Southern
rl Coffee
Gi
T
here’s a lot to like about Southern Girl
Coffee’s new shop on Choccolocco Street
in Oxford — the weather-worn shelves
and tables displaying hand-bagged coffee
beans, or the framed picture of Grandpa
Jerry above the counter, watching over the
business he helped inspire — but the biggest
surprise has to be the coffee roaster in back,
which any kid would be able to recognize at
first sight.
“We call it ‘Thomas’ because it looks just like
Thomas the Tank Engine,” said owner Leah
Sparks, beaming at the giant coffee roaster in
the back work area at Southern Girl.
12
February
by Benjamin Nunnally
Resemblance aside, the machine pulls a lot
of weight for the shop, which makes its own
coffee roasts from internationally imported
beans, coming in from places like Indonesia,
Mexico and Costa Rica, among others, all with
their own distinct flavors. Beans are poured
into Thomas’ big hopper into the roaster,
where they’re fired for different times to make
different tastes before dropping out onto a
cooling rack, later turning up in the shop in
bags labelled “Southern Pecan,” “Early Riser”
and “Coffee Breath.”
Taking ownership of the building and opening up her shop was a big step for Sparks, who
2015 INSIGHT