Photo by Leah Ingram Eagle
The Chelsea Coffee House is now owned by O'Henry's Coffees.
As of June 1, the Chelsea Coffee House is now owned by O'Henry's Coffees.
Former owners Jeff and Rhonda Gross opened the doors in 2012 and after nine years were ready for a change.
“The good news is that the coffee house will be stronger than ever,” Gross said. “We prayed for God to send the right buyer, and we believe that has happened with Blake and Anna Stevens of O’Henry’s Coffees.
Gross said the couple had been thinking of selling the coffee house since 2019. Since Chelsea Coffee House had been using O’Henry’s products for years, he contacted O’Henry’s owner Blake Steven in March for help with the process.
“I sent an email to Blake because he’s my roaster, and we were serving O’Henry’s Coffees already, asking him to help me do this, and he decided to purchase it.”
Gross was already working part-time at Liberty Baptist Church, and after COVID-19 hit, his job demands increased and he recently went full-time in January.
Stevens, who took over ownership of O’Henry’s in 2019, already had an established relationship with Gross. The missions of the two companies aligned, and it was a natural fit.
“We are excited to take this next step,” Stevens said. ”Anna and I are honored to begin to steward the company that Jeff and Rhonda have worked so hard to build and look forward to many years of connecting over a great cup of coffee.”
Stevens added that it was an easy transition and customers won’t see much of a difference. Six of the team members will continue to work there, one of whom is being promoted to a leadership role.
The coffee cups will now have an O'Henry's Coffee cup sleeve, and the coffee will come in an O’Henry’s bag, but will still be the same coffee. They will also offer the stamps program where customers can get a pound of coffee free after purchasing 12 pounds, and Fridays are double stamp days.
O’Henry’s is continuing to expand across the greater Birmingham area. The new Mt Laurel location of O’Henry’s Coffee opened on Thursday, June 3, and the Vestavia location is set to open in about a month.
“We want to come in and understand and get to know the team and build relationships in the community,” Stevens said. “Folks are wanting to connect and congregate, and we love to provide opportunities to do that.”
Gross said he isn’t going anywhere and that Chelsea is home, so he will continue to come in as a customer.
The location is at 16688 U.S. 280 next to Chelsea Apothecary. The hours of operation will be 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays.
