,” Lenee said. “That’s been tremendous.”

And bringing shows, bringing music to Prosser — that’s something special, Marty said.

Music can reach and touch people in a way that words alone can’t, he said. Live music, in particular, is vital.

It’s of the moment, it can’t be duplicated exactly. You have to be there.

At a California guitar shop.

At a Prosser coffee house.

“There’s just something about it,” Marty Taylor said.

To stay up to date on shows, find Brewminatti on Facebook under www.facebook.com/brewminatti.

This story was originally published January 24, 2016 at 12:02 PM with the headline "Prosser coffee house draws national touring bands, music lovers."