Roger Caughman and Kailey Cunningham’s love story began when they met at Drip, a Five Points coffee shop.
As their relationship developed, they also explored the idea of opening a coffee shop together. Now they are creating drinks together at Godspeed, a new coffee pop-up run out of Papa Jazz Record Shoppe in Five Points.
Godspeed serves coffee drinks inspired by cocktail processes and flavors from its first pop-up, which opened in July. The pop-up sits at the front of the record store, where patrons can sip creative coffee beverages as they browse records.
Caughman and Cunningham were focused on the quality of their ingredients and the creativity of their drinks when they began to put together their menu. Among those creative drinks are the jam jar, an espresso served over sparkling water with jam from a local brand, Sakhar Jams. The couple chose Strawberry Prosecco Jam, in part because they draw a lot of inspiration from cocktails.
"We've always seen parallels between being a barista and being a bartender, and we've always had fun watching the workflow whenever we go out for drinks and seeing the similarities and differences so we felt really inspired to do some crossover there," Cunningham said.
Papa Jazz Record Shoppe is operating out of 747 Saluda Ave. until renovations are complete at its shop around the corner. While Caughman and Cunningham were looking around for somewhere to potentially open or pop-up, they inquired about the same location. The storefront, previously a Starbucks, is owned by Richard Burds.
"I thought that might be a great little pop-up to do, and because Papa Jazz was going to move over here during their renovation, I just thought it might be an interesting mash up," Burds said. "The folks at Papa jazz knew Roger and Kailey, and they knew vice versa. So it wasn't like complete strangers coming in from out of town."
Roger Caughman, co-owner of the Godspeed coffee pop-up on Saluda Ave. pours a drink for a customer on Aug. 17, 2024. The coffee pop-up shares a space with Papa Jazz Record Shoppe while the record store's primary location undergoes renovations.
Caughman and Cunningham thought Godspeed would be a fitting name for their venture since people tend to say "godspeed" as a way to wish someone good luck before they head out on a trip.
"To send one off well on a journey is kind of what we do in the (service) industry ... especially with coffee," Caughman said. "A lot of people start their day or give themselves (something) nice and lively for a long car excursion, or vacation or trip. So yeah, we fell in love with that."
Caughman and Cunningham said they are excited to see some of their old Drip customers from around Five Points at Papa Jazz and gain some new regulars.
"Seeing people who maybe we'd served at Drip for years, who we know will always get a latte, branch out to try new things, seeing them in real time enjoy it, that's been really fun," Cunningham said. "And that's kind of a goal of ours is to open people's minds."
Bailee Fralick, a bartender who briefly worked with Caughman, said that Godspeed makes the best coffee she has ever had because it is a "good product made by good people."
"I love how they're working with another local business, Papa Jazz, to fill this current space," Fralick said. "I don't want to knock Starbucks, but I'm really glad to see a boots to the ground, smaller, hard-working business come in here. I think it's really good for, not only our community, (but) helping these younger people come in and start their own businesses."
Construction in the building won't finish up for at least a month, barring complications, but Godspeed will remain at Papa Jazz until then, Burts said. After construction finishes and Papa Jazz moves back to its original location, the couple would like to continue doing pop-ups around town and at Soda City market, as well as private events such as birthday parties, Cunningham said.
In the meantime, Godspeed's pop-up is open 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Saturday. For more information, check out the pop up's Instagram.