EVANSVILLE − Honey Moon Coffee Co. has been a local success story.
In its first six years, the company grew from one small coffee shop on Weinbach Avenue to three locations, adding one on Burkhardt Road and another in Newburgh, all serving a full coffee and tea assortment, pastries and a light, savory menu.
Growth of Honey Moon Coffee Co.
This past January, Honey Moon owners Zac and Jessica Parsons announced that they had purchased the Evansville Coffee Company roastery from its founder Tim Piazza. Quietly, they had already identified a home for a roastery and the largest Honey Moon shop yet on Evansville’s West Side.
Now the fourth Honey Moon is open, the roastery is roasting, and more good things are in the works.
“We felt like 2023 was a hard year, but we took steps toward the vision we had for the company,” Jessica said.
“Opening the third location opening went more smoothly than we expected,” Zac said. “It was actually easier than going from one to two shops. We hired more people and set up systems so things didn’t all depend on us. And it gave us time to reflect on whether we could and should grow further.”
The Parsons saw there was a need for a coffee shop on the West Side after White Swan left Franklin Street. The former Roger’s Academy of Hair building on Mount Vernon Avenue was available. As it happened, Tim Piazza was about to retire and was selling Evansville Coffee Company and willing to train, and the Parsons had employees who were interested in learning to roast. Everything fell into place.
The Honey Moon building
The new Honey Moon building is big. Multiple peaked roofs mean tall open spaces, room for a second level, and skylights.
When you walk in, above and to the left is a large, white coffee roaster behind a protective glass window.
“As soon as we walked in, we imagined a roaster on that stage,” Jessica said.
“The size of this building is much larger than any other we have, but with three shops we were buying a lot of coffee beans, and it gave us an opportunity to think about roasting ourselves,” Zac said.
In the building there are three separate dining areas, the roastery, storage, a corporate office, and there is space for a central bakery that will supply all the Honey Moon shops with pastries. The Parsons even were awarded a grant to create patio that will be ready for spring.
One dining room is fairly private, and a table can be reserved for a meeting. The entire building can be rented after hours for private events.
The Roastery at Honey Moon
The roastery portion of the business is keeping the Evansville Coffee Company name, and you’ll see bags of beans with this name and others with the classic Honey Moon blends.
They also are developing private-label blends for organizations both regionally and nationally. Representatives come in for a cupping (tasting) and bags are printed with their logo and choice of beans.
The coffee beans come from all over the world, and the Parsons are getting as many direct trade relationships with farmers as possible. At this time, they buy directly from farmers in Honduras, Guatemala and Brazil.
The menu at Honey Moon
The food and beverage offerings will be the same as at other Honey Moon shops, including a full coffee and tea menu, smoothies, pastries, bubble waffles with specials that change with the lunar moon cycle, gourmet toasts and breakfast savories.
The new shop also will sell locally made ice cream by JB’s Barnyard.
Honey Moon Coffee Co./Evansville Coffee Company roastery
- Locations: The West Side Honey Moon Coffee Co. and Evansville Coffee Company roastery is at 2903 Mt. Vernon Ave. (other locations are at 612 Weinbach Ave., 20 W. Water St. in Newburgh, and 1211 Tudor Lane).
- Phone: 812-496-2926
- Hours for the West Side location: Monday-Friday, 6:30 a.m-5 p.m.; Saturday-Sunday 7 a.m.-5 p.m.
