Coffee roastery coming to Nicholasville

Published 12:00 pm Thursday, July 19, 2018

Drinklings partners with J’s Place to offer first commercial location

Jessamine County will soon be home to its first coffee roastery.

Drinklings Coffee has partnered with J’s Place in Nicholasville to offer its first commercial location to the public. As of Aug. 20, the coffee will be roasted in-house at J’s Place, located at 101 S. Main St.

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Founder and co-owner Randy Hardman said he has high hopes for the next step in his business.

“We’re excited about the opportunities this holds for us and for Jessamine County as a whole,” Hardman said. “From where we stand, this seems like an excellent way to really do a lot in the community in terms of development and cultural intrigue.”

Drinklings started in October 2016 in Wilmore with mugs and small batches of coffee.

Hardman said because it is a roastery, Drinklings will sell to anyone, including restaurants and other stores, and he hopes opening up Jessamine County’s first roastery will spark community growth.

“Wherever you have seen things like roasteries or tap rooms start, you tend to also see an influx of other creative initiatives,” Hardman said. “We don’t know exactly what those will be, but coffee has had a historic trend in creating ideas, movements, projects, etc. that change both local and global communities.”

Drinklings is committed to producing coffee from fair, direct and sustainable origins. Since its beginning, Hardman said Drinklings has been focused on providing more than just excellent coffee for customers.

“We actually began as a missional roaster giving back to U.S.- and Kentucky-based missional agencies,” Hardman said. “Every quarter we look at different projects we can do globally so it will always change. We might be donating 5 percent of our proceeds to buy soccer balls, medicine, school supplies or something else entirely.”

Hardman said Drinklings’ impact has been local and global. In its first year, Drinklings gave more than $1,000 to local justice agencies. Other projects included buying mosquito bug nets for families in Africa and donating money to help construct a school in South Sudan.

“We know we’re a small drop in the bucket of changing things,” Hardman said. “Every little bit of change can help.”

For more information visit Facebook.com/Drinklings.