Photograph courtesy The Liberty Collective
Between juggling work, school, hobbies, and other weekly responsibilities, finding time for a meal that everyone can agree on may be a huge obstacle for many families. Longtime Liberty Township residents Mike and Heather Ewers may have found the solution, while championing local chefs and business owners in the process.
As the brains behind Liberty Township’s newest “food, beverage, and entertainment destination,” The Liberty Collective—which features five local restaurant stalls, two dessert stalls, and a coffee shop as well as four bars—the Ewers set out to create a quality dining experience that appeals to the whole family.
After acquiring a food park and beer garden in Belize, the couple decided it was time to embark on a new journey to bring the concept back home after receiving feedback from tourists and expats that a similar spot would do great in the states.
“We took a step back and said, nobody’s doing this type of thing in the suburbs or very rarely is it going on in the suburbs, yet you’ve got great family-driven communities, and in many cases, disposable income, and people that are looking for experiential dining experiences,” Mike says. “And we kind of looked at each other and said, we’re always complaining that we need more in Liberty and Mason and West Chester. How about our own backyard?”
In addition to creating a unique dining experience for Liberty Township residents, Mike says he hopes this gives families an option that pleases everyone.
“We’d go through it personally with our two boys that we can never agree on where to go,” Mike says. “So, if we can solve that for families—you don’t get into the argument but instead say let’s just go to the collective because we’ve got all these options and we know that those are not just options, but good quality food—then that’s the main objective for us.”
PHOTOGRAPH COURTESY THE LIBERTY COLLECTIVE
And when it came to finding those high-quality options, the Ewers got down to business. After interviewing 63 chefs and restaurants, they settled on a cross-genre cuisine lineup featuring burger-and-BBQ joint Bristol’s, the chicken-heavy menu of Ms. Lei Lei’s, Italian food from Ramundo Pizza Famiglia, the hibachi-style food of Rice Life, and the Mexican food joint Roberto and Miguel’s.
In addition to providing a plethora of dishes, working with local chefs interested in branching out on their own excited the Ewers. For example, Chef Marcus Johnson of Rice Life used to be a chef at Jeff Ruby’s Steakhouse.
“He has always had a dream of opening up his own concept, but for most of these chefs and restaurateurs, the capital expenses required for that are a barrier to entry,” Mike says. “We kind of strip that down and they can come in and just really work hard on their craft, build their brand.”
But the options don’t stop at savory bites. Rosanna Ruwe of Lulu’s Sweets Boutique says having her West Chester bakery featured at The Liberty Collective is the perfect way to expand her business.
“I know I want to continue to grow, but I’m a firm believer of slow but steady growth, and this satellite location at The Collective is our first step toward growth, so it’s a very good way for us to start learning expansion and to make it sustainable,” says Ruwe, who started out of her home in 2017 before opening a storefront in 2022.
Collaborating with and sharing stall space with The District Creamery and Sweets to create menu items like the mus-try macaron ice cream sandwich, Ruwe is proof of the Ewers’s passion for connecting local businesses. “The owners are from our community, serving our community,” she explains. “It doesn’t get any better than that.”
The Ewers also wanted to ensure dining options appealed to the entire community. “We really needed it to be a collective—pun intended— of beverage options to meet the needs of everybody,” Mike says.
This is reflected in the menu for The Collective’s coffee shop, Caladesi Island Coffee Co., which serves up classic brews alongside unique options like “collective coolers,” soda concoctions perfect for those that don’t drink coffee or alcohol.
And for adults looking for a different type of brew, Heather’s “eleventh hour addition” may be just what you are looking for: a beer wall. “On the beverage side, the beer wall has really been the shining star in this whole thing,” Mike says.
Plastered above the beer wall, sits another highly anticipated Collective fixture—a 25-foot flat screen TV ready to witness countless Bengals watch parties.
The Ewers are also excited by the prospect of bringing in professional volleyball tournaments in the heated indoor space, hosting Oktoberfest events, and a tree lighting ceremony in December that they hope becomes a Liberty Township tradition.
But overall, the couple’s number one goal has remained constant: create a space that appeals to everyone while adhering to the highest standards possible. “It was about quality first and foremost,” Mike says.
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