Six Shooter Coffee Is Cleveland’s Latest Women-Owned Cafe

On paper, Peter Brown selling his coffee shop is big news. The founder of Six Shooter Coffee has given the keys to Sarah Stocum and Emily Flory, who take over both the flagship shop at 15613 Waterloo Road in Collinwood and the cafe at 4193 Pearl Road in Old Brooklyn. They become the first new owners in Six Shooter Coffee’s 10-year history, and their position makes the spot a women-owned business.

In practice, though, not much is going to change — nor do Stocum and Flory think it needs to. The longtime members of the Six Shooter team were already doing a great deal of behind-the-scenes work by the time the buyout was made official, and a gradual transition of power has allowed them to keep things running as usual.

The shift first sparked about five years ago, when Six Shooter was in a significant spate of change. During COVID-19, the cafe’s sole location at 16021 Waterloo Road was moved to a larger storefront at its current Collinwood address just a couple of blocks away. Shortly after, Brown began work as a full-time firefighter, which was taking him out of day-to-day operations and giving Stocum more oversight on the cafe experience. Flory had just joined the staff as a barista, but over time displayed a natural knack for hospitality that would prove her capable of larger roles.

“When Emily came on, she was such a huge support for me,” Stocum says. “And there was a noticeable difference in customer loyalty. She had such a way with sales and how to relate to people. It was very clear that she was owner material.”

“I was just leading by example,” Flory quips. “There’s so many people (here) who were great examples of hard work, and I was young and impressionable.”

Brown, who still works as a firefighter, has also spent the past three years raising his son; a desire to spend more time with his growing family eventually became the catalyst for departing from operations at Six Shooter. When he initially approached Stocum and Flory with the proposition of buying the cafe, the decision required a period of deliberation and adjustment that kept him on board as a mentor, but over the past year, he’s been able to remove himself entirely and give Stocum and Flory the reins.

“It evolved into something that everyone was comfortable with,” Brown says. “I've always felt that coffee is a good cornerstone of community, and I wanted to make sure that continued. For me, (the business) had to go to people that understood our community and wanted to further that mission.”

“It was a huge adjustment, and that was very scary,” Stocum says. “But Pete had a lot of faith in us; he was a huge security.”

Stocum was raised in Lake County but had family that grew up in the Collinwood area. She returned to the neighborhood when she helped open Six Shooter’s first cafe in 2016 and became involved in backend responsibilities. She helped expand the company to Old Brooklyn in 2023 and separately extended her portfolio in Collinwood when she opened Millie’s Cocktails with Emily Shantery in March.

READ MORE: Dahlia Coffee Opens a Second Location in Old Brooklyn

Flory, a service-industry veteran, worked directly with customers from behind the counter at Six Shooter, eventually becoming a point person for staff on the floor. Flory's and Stocum's experience on both sides of the operation makes their ownership dynamic complementary. The women describe their working relationship as "honest" and “filled with grace,” and owning the place, they say, has only sharpened what they want Six Shooter to be: a neighborhood gathering place.

“We love the communities that we’ve become a part of, and we take our role in them very seriously,” Stocum says. “We want to be supportive neighbors and merchants.”

“And advocate for groups that we care about a lot,” Flory adds. “We try to practice what we preach and be those people that reinvest in their communities.”

For more updates about Cleveland, sign up for our Cleveland Magazine Daily newsletter, delivered to your inbox six times a week.

Cleveland Magazine is also available in print with immersive features, helpful guides and beautiful photography and design.