The Westminster couple who perform Christian music in Nashville runs Identity Coffee Lab

Westminster residents Britney and Jonathan Cashman's love for specialty coffee has led them to become the new owners of Identity Coffee Lab. and they plan to expand the brand all over New England.

In October 2022 the couple officially bought the New Hampshire-based coffee shop. They were both customers and big fans of Identity Coffee before they made the decision to purchase the local business.

Britney Cashman said both she and her husband both felt a calling from God to purchase the shop.

"New England is still home to use and we both have a real heart for building community which was one of the major components that drew us to wanting to be owners of the coffee shop," she said. "I think that coffee is one of those things that just gets people together."

Right after the Cashmans became the new Identity Coffee owners, they immediately opened a second seasonal location at the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area in Westminster. Cashman said they opened it during the last ski season between November to April, and they hope to continue the partnership because they saw a great response from the community.

"Being able to carry the same quality of what we're doing into a second location was one of our initial focuses," she said. "We've been working really hard on expanding the brand and we're really excited to continue growing Identity and making it available into other communities within New England."

Now the couple lives in Westminster with their two children and focusing on improving the Identity Coffee Lab brand. Cashman said they are not changing the brand but building from what the original owners established.

Who are Britney and Jonathan Cashman? They are a Christian music band

Before becoming the new owners of Identity Coffee Lab, the wife and husband duo made up the Christian music band The Cashmans. The couple have been in the music industry for almost a decade, and continue to write, perform and produce music, and have a live-worship project scheduled for release this year.

Britney Cashman said when they were on tour in New England they became customers at the original Identity Coffee location at Rindge, NH. She said they have spent large amounts of time in the New England area because they have family and friends still living here and that's why they decided to move back from Nashville.

Britney Cashman said they have been married for almost 17 years and that they have always been a good team. She said they are the kind of couple to dive into things. Jonathan Cashman is a big coffee nerd, Britney Cashman said, and he spearheaded the management side of the coffee business while she takes over the designing part of it. Her background is in interior design.

"I love coffee don't get me wrong but he's far more the coffee nerd. He makes sure we stay up to our standard of excellence," she said. "It's been really fun to dive into the work as we continue to grow as a company, and I have fun with designing the locations and helping to create the spaces."

All of the improvements the Cashmans have made are experimental and will leave them if they see positive results from the community.

How Identity Coffee Lab is expanding services and hours

This summer they expanded the operational hours of the New Hampshire location to 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. which was a major request from the New Hampshire store customers. Cashman said they are still figuring out if they should expand the fall season hours as well.

As part of their improvements to the Identity Coffee Lab brand, the wife and husband duo wanted to give back by partnering with The Well Coffee House organization. The Well organization partners with local coffee shops in the United States to help local and global communities gain access to clean water and fight the slave trade that happens within the coffee industry. She said they wanted to do more for the global and local community besides using ethical and fair-trade ingredients in their products.

Cashman said a portion of all purchase at Identity Coffee Lab goes to The Well organization.

"There is a slave trade issue in the coffee industry, so we support fair trade initiatives which is very important to use," she said. "The Wells coffee is actually doing something to combat that issue by directly helping the needs of people in those parts of the world who are less fortunate."

Other improvements coming soon include additional menu items and announcements of new locations. Cashman said they are not ready to officially announce anything, but they will be ready soon.

"My husband and I really prayed about this, and we felt like the Lord was directing us in this way," she said. "We absolutely love what we're doing and the reception within the communities and the team we have built have all been really great."

This article originally appeared on Gardner News: Identity Coffee Lab's owners are a Westminster pair building community