BRYAN, Texas — You've heard the phrase "it takes a village" to help a community.
One Bryan woman has used that mentality to create a place to connect the community. As Kristy Petty looked around the BCS area, her home, she wanted to create something different for people living in Brazos Valley.
In 2008, she opened The Village.
Some people living in the area may know the business as The Village Café, but it's become much more than that, according to her. She wanted to give her hometown a unique place that Petty had crafted herself.
"My joke has always been 'there's a lot of churches and there's a lot of bars, there's not a lot of other things to do'," said Petty.
Whether you want to eat, have a cup of coffee, wine, or just read, The Village is the place for you to engage in all of those activities. It's also one of the inspirations behind the name of the café.
"So for me The Village was just like if you don't wanna be at home you can come up here and sit on the couch and just have a space," she said. "That's where the name came from because we were trying think of something that said community."
As she nears her anniversary with the village in November, Petty reflects on the support she's gotten from other entrepreneurs in building up not only her business, but her community and personal village.