Gallery • 4 Photos

Courtesy of Christine Smalley

The current location for Fort Thomas Coffee.

     The first thing a person notices when they walk into Fort Thomas Coffee is the smell of the ground coffee beans, people chattering all around you, and the cheerful workers as they smile and greet you.

     Around April 16th, the local coffee shop and small business, Fort Thomas Coffee, announced that they will be moving locations in the early spring of 2022.

     Christine Smalley, the head of this family-owned business, spoke on why they decided to move, commenting, “The Valentine family wanted the next owner of Fort Thomas Coffee to grow the business for the community.  We listened to our community, got to know what they wanted in their community coffee shop, and saw moving to One Highland as the way to fulfill these desires.”

     The new owners of Fort Thomas Coffee made sure to fully understand and know the original vision of what they wanted the coffee shop to portray so they could project the idea into a new and fresh space.

     Smalley commented on their mission, stating, “Our mission to embrace community makes Fort Thomas Coffee special.  It is a place where people find connection, belonging, where they are seen and known.”

Though the new shop owners want to keep the same ambiance as the old location and the same welcoming environment, with four times the original space, they wanted to make changes to the anterior and expand the menu options.

     Smalley explained some of these new changes, commenting, “We will get to have 4 elements in one location.  A business center with conference/party rooms, a wine and cocktail bar, a bakery, and coffee shop in one.” 

     The Fort Thomas community is excited about the move. Some of the shop regulars expressed how they felt about the change in locations.

     Freshman Lily Scobey commented on her opinion on the move, saying, “I think it will be really cool because it will be pretty and a lot bigger space to hang out with people.”

     More space seems like a positive attraction for the community, as well as the new features they are planning to add.

     Sophomore Cole Barber agreed with these comments on how there will be more space, stating, “I think it will be pretty cool because we have more space and it will be more comfortable and we will be able to do more things.”