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Darah and the team at Kehila Coffee have spent five years building a spot on the Liberty, Indiana town square where neighbors feel known and nobody feels hurried. We talked with Darah about introducing a small town to specialty coffee one latte at a time, what quality means to her, and the greenhouse patio dreams on the horizon.

In a cozy 1950s building on US-42 in Union, Kentucky, The Black Goose pairs one-of-a-kind gifts and home décor with a coffee bar built around Deeper Roots Coffee. The founders grew the shop from antique mall booths into a favorite little corner of Union, driven by a love of repurposed goods and good coffee.

Chef Jose Salazar's restaurants, from Salazar to Mita's, Safi Wine Bar, and Daylily Deli, are built on seasonality, trust in local producers, and the belief that people are the most important ingredient. We sat down with the Salazar team to talk about why the coffee at the end of a meal matters as much as everything that comes before it.

Lussi Brown started as post-shift drinks between two baristas in 2014. Today it's a coffee and cocktail bar in downtown Lexington where community is celebrated and judgment doesn't exist. Founder Sarah Brown shares the story behind the shop and how she builds a team with room to grow.

Trailhead Coffee takes its cues from European espresso bars and has been pulling some of Greater Cincinnati's best espresso for over a decade, all from inside Reser Bicycle Outfitters in Newport. We talked about their tiny footprint, their die-hard regulars, and the collabs coming this year.

Rebecca Riegelsberger fell hard for Covington's walkability and welcoming spirit, and 513 Coffee is the result: a neighborhood café built on warmth, connection, and exceptional hospitality. Rebecca shares how she created a true third place across the river and why she keeps investing in the block.

Sarah Height and Chelsea Monsma bring years of wine and hospitality experience to everything they touch. That includes The Breeze and Canary Club, plus their newer NuLu concepts, Goldie's and Bar Nada Nada. We caught up with two of the most thoughtful and fun small business owners we know about building spaces in Louisville worth lingering in.

Hannah and Ryan Hill launched Solo Coffee with a single cart in 2023, and today three mobile espresso setups bring café-quality drinks and genuine connection to stops across Cincinnati. Hannah talks about how it all started, the thinking behind every coffee moment, and where Solo is headed next.