We are excited to announce that 4004 Main Street in Old Hilliard will become the location of Coffee Connections! On August 21st, we will begin to make our mark on the space and we plan to be open this September!
Isn’t that currently Solar Cafe? Yes, and the story behind how this came to be an option for us is truly unique. I want to share that with you.
April is when the assignments for vendor’s spots around town are made. Our desire is to connect with people in the community and the one spot I really hoped to get was Hilliard Station Park. And we got it. But it was right across the street from Solar Cafe. Because we both would be selling coffee, and I desire to promote unity within this community, I decided to have a conversation with the owner. I walked into Solar and introduced myself to Tom. I shared with him my ideas for unity with my vendor spot at the Splash Pad and asked if he would be willing to work with me. He reached his hand across the table from me and said “thank you”. We chatted for the next hour and half, and the something that I never imagined, happened. Tom’s true desire is to be the landlord of the property and noticing my passion and vision to have a great place for people to connect over coffee…he offered for me to purchase the assets of his business and set up shop. This offer shocked me. First, Old Hilliard is my dream location to own a shop. Second, it was out of left field. We had just finished a dedicated time of prayer where I felt God clearly told me to just focus on the bike. It seemed unattainable, though, because I didn’t have access to the funds to make it happen.
I shared this encounter with some friends and asked them to pray for us. Surprisingly, one of these friends later called me and said, “God would not let this idea go.” After more prayer, we decided to move forward as this friend became our initial investor, making this space a reality.
Since then, we have had various encounters with people about this space and their excitement about its transformation. The bike has done its job and will continue to make relationships by going out to serve people.
We plan on taking a few weeks to renovate the space and open it around the beginning of September. We’re so excited to have a physical location for people to come and enjoy great coffee and build connections. My next post will be about what we plan on doing within the space and what it means to those who live in and around Hilliard.
