Coffee with a Cause

STORY AND PHOTOS BY MAGGIE YOUNGS

Nashville is home to dozens of coffee shops enjoyed by tourists and locals alike. As the city has become increasingly socially minded, so have coffee shops, who support a variety of causes including giving veteran support, providing clean water and supporting those who have been victims of violence.

Humphreys Street

Harvest Hands has empowered youth in South Nashville through after school programs and sports leagues since 2007. In 2018, the organization opened its coffee house, Humphreys Street, as a way to further empower youth in the community by creating jobs, providing mentorship opportunities and teaching job skills. Not only does Humphreys Street employ youth in the area, but all profits are reinvested into programs and scholarships that support students.

Parker Millican, general manager of Humphreys Street says, “Roasting has been our main avenue of student employment during this time, and we’ve seen a lot of growth in the skills of our student roasters.”

Although the shop currently only has to-go options, they are planning to open their backyard to customers soon and their mission has continued to thrive. Humphreys Street is set to open their second location on Broadway this summer and their bagged coffee is sold at all Nashville Whole Foods locations.

Crest Coffee House

Crest Coffee House is Nashville’s first donation-based coffee house. Instead of paying a listed price, customers are asked how much they would like to donate. The donation-based model creates a space where people of all incomes and backgrounds can enjoy a cup of coffee.

Crest Coffee House is attached to Hillcrest Community Church at 1601 Martin Street. The church and its small staff have served their tight knit community for many years, pouring tithes and offerings back into the community in place of salaries. The coffee house extends this mission by investing profits to help at-risk youth and individual community needs.

Although in-person services for Hillcrest are currently postponed, the coffee house has continued to operate in the midst of the pandemic.

The Cafe and Shop at Thistle Farms

For 23 years, Thistle Farms has served women coming out of trafficking, sex work, and addiction in need of time and space to heal. Recognizing the downfalls of other models seeking to help these women, the organization began as a residential program. Three years later, Thistle Farms began producing and selling bath and body products to employ their survivors. In 2013, the organization started the cafe, selling breakfast, brunch, lunch, tea and coffee as a way of employing their survivors.

“There weren’t as many places that sold tea,” says CEO Hal Cato. “With coffee, you can grab and go. Tea is really about visiting.”

The COVID-19 pandemic was hard on the cafe.

“We had 75,000 guests in 2019, then suddenly we were closed. It was a shock.”

Nonetheless, the cafe pushed on, maintaining employment by partnering with Second Harvest Food Bank to deliver 12,000 lunches to students homebound due to the pandemic. Although catering services are still closed, the cafe is now open and thriving.

The Well

“We are turning coffee into water,” is one motto of The Well Coffeehouse.

The Well began its journey in Nashville in 2012 in hopes to both build the local community and make a global impact. The company has both a storefront cafe and a subscription model, using profits to build water wells in the countries from which they source their coffee. The Well also strongly values that their coffee growers receive a living wage for their craft.

The Well’s Nashville location sits across from Lipscomb University on Granny White Pike with additional locations in Brentwood, Bellevue and even Fishers, Indiana. Since its founding, profits have built water projects in over 50 communities, bringing clean water to over 20,000 people in Rwanda, Ethiopia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mexico, Guatemala and Honduras.

This year, The Well also partnered with other local organizations, ShowerUp, The Laundry Stop and People Loving Nashville to provide water, health and dignity to those affected by the devastating tornado that hit Nashville in March of 2020.

Green Beans Coffee

Green Beans Coffee seeks to support veterans and military families across the country. The company partners with and gives a portion of profits to a variety of organizations supporting veterans and military families including the Fisher House Foundation, Blue Star Families, and Service Women’s Action Network. They also sell Green Beans K-cups online and allow customers to sponsor the delivery of coffee to a deployed soldier, sailor, airman, marine or coast guardsman through their initiative “Cup of Joe for Joe.”

The company started when brothers Jon and Jason Araghi found themselves living outside of the country, but longing for coffee with the quality and environment they loved. The company has grown immensely over the last two decades, now operating in 10 countries on 4 continents and providing coffee to a wide variety of travellers. The Nashville International Airport invited Green Beans Coffee to join in the BNA Expansion Program for 2020, and despite the pandemic, currently serves travellers both looking for a space to rest and those hurrying to catch their flight.