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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
Bert Davis, owner of DaySol Coffee, and Ramsey Nuss, owner of Good Neighbor Baking, combined their businesses into the Bluff Park Coffee Collective.
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Photos by Erin Nelson Sweeney.
A blueberry scone and a latte rest on the counter for a customer at Bluff Park Coffee Collective.
When you step into the Bluff Park Coffee Collective in Shades Mountain Plaza, you immediately catch the aroma of freshly ground coffee, complemented by the sweet and savory scents of pastries wafting through the air.
Two friends, both artisans in their own right, opened the cafe with the shared goal of cultivating community.
Bert Davis of Daysol Coffee Lab and Ramsey Nuss, owner of Good Neighbor Baking, met on social media in 2019 and discovered they were Bluff Park neighbors. Their friendship quickly blossomed into a business partnership.
“We did some trading, and the rest is history. We connected, became friends and pipe dreamed [the opening of] a collab spot in our neighborhood,” Davis said.
The two decided to create a brand showing mutual respect for each other’s products: Bluff Park Coffee Collective. “Both of our companies take pride in what is represented at the shop, and we enjoy working together,” Nuss said.
The coffee is roasted nearby in a Pelham warehouse, and all pastries are made in-house. “That’s why it smells so good in there all the time,” Davis said.
“A lot of great coffee shops may have excellent coffee, but a lot of the time, the pastries can be an afterthought. And the same for bakeries — killer baked goods with some pots of coffee in the corner that people barely know exist. We wanted to create a space that took the two and showcased them in the same space,” Davis said.
Patrons can expect a rotating pastry menu, with new takes on traditional baked goods. Daysol’s seasonal coffee menu and homemade syrups create opportunities for unique flavors and pairings. “You won't find another experience like it in Birmingham,” Nuss said.
Bluff Park Coffee Collective aims to be a community hub where neighbors can build relationships and the must-stop coffee shop Bluff Park residents want to share with friends and family.
Davis, a Myrtle Beach native, discovered his passion for coffee roasting in Colorado around 2015. “It started as a hobby with a countertop roaster,” he said. “I was hooked. I took a hobby and made it a passion. Luckily, I was in the heart of one of the biggest specialty coffee centers in our country and knew a lot of folks in the industry. … I learned everything I could about the coffee world.”
Nuss, a Fayetteville, Ala., native and mother of three, coupled her passion for baking with her desire to meet local moms and neighboring families in Bluff Park. What started as a “nap-time hustle” flourished. “I want my baked goods to simply be used as a vessel in making meaningful connections with the people around you,” she said.
Daysol’s Wanderlust Blend is the collective's most popular coffee blend. As for the signature pastries, “either our cinnamon roll with maple frosting or the oatmeal cream pie,” Nuss said. “However, people have been losing it over our Conecuh cheddar drop biscuit, so maybe that's the new winner.”
Bluff Park Coffee Collective is located at 759 Shades Mountain Plaza and is open Tuesday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
For more information, go online to bp-coffee-collective.square.site.
