A New Way to Give Back
Radford Coffee Co. is located at 333 W Main St in Radford, VA.
By: Anna Friesen
Radford Coffee Company has been giving Main Street fresh roasted coffee smells since December 21. And the aroma hasn’t been the only thing drawing customers in.
During the past three months, they have been extremely lucky. “Beyond our wildest dreams. It’s been a thousand times more [successful]than we thought it’d be,” said Barbara Johnson, owner alongside her husband of Radford Coffee.
Radford Coffee Co. isn’t your run of the mill coffee shop. It’s a non-profit business that gives back to schools and children in Nicaragua. Every dollar a customer spends goes towards the education of 1200 students in the Rio Coco River area.
The Johnsons have been involved in the Rio Coco River area for many years now. They originally connected with Mike and Laura Bagby who had been helping the Rio Coco community since 1989. “We met Mike and Laura 17 years ago on the Rio Coco River. They had another coffee shop just like this in Vero Beach, Florida, which is where we get the green beans and roast them.
Then in 2011, Mika and Laura partnered with the Johnsons and opened their first café in Utila, Honduras serving locals and tourists daily.
This wall, which is original to the building, adds character to Radford Coffee Co.
Every employee is completely volunteer. Some receive support from customers or family members. But, some work full time already and help out on the side. Being non-profit and volunteer adds a completely new dynamic to the coffee shop, making customers come for a new reason.
One customer, John Middleton, loves the coffee and can’t complain about the food. But, that’s not what’s bring him here. “Just to know that your money is ending up in good hands is really cool,” Middleton said.
You won’t hear a single bad thing about Radford Coffee Co. Who would have thought that a small business in the small town of Radford would be so successful? “We’ve been running out of food everyday, crazy lines to the window; it’s crazy stuff,” said Johnson.
Along with her team, they come to work at 5:30 a.m. to start brewing the coffee, baking the in-house baked goods, and preparing anything else for the day. Radford Coffee Co. is open from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. They stay until 4 p.m. cleaning and preparing for the next day.
Walking into Radford Coffee, there will always be a seat open, a plug for your computer, and people to welcome you.
In the long run, Barbara and Eric Johnson hope to be able to train other people to do this other places in the world to help whatever their cause may be. This could spread across the world. Eventually, you could find it in any country you go to.
This story was created for my Multimedia Reporting course in Spring 2016.
