Moscow, Idaho, isn't where most people would expect to find a memorable coffee shop. But during my years living in the obscure college town of about 20,000, One World Cafe became a second home. I stopped in five days a week until I graduated from the University of Idaho.
Coffee − and finding the perfect coffee shop − has always been a central part of my work and social life, from my college days in Moscow to my career in Knoxville, where I cover coffee more than I expected as the restaurant and retail reporter. I love trying the newest, craziest drink.
Nothing beats walking up the counter where the barista knows your name and places your order before any words are exchanged. I love becoming a regular, but that's getting harder and harder in Knoxville
these days.
More than 40 local coffee shops are located in and around Knoxville, many with rotating seasonal menus and outlandish beverages I've never heard of. Rather than becoming a regular at any given shop, I've found myself at a new business every week to try their latest concoctions of coffee, syrups and foams − until I found a home at Seed Coffee Co.
I walked into the shop on Sutherland Avenue, and the barista knew my name. Though I'd been spreading my coffee money around town, I had spent just enough time here to be recognized. I'll admit, it was a good feeling.
That's one of the special things about coffee shops. The longer you spend at your favorite spot − talking to familiar faces and enjoying comforting drinks − the more it feels like a community hub.
When I was the editor-in-chief of my college newspaper, I visited One World Cafe to edit stories, write my own and plan meetings. Most times, the barista put in my order before the front door closed. I sat at the same couch with the same table. It was my office for the day on more days than I can count.
I'd regularly spot the same group of students working at a table across the room before their 1 p.m. seminar, and the same older gentleman reading his morning newspaper by the window. More than any beverage, I craved the familiarity.
When I spoke with Mia Piccola owner Nathan Kitner for a piece about the virality of Knoxville's coffee culture, he shared a unique perspective on regular customers and how they reacted to the overnight success of the coffee shop's canned beverages.
"There were some of our regulars that were out of town for a couple weeks and then came back and were like, 'What the hell's going on?'" Kitner told me. "Like genuinely, eyes popping out of their head because we hadn't had lines like that before."
Kitner began selling the canned beverages, which he calls "shakeratos," earlier this year. The new concept quickly became a signature part of the shop's identity. People from all over are driving to Mia Piccola to get their hands on these specialty drinks − and to post the cute cans on social media.
The success meant Kitner was reaching a different customer base while simultaneously convincing his regulars to try something new.
Crazy drinks are enough to attract first-time customers. But atmosphere, quality and the overall customer experience are the things that keep them coming back. No matter how many local coffee shops open, K Brew CEO Pierce LaMacchia told me, they tend to succeed in a saturated market because of the way Knoxville longs for "a community hub."
Coffee shops can serve as third spaces − somewhere that isn't home and isn't work. No matter how wild their menus seem, local shops are still the place to enjoy comforting drinks, sit near familiar people and maybe meet someone new.
Knox News reporter Joanna Hayes covers restaurants and retail for the business growth and development team. Email: joanna.hayes@knoxnews.com; Instagram: @knoxeat65. Sign up for Joanna's Eat65 email newsletter to get the latest drink and dining news, as well as restaurant recommendations, at knoxnews.com/newsletters.
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This article originally appeared on Knoxville News Sentinel: Beyond a beverage, Knoxville coffee shops offer lessons in community
