After selling roasted in-house coffee beans out of J’s Place in downtown Nicholasville since last August, Drinklings will now move back to where it all began in Wilmore.
Drinklings Coffee Roastery will be celebrating its grand opening in downtown Wilmore from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. on Saturday March 16. Located at 325 E. Main St., the shop will share its location with The Olive Branch, a local artisan and craft boutique, which will also share in the grand opening festivities. Drinklings will be open from 7:30 a.m. until 5:00 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, and 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Sunday. The shop will be closed on Monday.
Randy Hardman, founder and co-owner of Drinklings, said the opening will include food trucks, music, roasting demonstrations and giveaways by both Drinklings and The Olive Branch.
“We hope to have a good ol’ block party style event,” Hardman said. “We have come together to do a ‘Sip N’ Shop’ style experience to support the broader local artisan and craft making community.”
Hardman said the renovation on the new building has taken several months as crews worked to almost double the building in size.
“We’ve exposed the brick, knocked out a low ceiling to expose some rafters and redone the entire floor for both businesses,” Hardman said. “As renters in the facility, we could not be happier with what we are walking into.”
Hardman has lived in Wilmore since 2010 and began Drinklings in
2016 with mugs and small batches of coffee. 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.
In July 2018, Drinklings moved to J’s Place in Nicholasville where it offered its first commercial location to the public.
“We really felt like we were just feeling where God was leading us and ironically it ended up being right back home,” Hardman said. “Wilmore has done so much for us (over) the years that we’ve been here that it’s just an awesome opportunity to be able to give something back by doing something downtown.”
Hardman said Drinklings impact has been local and global. In its first year, Drinklings gave over $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.”

Although Drinklings specializes in coffee, Hardman said they will begin serving teas from all over the world, as well as local pastries.
“We have a variety of teas including classics like English Breakfast and Chai, and unique ones like our Cold and Flu Tea or Almond Tea, which is probably my all-time favorite,” Hardman said. “All of them are high-quality loose-leaf teas that we currently supply through Family Tea, an outfit in my home town.”
Hardman said the food will include cakes, pastries and cookies as well as some gluten-free items. As Drinklings prepares for the grand opening, Hardman said he is excited to bring his business back to Wilmore.
“Both Wilmore and Nicholasville have been so good to us over the past two years of our development that we are really excited to be here as Jessamine County’s first major commercial roasting operation. We genuinely hope to be able to build relationships with individuals and other businesses as we embark on this new pursuit,” Hardman said.
For more information visit facebook.com/Drinklings.