Hooked on Community

Pro fisherman and Harborcreek native Dave Lefebre and his wife, Anne, are opening a coffeehouse and café that they hope will become a community hub.

Lefebre’s bass fishing skills are well-known as one of the winningest fishermen on the FLW Tour. His most recent victory was a big one in May: the Heavy Hitters Championship Round of Major League Fishing, held on Orange Lake in Ocala, Florida.  

The fishing will continue, but back in Harborcreek, the angler has cast his line in a different direction with the opening of The 814 Grounds on East Lake Road. Though Lefebre is new to the food business, his wife is not. Anne worked in a coffee shop from a very young age and has lots of experience at making people happy with things that taste great!  

Two of the coffee offerings are an exclusive proprietary blend—a dark espresso and a house medium, called 5-Mile Blend. The café serves breakfast and lunch, with unique sandwich combinations, and desserts and treats that are straight out of the recipe books of the couples’ grandmothers.

“We offer things that you really can’t get anywhere else,” says Dave. They’re also using local suppliers wherever possible to support small business. 

The coffeehouse and café is just Phase 1 of the plans for the new establishment, however. The 814 Grounds may also add an outdoor store to its premises. This would work well for fishermen, since the café opens at 5 a.m. and they could pick up a few fishing lures on their way out to the lake. Phase 3 will include a venue of sorts for music, special events and other gatherings. 

“It’s more about the community than the coffee or food,” Dave explains. “This is something we wanted to do to give back to the community.”

When not out on the water, Dave enjoys writing songs about his faith, and playing bass in The Band 814. He hopes The 814 Grounds will be a welcoming place where people can meet and enjoy a great cup of coffee.

At the heart of his story, however, is the fishing. He became a professional 23 years ago, but his love of the sport started way before that as a kid who read Bassmasters magazine.

When it came time to decide what to do for a career, Dave says, “It was always between music and fishing. I always loved competition, and when I found out there were fishing tournaments and an opportunity to earn a living with it, I went with fishing.”  

His choice to live a different kind of life turned out to be the right one, with a level of success that few pro fishermen achieve—even becoming the host of a television program, “Erie Extreme.”

Dave says simply, “I kind of like the idea that my office is a lake or a river.”

You can watch Dave in action on his YouTube channel, Erie Extreme with Dave Lefebre, at youtube.com/@ErieExtremewithDaveLefebre. And you can listen to The Band 814 on Apple and Spotify.

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