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Storytime Coffee is open in Rogersville at 203 S. Jamestown Blvd., Ste. K.
Photo provided by Storytime Coffee Co.
Storytime Coffee is open in Rogersville at 203 S. Jamestown Blvd., Ste. K.

Church-owned coffee shop debuts in Rogersville

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A Rogersville-based church is behind the opening of a new coffee shop in Jamestown Plaza.

Storytime Coffee Co. started operations Aug. 21 at 203 S. Jamestown Blvd., Ste. K. It’s located next door to its owner, The Story Church Inc., which moved to the Rogersville strip center in April 2019.

Shop manager Erin Schlesener said the church’s venture was an idea several years in the making.

“I’ve been going to the church for about three years and it was always mentioned even before we moved to Jamestown Plaza,” she said, declining to disclose startup costs. “It’s not like we wanted to start a business just to start a business. We wanted to provide something for the community.”

Schlesener is one of three employees at the shop, which also utilizes eight volunteers to sell coffee drinks and pastries. The baked goods are provided daily by Rogersville-based Thyme to Loaf Garden and Bakery, she said. Shop hours are 6:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7 a.m.-noon Saturday.

“I can hardly keep cinnamon rolls on the shelf,” she said. “I sell out of them about every day.”

Storytime’s menu includes espresso, lattes, teas and smoothies, with prices generally ranging $2-$6. Schlesener said a pair of lattes – Hummingbird, made with honey, almond and vanilla, and The Wildcat, a raspberry and white chocolate concoction – are the most popular drinks thus far.

The 67-seat shop also includes a drive-thru. Lease terms with David Clouse of Clouse Motor Co. LLC were not disclosed.

Schlesener said the shop, which acts as a nonprofit under The Story Church, plans to give back an undetermined percentage of its profits to various community organizations each quarter.

“That’s our whole goal and purpose was to provide a space for the community and support it any way that we can, and give back as much as we can,” she said. “Once we get a quarter down, we’ll have an idea of what goals we want to set.”

It’s not the first coffee shop experience in Rogersville for Schlesener, who previously worked for the now-shuttered Red Rock Coffee Co. in 2012. She most recently was an employee of Buster Crabbe Pools Inc., a family-owned business in Nixa, before landing at Storytime.

“Coffee is something I’ve had a huge passion for for a long time,” she said. “Then this opportunity came about and I just decided to step out in faith and see what would happen."

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