For a coffee shop whose names bears a striking resemblance to one of the more memorable lines of coming-of-age drama The Outsiders (and I dare you to find a movie packed with more A-listers before they were A-listers. Go ahead, I’ll wait), Stay Golden Restaurant & Roastery sure is packed with a lot of coffee insiders. Nashville’s newest cafe is the brainchild of Jamie Cunningham, Sean Stewart, and Nathanael Mehrens, the trio behind Steadfast Coffee, a roastery/cafe with a lot of buzz about them after a strong showing at the 2016 US Coffee Championships, who still remains as one of the city’s must-visit cafes.
But now the trio have joined forced with DesignWorks Collective for a brand new venture. Stay Golden will be a full-service coffee bar as well as a restaurant and cocktail bar. They don’t want to be a cafe that also has food or a cocktail bar that also has coffee, but want to put each aspects of Stay Golden on equal footing. And indeed, from the looks of their Instagram, you’d be hard-pressed to find one aspect that supersedes the others. Begging pardon from Robert Frost, but Nashville’s newest coffee shop is something gold that we hope stays.
For those who aren’t familiar, will you tell us about your company?
The result of a partnership between coffee and hospitality experts Jamie Cunningham, Sean Stewart, and Nathanael Mehrens and DesignWorks Collective, Stay Golden Coffee Co. is founded on principles of putting people first, community mindedness, and sustainability. Stay Golden Restaurant & Roastery is the brand’s flagship brick-and-mortar location and will feature a coffee bean roastery and full-service bar and restaurant.
Can you tell us a bit about the new space?
Set in the Berry Hill/100 Oaks neighborhood of Nashville, Stay Golden Restaurant & Roastery is a bright, welcoming space that includes a grab-and-go coffee counter, full-service restaurant complete with coffee and cocktail bar and second-level mezzanine, an onsite coffee bean roastery, private event space, and hydroponic gardens.
What’s your approach to coffee?
Inspired by the Golden Rule, Stay Golden was founded with a purpose in mind. Incorporating the principles of putting people first with a focus on community mindedness, the founders plan to offer educational programming, as well as serve as a haven for industry events. Aiming to roast the highest quality coffees with an emphasis on sustainable and ethical sourcing, Stay Golden fosters meaningful relationships with its coffee purveyors and growers, allowing them to maintain a direct connection with each batch throughout the entire roasting process.
What’s your hopeful target opening date/month?
August 13, 2018
Are you working with craftspeople, architects, and/or creatives that you’d like to mention?
In addition to the coffee, Executive Chef Simoni Kigweba will lead the chef-driven, seasonally inspired food menu, which will encompass breakfast, lunch, and happy hour. Beverage Director Nathanael Mehrens will oversee coffee drinks and cocktails.
Thank you!
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