‘Brewing up something good’

Shannon Styes always wanted to open her own business, and now she and her husband, Bart, have picked a spot in Bluff Park and are giving it a go.

The Styes are opening a coffee house called Wild Roast in the spot on Shades Crest Road formerly occupied by the Moonlight on the Mountain music venue.

Shannon has a degree in fashion merchandising and was in the retail business for 28 years, including as manager of Banana Republic and Talbot’s at The Summit and the past five years as manager of the DSW shoe store in the Patton Creek shopping center.

She left her job at DSW on Feb. 2, and she and Bart were hoping to get Wild Roast open by the end of February.

Bart went to business school in Minnesota but ended up going into youth ministry with the United Methodist Church. He started as a program manager at Camp Sumatanga for four years, spent more than two years as a youth minister at Liberty Crossings United Methodist Church in Liberty Park and the past seven years at Bluff Park United Methodist.

As their children get closer to youth group age, Bart said he wants them to have someone other than himself as their youth minister. Plus, he wants to help his wife achieve her dream of owning a business, so he resigned his position in October.

Shannon said she originally wanted to open a clothing store. She and Bart drove around Birmingham trying to find the perfect location but decided they wanted to do business closer to their home in Bluff Park. That’s when Shannon perked up at the idea for a coffee house.

They started asking friends and neighbors what type of business they would like to see in Bluff Park, and their neighbors overwhelmingly favored a coffee house.

The owner of Moonlight on the Mountain, Michel O’Brien asked them about opening a coffee business inside her venue, which they pursued until O’Brien informed them she was closing the venue, they said. So they decided to rent the space themselves.

LEARNING THE BUSINESS

The Styeses have spent a lot of time and money renovating the space to make it work as a coffee house, they said.

Neither of them came into this knowing much about coffee. “We knew how to brew it, and we knew how to drink it,” Bart said.

But Shannon understands merchandising and pricing, and the couple has gotten a lot of help and advice from Randy Adamy, the owner of O’Henry’s Coffees, based in Homewood. O’Henry’s will be their coffee supplier and helped them develop their own house blend.

Adamy, who lives in Hoover’s Lake Crest community, is teaching them how to use the coffee equipment and giving overall advice about the coffee business.

“We like to see all independent coffee houses do well,” Adamy said. “A lot of local mom and pop coffee houses get off to a rough start for a lot of different reasons. If we can help them avoid the pitfalls, it’s in our best interest to do it.”

O’Henry’s has helped about 90 different coffee houses in one way or another, he said. The company supplies coffee for businesses like Daylight Donuts, The Heavenly Donut Co., Edgar’s Bakery, Priester’s Pecans and the Chelsea Coffee House.

 “For me, it’s a fun part of the job,” he said. “I love to work with other small businesses. It’s kind of our time to do a little payback. Other people have helped us over the years to be sure.”

Adamy, who drives by the Wild Roast location on his way to work, said Starbucks probably wouldn’t pick a spot like that, but it’s a great location for a small, independent shop. There are busy roads there, and the demographics are strong, he said.

“That area, I believe, is drastically underserved for coffee,” Adamy said.

Wild Roast has a lot of potential, but the Styes have to run a good business, too, to make it successful, he said.

A GATHERING SPOT

Bart and Shannon envision the space being more than a typical coffee shop.

It’s a two-story space with about 2,400 square feet on each floor, Bart said. The main part of the coffee house will be the top floor, with about 1,500 square feet of space for customers, capable of holding about 100 people, Bart said.

Because it’s larger than many coffee shops, the Styes would like to make it into a gathering spot for meetings and events, book clubs and sewing groups. They plan to offer live music on the weekends and could see using the downstairs space for art classes.

Because Bluff Park has art in its DNA, they also want to make Wild Roast a place where visual art is both showcased and sold. In addition to coffee, espressos, cappuccinos and a small selection of baked goods, they also plan to sell gift items, such as candles, cards and coffee mugs.

The Styeses said they have been surprised at how much work it has been to get their space renovated and business ready to open, but “we’re just trying to do things the right way to make sure we get it set up correctly,” Bart said. They have developed a lot of respect for other small business owners in the process.

The support from the Bluff Park community and other friends has been wonderful, the Styes said.

They did a crowd-funding campaign on Indiegogo that drew in more than $5,000 in donations and received other donations to put total start-up support at more than $10,000, Bart said.

They’ve also had friends and neighbors making suggestions for furnishings and offering to help paint walls.

“We have great neighbors,” Bart said. “This has been fantastic — people just reaching out all over the place.”

The Styeses said when they get up and running and start making a profit, they want to find a way to give back to the community, whether by giving money or holding programs for people.

But lately, the focus has been just to get the doors open and start serving customers. People have been eager to get a coffee house in Bluff Park, they said.

Bart said he’s confident it will do well. Independent coffee houses are a growing industry right now, he said. “It’s a really great time for coffee in America, but especially in Birmingham.”

To find out more about Wild Roast, visit the company’s website at wildroastcafe.com or visit the Wild Roast Facebook and Instagram pages.