What began as a dream to combine coffee and community with missions and ministry became a reality in 2015 when friends Eric and Mallory Friese and Gabe and Lynne Holloway opened Soul Caffeine Coffee House in Daphne.
Today the coffee house is a gathering place where coffee is served with attention to the detail of the drink and to the life of the customer.
“[Soul Caffeine] has given us the chance to really get to know so many people and their stories, and by extending them warm service and lovingly crafted drinks, we are hoping to show them how valued they are, not just as customers but as people,” said co-owner Mallory Friese.
Funds collected in a tip jar are donated to local ministries, missions organizations and nonprofits, helping to build the local community outside the store’s walls.
People wanted to give
Soul Caffeine owners didn’t begin by asking for tips. Friese said they felt that their customers already paid enough for their coffee. But they soon discovered that people wanted to give. They decided to put out a tip jar, agreeing to gather funds to support missions and ministries, families and individuals.
Since then the tip jar has blessed the Daphne community, funding contributions to a wide range of local, regional and national organizations and ministries.
‘Actively love’
“That’s one of my favorite things: being able to work at a place where we actively love on people and our community,” said Angie Middleton, the shop’s general manager. “Watching so many being affected by the donations (and) tips of our customers is a blessing.”
Tip jar funds have allowed Soul Caffeine to help homeless and low-income families in the region with basic needs through partners like Eastern Shore Baptist Church and the local Family Promise team.
Everyone involved in the coffee shop has been blessed through personal involvement with several of the outreach projects funded by tips, Friese said.
One of their most touching projects involved their work with Eye Heart World, an organization that combats human trafficking, she said. Coffee house tips were used to purchase airline tickets for the parents of a young trafficking victim, allowing the victim’s parents to fly to their daughter’s location and bring her home.
Soul Caffeine’s recent Latte Art Throwdown helped the shop bring awareness to human trafficking and raised additional funds for the cause, Friese said.
Following Hurricane Michael in 2018, many storm victims sought refuge in Daphne, Friese said. The coffee house partnered with V60 Community Church, which got its start at Soul Caffeine, and a local Target store to fill the store’s coffee truck with supplies. Store employees and church volunteers then distributed the supplies — and free coffee and hot chocolate — at the Robertsdale Coliseum.
Soul Caffeine also has partnered with Dumas Wesley Community Center to stock apartments at the Sybil H. Smith Family Village, a nonprofit housing community helping homeless women and families become self-sufficient. Soul Coffeine has provided items like dishes, bedding, small appliances and towels, completely funding one apartment once a year. The coffee shop’s staff works with the center, shopping for supplies and helping to set up apartments.
‘See a bigger picture’
Friese said the Soul Caffeine team is like family, working together to support each other, and they strive to extend the same sense of value and worth to each other that they offer to customers.
Middleton added that hearing customer’s stories and offering them a safe place to open up has deepened her relationship with Jesus and shown her how much people really need Him.
“It gives me the opportunity to pray for them, love on them and see a bigger picture.”
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