Fri, March 29, 2024

Customers get a kick out of coffee entrepreneurs’ drinks

By early next year, Natalie Jacobs and John Bojescul plan to open a new coffee shop with an unusual name in the heart of Evans.

Founded in 2021, Goat Kick Coffee Company will be located next to the Columbia County Performing Arts Center in a new development called Evans Society Center at the corner of Ronald Reagan Drive and North Belair Road.

The business name is derived from an ancient legend about a goatherder in Ethiopia whose goats ate fruit from a tree that made them so energetic, that they couldn’t sleep. It turns out that “fruit” was coffee beans.

Barista Jennifer Bojescul and co-owner Natalie Jacobs with Goat Kick’s roaster. (Photos by Josh Heath)

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While the storefront isn’t open yet, the business already has a roastery at the corner of Columbia and North Belair roads in Evans, as well as a coffee trailer that travels to various locations.

You can find the trailer in the parking lot at MedNow Urgent Care in the same shopping center as the roastery Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. Some Saturdays, they also take the trailer to the Evans Market.

“We’ve been to neighborhoods, and we did a lot of teacher appreciation stuff,” Jacobs said.

While running a mobile coffee shop isn’t as easy as it sounds, she said her previous career prepared her well for operating this type of business. That may sound like an unusual career transition, but Jacobs said it’s something she’s wanted to do for many years. Before getting into the coffee business, she owned a business on Etsy for five years.

“There are so many moving parts,” Jacobs said. “As an engineer, I was also a project manager, which has helped with moving parts and deadlines.”

Goat Kick’s roastery is currently located at Columbia and Belair roads.

But her background has also helped in other ways.

“Making coffee is scientific,” she said.

Making a perfect cup of coffee means using just the right amount of coffee and water.

Goat Kick serves not only coffee, but also a variety of other drinks, including teas and smoothies. She said the Evans shop will also serve breakfast, lunch, and dessert items. Jacobs looks forward to serving desserts to customers before they attend shows at the performing arts center.

Both she and her assistant manager/head barista Jennifer Bojescul, John’s daughter, said it’s important to do your research before launching this type of business.

“You’ve got to fully immerse yourself in the business, so you know what you’re getting yourself into,” Bojescul said.

Jacobs regularly reads books and listens to podcasts about coffee.

They order their coffee beans from various countries, including Guatemala, Mexico, and Brazil. She said they have the option of ordering beans grown in America, but they’re too expensive.

“Hawaii is the only place coffee is grown and sold commercially in the U.S.,” Jacobs said.

Goat Kick has already felt the pain of inflation and supply-chain issues.

“The cost of lids and cups has gone up,” she said. “The cost of kitchen equipment changes daily, and that’s really frustrating.”

Goat Kick Coffee will join several other businesses on a tract of land at the corner of Ronald Reagan Drive and North Belair Road.

Besides the coffee shop, Evans Society Center will also include three other units and a free-standing restaurant. While they haven’t determined their business hours yet, Jacobs and Bojescul are considering being open from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

For more information, visit goatkickcoffee.com.

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