Coffee 101
Kofenya offers Oxford a place to sit and enjoy some joe
By Pam Marks, Enquirer contributor.
Enquirer photos by Meggan Booker
OXFORD - They're unlikely entrepreneurs, not just because they're students but also because they're literature majors.
Yet when Miami University seniors Liz Snyder and Nicole Ayres opened Kofenya in September, they had what they thought was a strong business plan: creation of a place that matches students' tendency to hang out with their need for caffeine.
Snyder and Ayres say they opened Kofenya because they liked the concept of a coffeehouse where people could "relax, read or socialize in addition to being able to buy beverages." The word means "cafe" is Russian and is pronounced koh-fehn-yah.
Welcoming atmosphere
The shop's owners wanted to create an informal atmosphere where all patrons would feel welcome, including students, professors
and local and out-of-town residents.
The coffee shop is on High Street in Oxford's uptown business district. It has almost 1,900 square feet, with large storefront windows and overstuffed sofas, theater chairs and black tables and chairs that create a cozy and intimate setting.
Kofenya's menu includes hot and iced coffees and teas, specialty coffee-based drinks, fruit drinks and smoothies, wraps, breads, soups, and a variety of desserts.
The shop also includes:
- WiFi.
- Free wall space for local painters to display their works for sale.
- Opportunities for ceramic artists to sell their mugs in the store.
- Evening musical and poetry reading performances by students and other artists.
Snyder says sales and the number of customers have increased steadily since September, though she declined to give figures.
Background in coffee
Snyder and Ayres met on spring break in Panama City, Fla., in 2002 and later worked together at Kidd Coffee in Lebanon,
which is Ayres' hometown. The Kidd Coffee owners helped mentor them when they came up with the idea for a coffee shop in Oxford.
Snyder and Ayres did a survey of the eating and drinking places in Oxford and discovered the need for a large establishment where students could eat, relax and socialize without feeling rushed.
"By talking with other students and from our own experience with coffee shops, we knew that the need was there and that an establishment such as Kofenya would be able to succeed in Oxford," Snyder said.
The two also thought Kofenya's spaciousness, variety of beverages, food and music and poetry events would enable the shop to compete successfully in the town.
Both students were just entering their senior year, but in spite of busy schedules, they didn't want to wait until they graduated to open the coffee shop.
"We didn't want to pass up a business opportunity that would satisfy the need we saw for such an establishment in the Oxford area," said Snyder, a Pittsburgh native whose father mentored the pair in business practices.
"We didn't want to wait to start the business until we were no longer students and find that another coffee chain had opened in the meantime."
Snyder and Ayres started Kofenya with about $100,000, obtained through bank loans, personal investments and a line of credit from the city of Oxford Revolving Loan Fund, a Butler County economic development plan that provides low-interest loans to new businesses.
While they major in literature, both have managed to take courses in accounting, economics and business planning to help them learn essential business techniques.
But the literature background is valuable too, says Snyder, providing the pair with people skills and writing abilities that also are essential for running a business.
For example, their writing skills enabled them to develop a well-written business plan, including a description and mission for the business, which was necessary to apply for a bank loan, get a building lease and to better focus their business and operations, Snyder says.
Serving student population
In order to meet the seasonal challenges of a university town where the bulk of the population leaves for weeks at a time, Kofenya closed for two weeks during Christmas break. However, the shop will stay open during the summer if it can break even by using the profits from the regular academic year to compensate for the reduced number of students.
The owners have two major goals: to pay off loans and to keep improving the business. Such improvements include continued training of Kofenya's staff and, most important, offering high-quality music and poetry performances on a more consistent basis.
Their plan is to operate Kofenya for at least five years, the length of the shop's lease.
Customers say they enjoy the relaxed and spacious atmosphere as well as the evenings of music and poetry.
Ashley Talbott, a junior majoring in marketing at Miami, said she "likes the shop's large size, the background music and relaxed atmosphere, and the fact that you can hang out and not feel rushed. It's the only shop of its kind in Oxford."
She also enjoys the quality and variety of the coffees.
Betheny Pierce, a Miami senior majoring in art, frequents Kofenya at least once a week. She says it's "spacious and colorful, with a good atmosphere and friendly service. It is a social place where you can relax, study, read or just hang out."
Rev. Kevin Halley, a minister who lives in Richmond, Ind., likes the "relaxing, spacious atmosphere and the fact that the shop isn't just about drinking coffee - people come for reading and meeting people, and that is good for the local culture."
"We want Kofenya to be a second home for our customers," Snyder said.
This article first appeared in the Cincinnati Enquirer January 20, 2005
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