After seven years of perfecting their roasting operations, local coffee company Jennings Java is ready to make the leap into brick and mortar retail with the opening of their first cafe location in Merion Village this summer.
The idea for a coffee shop has long been in the works for business partners Daniel Jennings and AJ Kazmierczak, who have been operating the production side of their business from a small warehouse space at 1193 S. Front St.
“We had been hoping to be open with a cafe by 2020, but we held off,” explained Jennings. “We had some eyes on a few spots, but then some good fortune came our way when this space became available last year. So we’re glad we held off.”
The new shop is slated to open less than a mile away at 116 E. Moler St. The site was formerly occupied by Bake Me Happy, which relocated to Whittier Street last year.
“Having this cool new location is great but we’re even more excited to talk about it because it didn’t involve someone going out of business,” said Jennings. “The moves all seem best for everyone.”
Jennings, who also lives in Merion Village, is excited to bring coffee back to that spot for his south side neighbors, while also expanding their retail offerings.
“We’ll have a bodega-style step with around 15 to 20 different coffee origins, some unique options for home brewing, equipment for sale, milks and our canned cold brews,” he stated. “In the future we might expand to offering beer and wine.”
The new cafe is slated for an opening sometime this summer. Jennings stated that while the cafe itself requires few renovations or updates, the relocation of their roasting equipment has some installation and permitting processes that will take some time to complete.
“We’re moving all production to the cafe, and it will be really cool to highlight that,” he explained. “The goal is to have the roaster as a showpiece. We’re one of the smaller roasters in the city, so we’ll be roasting in the cafe until we might need a secondary location.”
For more information, visit www.jenningsjava.com.