It’s hard to believe Polly King had never been in a coffee shop before opening her own.

More Than a Coffee Shop

Posted February 24, 2011

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POLLY KING HAS A LAUGH you can hear no matter where you’re sitting in the Coffee Shoppee in the Five Points West neighborhood of Birmingham, Alabama. Yes, the extra ‘e’ in Shoppee is intentional. It’s Polly’s bit of added flair. A small yet unique detail, but one that makes all the difference.

That’s her thing: Difference making. A few years ago, Polly believed opening this coffee shop—its green booths matching its green tables matching its green walls—was just a move she was supposed to make. “Have you ever had the experience where something was nudging at your coattails?” she asks. “That was it for me, and everything about this place was conceived in my mind. The colors. The layout. Everything.” 

Despite Polly’s internal prompting, a coffee shop was a crazy idea. She had earned her living as a nurse and caregiver. She had logged zero hours in the food service industry. She had never even walked inside a coffee shop. “But it was something embedded in me that had to come forth. It was something I birthed. And I’ve been nurturing it ever since.”

A Gathering Place

Now she cares for her customers the way she cared for her patients. Spoils them, actually. “Sometimes I wonder how she pays the bills,” says regular Quincetta Cargill. “She gives away a lot of coffee.”

But beyond deep cups of joe, waffles, quiches, pastries, and a wide variety of teas, Polly’s real gifts are her weekly and monthly events. 

On the 3^rd Saturday of the month, Real Life Poets (a local non-profit) hosts its open mic, spoken word event for teens in the shop. When poet and organization founder John Paul Taylor approached Polly about using her venue, “she never hesitated.” Most business owners he asked passed, because they were intent on benefitting financially. “She was all about helping the cause from the beginning,” he says.

Perhaps that’s because Polly believes in the power of the form. “So many of those young people use poetry to elaborate on how it saves their lives,” she says. “It’s a beautiful thing.  I love it.  I just love it.”   

She tailored another event, “Make Money Monday,” to help small business owners. They now gather in the shop every 4^th Monday for a free, professional networking session headlined by a speaker. The truth was that Polly tired of being the go-between for people attempting to connect, and this alleviated her duties as a de facto private secretary.

To purely entertain her customers, the Thursday “Caffeine Happy Hour” features Dougout and the Pinch Hitters, an acoustic band playing Jazz, R&B, Rock, and Reggae. Singer Doug Ford, a musician sporting long, braided dreadlocks, leads the evening, but also opens the stage to the audience. And you’ll find Ice Cream Man for Sho, a comedian and gospel musician, hosting a Gospel Night on Fridays.

“Polly has created a homey atmosphere here,” says Quincetta. “In the midst of the chaos in my life, this is the perfect thinking place. This is a place where my creative juices flow.”

The Coffee Shoppee transcends a business model geared to simply make a buck.  Polly’s altruistic attitude, her mission to make a difference in her community, has fostered the place’s success and has established it as one of the neighborhood’s positive pillars.   

As a bonus, her homemade sweets are pretty good, too. In fact, several men have actually proposed to her after trying the cheesecake. “But I always turn them down,” she says and pauses for a beat. “I ask, ‘What happens when the cheesecake is gone, and you fall out of love with me?’” Then she laughs. Polly always seems to be laughing.

The Coffee Shoppee Event Schedule:

Every 3rd Saturday
Open Mic Poetry with Real Life Poets, 3-6 p.m.
“College Night” Open Mic Poetry, 7-9 p.m.

Every 4th Monday
Make Money Mondays, 11 a.m. Free professional networking meetings and seminars

Thursdays
Caffeine Happy Hour, 7 p.m. Dougout and the Pinch Hitters perform Jazz, R&B, Rock, and Reggae

Fridays
Gospel Night, 7 p.m. Hosted by comedian and gospel musician Ice Cream Man for Sho

POLLY KING is a Regions customer.

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