After she and husband moved to Kentucky for work purposes, she converted an old tobacco barn and turned it into a wedding barn, owning her her own business. 

When the family moved back to Indiana, Nichols began having thoughts of opening a new business after spending 40 years in pastoral ministry. 

"I've always loved coffee and the coffee shop environment and decided it would be fun to do that here in Cloverdale with a hometown coffee shop where people can gather, enjoy good coffee and delicious bakery items, chat with each other and just enjoy life together," Nichols told The Putnam County Post. 

And, that is where Sweet Clover Coffee was born, but, Nichols admits it has been a challenge to get the business going. 

"The financial stress alone, figuring out what we needed to provide to Homeland Security (because we changed the purpose of our building) in order to obtain our permit, and the physical labor were overwhelming at times. But, we have had incredible support from the community and they are so excited for us to open. We have also had great support from the Putnam County Health Department, Planning and Zoning and the Town of Cloverdale. Other businesses have been so helpful, even lending us a hand or helping us with some supplies. We are truly blessed to be part of this community and the people in it," Nichols said. 

Sweet Clover Coffee will be serving up delicious hot and cold coffee drinks, iced tea and hot teas, as well as baked goods that will be outsourced first, according to Nichols. However, she admits once the kitchen is fully functioning, she will bake everything from cinnamon rolls, pies, cookies, muffins and breakfast sandwiches as she looks to expand the menu soon to include soups and sandwiches.

"We are working on a signature coffee for Christmas! And also some signature food items that everyone will hopefully enjoy and want to come and purchase on a regular basis! 

We are featuring local Jameson roaster coffees. They are delicious. People will be able to buy a bag of coffee at our shop. We have a Sumatran, dark roast, a Mexican fair, trade, medium roast, a Honduran, medium roast, a house blend decaf, and of course, for fall, pumpkin crème brûlée. We also are featuring Harney and sons tea‘s, which are absolutely amazing," Nichols said.

In addition, the business will have several retail items for sale, as well. 

"We are a retailer for antique farmhouse candles, which are made right here in Indiana. They are a soy candle that burns clean, and they smell wonderful! And we have some farmhouse decor items for sale. We will eventually add some local artisan Items," she said.

While it has been stressful getting Sweet Clover Coffee up and running, Nichols admits she has enjoyed meeting people in the Cloverdale community, adding the people are the "heartbeat of any local business." 

"We love having people drop in to check on our progress and we love when people offer us a little cheer on Facebook! We really enjoy getting to know the other business owners, and hearing their stories and having their support. It’s a wonderful little community and I think that we will be able to nestle in and make a home for this coffee shop here because the community is so warm and welcoming. The high school kids are so fun and they dropped in during our open house; they were so excited and turned out really well from the school. It’s just going to be a really fun  place to go to work and to enjoy the people. We just want to say thank you for all of the community support. Also, thank you for the patience that the community has had. Everybody’s been excited about the coffee shop for over a year and has been cheering us on, and excited for the opening," Nichols said.