MADISON – Honestly, not another coffee shop down the street, not a two-year pandemic, nor roadwork blocking traffic in downtown Huntsville has been able to slow the flow of customers through Honest Coffee. It’s been 10 years since Christy Wimberly opened the popular Clinton Avenue expresso bar and café.
And nothing will stop the veteran restaurateur from expanding the brand, opening her Honest Coffee location at Avenue Madison.
The shop is at the corner of 92 Shorter Street, two blocks from historic downtown Madison. The interior is stellar with window walls, high exposed ceilings, and Soho industrial-style lighting that provides an almost cathedral-like atmosphere, perfect for collaborative business meetings and social gatherings. The space also provides outdoor seating with an awning for hot days.
With the widening of Shorter Street and eventual extension from Sullivan to Hughes Avenue, the retail and residential development at Avenue Madison will offer easy accessibility and plenty of free parking.
While business owners all have a strategy for growth and expansion, Wimberly said hers is dependent on whether she has the leadership in her management pipeline to give a new location the kind of superior customer service and support her customers have come to expect.
Wimberly tapped Marissa Gossage, a long-time team member from the downtown Huntsville location, to manage the Madison store.
“Marissa does a lot of our signature drinks, and she is phenomenal,” said Wimberly. “She has been in the coffee business a long time and has passion for it. I believe she is ready for leadership, and I think she will be great in Madison.”
A Nashville native, Wimberly started working in the restaurant business in college and said she fell in love with the food and beverage business.
“People say it is a tough business because overhead is always an issue, staffing can be a problem, and the cost of goods is challenging, especially now,” she said. “But I like the responsibility of it. It is, oddly, a very action-packed business.”
And what about that supply chain and rising prices of goods?
“Rising prices also affect wholesale prices,” Wimberly said. “Our bacon, egg and cheese sandwich is our most popular breakfast sandwich at the Huntsville store. All the ingredients have gone way up in price, which means we must go up on price too. But the hardest part to explain is that it goes up again every time we buy, so it probably seems to customers like we are constantly increasing prices.
“In terms of the supply chain, it has gotten better but it is inconsistent. Random items are still hard to get, like clear plastic cups, the lids. But as soon as those become available again, it will be something else, so that too is problematic not knowing what we won’t have or will be short of at any given time.”
Wimberly is not discouraged, though. It is all just part of running a business to her.
“I look at Huntsville and it reminds me of Nashville when I was growing up,” she said. “It was spreading out in all directions.
“Today Huntsville is like that with Madison and the surrounding communities all coming together to create a healthy environment for retail and industry. I love seeing developments grow and I make sure I train our people to know what to do when it comes to running the business.”
In fact, Wimberly is so fearless, and she likes the surrounding Avenue Madison area so much, she plans to launch a whole new concept in the spring.
Chill, a Bluebell ice cream shop, will be moving in next door to Honest Coffee.
“Chill will carry 12 Bluebell standard flavors with rotating flavors and milkshakes, desserts and ice cream sandwiches,” she said. “We will have 40 indoor seats, so kids have room to come in and have study days with free Wi-Fi. It will be a great place for an alcohol-free date, and the atmosphere will be friendly to toddlers too.”
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