Community Highlights: Meet Shelby Harris of State + Jones Coffee

Today we’d like to introduce you to Shelby Harris.

Hi Shelby, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My coffee story started somewhere around age 6. As a child my father worked 2nd shift, leaving for work before I returned home from school and arriving home long after my bedtime. In the mornings, he would still be asleep from his long night of work. I knew that he was tired but really wanted to spend time with him during the weekdays, and so I began making a cup of instant coffee for him in the microwave. I’m sure that the first few cups were pretty gross, but in time I learned how many packets of sweetener and non dairy creamer would make it worth him opening his sleepy eyes for. I’d stand at his bedside and try to wake him up with the aroma of instant coffee like they did in commercials. The end result was getting to spend some precious moments with my dad before school and learning to love the taste of coffee.

I get my entrepreneurial spirit from him. We spent many mornings and car rides talking about business ideas- always revolving around inventions, restaurants, and businesses that “people didn’t know they needed yet”.
Fast forward to 2019- my family moved to Alpharetta from downtown Chicago and sorely missed some of our creature comforts. I longed for a neighborhood place where I could enjoy exceptional coffee, meet with friends, work all day in comfortable lounge chairs and order more than microwaved sandwiches and cake pops. Unfortunately, a coffee shop like this didn’t exist around our Alpharetta/John’s Creek corridor.
This inspired us to create State + Jones Coffee, the kind of place that we longed for and was conveniently located in our neck of the woods. We have a passion for coffee, good food and curating inviting spaces. State + Jones Coffee is a neighborhood place where our local community can gather in a welcoming atmosphere, savor a bite, enjoy a good cup of coffee or tea and connect with one another.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Any business owner will probably tell you that the first year of operating taught them things they didn’t know that they didn’t know!
I only wish that this journey had been more “smooth road” and less “enduring through the struggles”, but the benefits have been the experience gained and strengthening muscles I didn’t know I had or needed. State + Jones Coffee is located in the corner of a shopping plaza, halfway hidden behind a street level planter, that stands 4 feet tall in front of our storefront. The storefront of the coffee shop is precariously recessed almost 2 feet behind our neighboring businesses. Needless to say, we’re not super visible. When applying for our signage permit, we had to choose between State + Jones or Coffee. There’s not enough room for all three words. We went with State + Jones, even though it sounds like a law office or a real estate firm. [We are in fact, named for the location of the cafe- State Bridge Rd. + Jones Bridge Rd.]
We’ve had some “Murphy’s Law” bumps in the road, like a temporary power outage and a broken air conditioner in the first 3 days of opening. Less comedic struggles like having to close shop because of Covid-19 taking down my entire staff for 5 days. These kinds of setbacks always fire up my faith. For me, my trust that God’s got my back and my business in His hands, helps me to press forward.

Alright, so let’s switch gears a bit and talk business. What should we know?
State + Jones Coffee is an elevated coffee shop in John’s Creek.
We offer beans from award winning roasters Big Shoulders Coffee and Archetype Coffee. We offer one of the largest selections of Organic looseleaf teas in the area. We have a rotating menu of house made pastries and baked goods along with a small curated menu of breakfast and lunch items in a warm, inviting atmosphere.
We are known for a few things: food-wise, customers can’t get enough of the Avocado toast, and our Raspberry Cruffins are to die for! As far as coffee goes, the recurring affirmation we get from customers is that it’s some of “the best coffee [they’ve] ever had”!
Brand-wise; as we designed State + Jones, we made sure to stay authentic to us. It’s easy to repeat a trend or go with the flow, but we tried to execute original ideas- from the aesthetic choices to the way I prepare our dishes. I designed the interior of the cafe. Every compliment we get on the aesthetic makes me feel really proud of what we’ve created. Our logo is a bridge, not only representing the intersection of State Bridge and Jones Bridge Rd. where we are located, but also what we wanted our cafe to be- a place that connects people. We’ve never done any marketing campaigns outside of infrequent instagram posts (I’ve gotta get better at that!). All of our customers have happened upon us or heard about us from another satisfied customer. Even though we’d appreciate having a line out the door, I kind of love that during this first year, we’ve been able to know many of our customers by name. We really do have the best customers!
We are located at 10955 Jones Bridge Rd, Suite 131 Johns Creek, Ga 30022.
We’re open Monday through Saturday from 8am-3pm and you can follow us on Instagram at @stateandjonescoffee

Are there any books, apps, podcasts or blogs that help you do your best?
Man! When i get some time, I can’t wait to read again. Honestly, between managing, cooking, momming and wifeing, Life is lifeing!!
I listen to Nancy DuFresne’s Jesus The Healer podcast on my way to and from work. It feeds my soul and gives me answers for my day.

Pricing:

• 20% off for Teachers
• 20% off for First Responders

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.stateandjones.com
• Instagram: @stateandjonescoffee
• Yelp: https://m.yelp.com/biz/state-and-jones-coffee-johns-creek?osq=State+and+Jones+Coffee

Image Credits
Anthony Robert Photography
@sens.photography
@stateandjonescoffee