Savannah Coffee Roasters set to move to downtown thoroughfare
If you’ve spent any kind of time on River Street, you can’t deny the attraction to watching the action at River Street Sweets or Savannah Candy Kitchen.
Praline samples are as much a part of the experience down there as is the ability to walk around with that cold beer in your hand. Similarly, watching taffy or fudge being made right in front of you can be a fascinating process. I have found myself just standing there watching it unfold many, many times only to realize, “Hey, keep it moving — you’ve seen that only a million times.”
Call it the 5-year-old in me. I am similarly fascinated by cargo ships coming and going.
Well, now that entire interactive experience is coming to East Bay Street. And it all surrounds coffee.
Savannah Coffee Roasters is moving their entire production facility to the 400 block of Bay Street. Yes, a couple of doors down from the dry cleaner at the corner of Habersham and Bay.
“We want to be a destination,” says Lori Collins, owner of Savannah Coffee Roasters.
Lori and her husband, John, purchased the entire operation from founder and long-, long-time owner Hayden Banks.
Hayden is staying on in a much smaller advisory role as they make the transition to Bay Street from their current location off of Presidents Street.
The goal is to make Savannah Coffee Roasters a place where locals as well as tourists can come enjoy a perfect cup of coffee — but eventually some homemade pastries and other goodies, too.
“We will have several samples available for tasting at any given time along with the milks, creams and sugars,” Lori tells me. “We want people to have a place to become better educated about coffee before they drink it and especially afterward.”
Eat it and like it as well
“I’m not a chef,” Lori says.
But she did tell me what she has in mind. The native of Australia loves her pastries. She enjoys making meat pies and other baked goes that will pair perfectly with her brews.
“I also want a place where locals can come spend their lunch hour doing something different,” she says. Different could also mean touring the roasting facility.
Make no mistake, this building is not a facade. All of Savannah Coffee Roasters’ operations are moving to Bay Street. You will likely be able to smell freshly roasted beans a block away.
Tell me THAT won’t draw foot traffic from east and west along Bay.
There are plans for the food menu to expand a little bit down the road, but first things first: coffee roasting, tasting and learning on Bay Street. There will even be a giant retired roaster in the front window. Chances are you will smell it before you can taste it.
Everything is falling in place for an October opening. It’s going to take a giant effort to get that done, but they are prepared to work as hard as they can to see it through.
Who knows, you might even see Savannah Coffee Roasters on an upcoming Eat It and Like It Gourmet Foodie Tour (shameless plug, I know). I will keep you posted.
For more info, visit www.savannahcoffee.com.
Quick Bites
• Told you I would keep you posted on the opening of The Public Kitchen and Bar (the newest member of the Local 11 Ten family) at the corner of Liberty and Bull. I am told they are opening Sept. 18. Besides a great birthday present for me, it is sure to be a foodie treat for you. I’ll try to get a peek at the menu and pass it along ...
• Best way to keep connected with me at “Eat It and Like It” between columns? Follow us Facebook and Twitter, @eatitandlikeit.
• Finally, I have yet to have a Sweet Carolina cupcake. They are the new kids on the cupcake block downtown — Whitaker between Broughton and Congress. They are having their grand opening ribbon cutting event Sept. 13 at 11 a.m.
Till next time, see you on TV.
Jesse Blanco is a local news anchor at WTGS and host of the Emmy-nominated “Eat It and Like It,” Savannah’s only TV show dedicated to its culinary scene. Visit him at www.eatitandlikeit.com or email jesse@eatitandlikeit.com.