As many of you know, Christina's latest venture is officially under way. Christina accepted a job at the beginning of August to be the manager of a new coffeehouse in Athens. The coffeehouse was to be opened by Rob and Deandra Bailey, Rob being Christina's former youth pastor. Rob and Deandra felt a calling to plant a church in Athens about a year ago. After driving around Athens a few times, they thought it would be really cool to start a coffee house before planting the church. They thought it would be a great way to meet some people in Athens while also getting their foot into the culture here.
So, the project started in August and was lots of work for the first few months. Rob, who had recently sold a construction business, did all of the renovations on the house himself. After just a couple of months, they had transformed a 100 year old house into a beautiful coffee house! I wish you could have seen the house before the renovations! It was old, dirty, and falling apart. Rob worked incredibly hard, knocking down walls, building a deck, fixing the floors, fixing the ceilings, painting, hammering, drilling, and the list goes on!
After many long conversations, we came up with the name Two Story Coffee House. First, there are two stories to the house- a first story where people will order coffee, hang out, talk, listen to music, etc. And a second story, designed to be a quiet zone for students to study. However, there are also two stories to the house- the first story is that this is a place that sells coffee, the second story, however, is that this is a place where people can talk and relationships can be built. Get it....Two Story Coffee house! There are two stories AND there are two stories!
Finally, on Halloween night, Two Story Coffee House officially opened for business. The first few weeks have been better than we ever could have imagined! The coffee house has been packed out with customers and everyone seems to love it. It has become a very popular hang out place as well as a great place to study. In a college town, coffee houses are always popular!
Christina has worked A LOT of hours! But she seems to be enjoying the challenge. For someone who didn't even like coffee a few months ago, she has become quite the coffee expert! She has a wonderful staff who have been a huge help to the process, especially her two supervisors, Ellen Matthews and Chris Barr. They have all put in countless hours to make this place a success, and have had a blast doing it!
What has been really exciting is that the true vision for the coffee house has really been happening. Christina and the Baileys never intended for this to simply be a place where coffee was sold. All along, the true vision for this place was to create an environment where relationships and community could be built. While never intended to outwardly be a "Christian" coffeehouse, it was certainly intended to be a light unto the people of Athens. We have seen and been a part of numerous conversations with different people, and watched as it has truly become a place where community is being built.
We praise the Lord for all He has done so far through the coffee house and pray that it will continue to be a light unto the darkness here in Athens!
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