Business Spotlight: Dunnellon Coffee Co. celebrates one year in business

On June 25, 2024, coffee and community lovers Justin and Brittani Loury opened up Dunnellon Coffee Co. in Dunnellon Plaza. The couple recently celebrated the coffee shop’s first anniversary.

“It has been in our hearts, since we have lived here our entire lives, to have a gathering spot in Dunnellon, a place where people can just hang out,” said Brittani.

“And we’ve always been consumers of coffee,” added Justin.

Over the past ten years, life took them on a journey away from Dunnellon and then back here, and all along, the couple kept circling back to the coffee shop conversation.

“We’ve always loved hosting people at our house and we just love hospitality in general,” said Brittani. “We kept saying, ‘we wish we had a bigger house; we wish we had a way to meet other people outside of our realm of influence and just gather more people.’”

The Lourys started looking for a location. Every January, when they discussed their long- and short-term goals, they’d check around the City to see if there was a location that was just right. They upped their coffee game at home with a new espresso machine.

Soon after, the business at the end of Dunnellon Plaza closed and Brittani said, “I don’t know; that could be the spot.”

The Lourys did some digging and doors started opening for them. At the same time, they questioned whether it was the right time to start a business with a 6-month old and an almost three-year-old at home.

“But the real estate was here and God just started opening all these doors,” said Brittani. “He brought us amazing people.”

Two of the things the Lourys were looking for when it came to the “right location” was parking, and the potential for a drive-through.

“We got a drive through,” said Justin. “We put it in. The driveway is set up perfectly for it. It was the first time we found anything that could have a drive through window.”

The couple got busy renovating the space to make it a comfortable place where people wanted to be. “We put a lot of time and energy in the aesthetic of this place,” said Brittani. The décor features muted tones and a nod to the Rainbow River and the history of the area, with Native American tile and a wooden canoe hanging from the ceiling as a light fixture.

As they got closer to opening their doors, which took about 14 months, they didn’t worry quite as much about the décor. They just wanted to open so, after 14 months of paying rent while they were fixing it up, they could start generating some revenue.

“We just made it happen,” said Brittani. “It was rough and stressful, but also a very beautiful time.”

While the Lourys were deep into renovating, they were also learning all they could about coffee. They were professionally trained by their roasters in Gainesville.

Then they were looking at food options and hiring staff. Almost the entire staff that works there now has been with them since the beginning. “They helped us build this; it’s as much their baby as it is ours,” said Brittani.

One very important aspect of training their staff was teaching them to differentiate between customer service and hospitality. “Hospitality is more of a heart to serve,” said Justin. “It’s the reason why we opened this shop.” The reward for the Loury’s hospitality is the word-of-mouth advertising, which is what they believe is the best type of publicity.

“In other restaurants, you’re just kind of sitting down, getting your food and then leaving,” said Brittani. “In a coffee shop, you’re just more prone to be able to mingle and chat and things like that.”

With a kid’s area, young moms can come into the shop and let their kids play while they make friends with other young moms over coffee. The Lourys also have been creating events to host at the coffee shop that help bring people together. They’ve hosted Girls’ Night Out, Worship Nights, a small business showcase, and make and take classes; people can host birthday parties, bridal and baby showers there, and they’re planning to add a “Coffee and Cars” cruise-in type of event to their calendar.

The Lourys say they are still learning the ins and outs of running a business, and they are okay with that. “I didn’t want it to be something big that flares up and burns out,” said Justin. “I want to build it slow and steady. We are still improving what we do in the back of the house, still finding new products to build a menu with; we’re still learning what menu items sell and don’t sell.”

“It’s been fun,” said Brittani. “It’s been exhausting, but it’s been fun.”

“We’ve had one heck of a year,” said Justin.