Today we’d like to introduce you to Jaimie Miller.
Hi Jaimie, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Between Friends Coffee is a 100% woman-owned non-franchise coffee shop, cafe, bakery, bookstore, and event center.
I am a former military brat that settled down in Georgia once my father retired from Robins Air Force Base. I got married, had two amazing children, and graduated from college, but I still wanted something more. Between Friends began in February 2016 after my best friend and I decided that Warner Robins needed a community gathering spot where everyone could feel welcomed. We bought some kitchen equipment from a coffeehouse that was going out of business, found an abandoned yogurt shop, and turned it into the home away from home that it is today. The doors officially opened to the public on August 1st, 2016.
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?
Owning a restaurant will never be a smooth road. It’s a continuous adventure. One must always be flexible and willing to change and adapt when life throws one curve after another. You must be willing to learn as you go because the trends are always changing, and people always want to see something new and exciting. There will always be new competition that pops up and gives you a run for your money. Prices continue to rise for ingredients, labor, and utilities. The coronavirus pandemic threw a curve ball to everyone across the board. We are all still trying to recover from that. Unfortunately, many businesses around us had to close. We are one of the lucky ones that survived.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Between Friends Coffee is a literary-themed coffeehouse and cafe.
As an avid reader and multi-published author, I wanted to share my love of books with the community. Discovering an author who writes to your soul is like finding a best friend. I am grateful for the opportunity to share some of my closest friends with everyone in the form of a replenishing drink. Hemingway, Pablo Neruda, Langston Hughes, J.R.R Tolkien, Maya Angelou, Shakespeare, Harper Lee, and Jane Austen are just a few of the names you will see on our walls. We have wonderful relationships with many famous authors and appreciate their contributions to our world.
We hope that each drink customers order by name either reconnect them with a dear friend or introduce them to a new one. To further promote literacy across all ages in our community, our Free Little Library is available 24/7! Growing research shows positive correlations between adult literacy and lower infant mortality rates. Literacy improves mental and physical health. Literacy has been shown to reduce poverty. We need more books and expanded minds! Let’s get to reading, Friends!
We feature one-of-a-kind specialty beverages. Our coffee is locally roasted, freshly ground, and sourced through direct trade from around the world. Proceeds from the sale of our whole-bean coffee go directly to fund To Write Love on Her Arms. TWLOHA is a non-profit mental health movement that we have long supported. Besides all things coffee, we offer specialty milkshakes, steamers, teas, lemonades, hot chocolates, smoothies, Italian sodas, flavored water, bottled soda, etc! Our baked goods are made fresh daily and served alongside a full brunch menu.
Have you learned any interesting or important lessons due to the Covid-19 Crisis?
The global pandemic took us all by surprise. Unfortunately, there was no way to prepare for such an event. However, I like to think that we came out stronger. We learned to adapt. Overnight, we changed our entire operation from a sit-down experience to take-out, delivery, and curbside pickup. We were mandated to shut our inside dining down, so to survive, we had to figure things out quickly.
We learned how to get back to the basics and trim down our menu to focus on the items that we could still source. We found new outlets for boxes and packaging. We bonded with fellow entrepreneurs in the restaurant and hospitality industry and helped each other out. We still meet with that group monthly to encourage each other!
The pandemic showed us all that we could do the hard things.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.betweenfriendscoffee.com/
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/betweenfriendscoffee
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/betweenfriendscoffee
