Family-owned coffee shop in Macon offers cozy reading nooks, unique syrups. Look inside.
Editor’s Note: This story is part of Living Local, a regular series featuring a look inside local businesses — the things they make, services they provide and their impact on the community.
Situated in downtown Macon, a family-owned coffee shop offers the community a unique place to grab a cup of Joe, sit and relax, and even take in some beautiful photography.
Taste & See Coffee Shop & Gallery is a local hot spot that opened in 2013, marking its 10th anniversary last year.
Owner Kevin Reaves said he wanted to create something different, and also have a space to display his photography.
“I wanted to bring a unique atmosphere with quality coffee and pastries and also create a gallery space for my photography in a warm and home-like environment,” he said.
And Reaves wasn’t kidding when he said “home-like environment.” Taste & See boasts a fireplace room, quiet little nooks with comfortable seating, wide open spaces, a meeting room and outdoor seating in the alley with a fire pit.
If that’s not enough to get customers in the door, Reaves said the shop roasts its coffee in-house and also makes all its sauces and syrups in-house.
“All of our sauces and syrups are made in-house from all organic and natural ingredients. We don’t use fake sugars or ingredients meant to taste a certain way,” he said. “We use real extracts to create our flavors.”
“Also, all of our pastries are almost entirely gluten and dairy free using pure flowers and clean ingredients,” Reaves added.
Reaves said he is extremely passionate about all that Taste & See has to offer.
“We are passionate about our business because we want to offer people healthy alternatives to the ‘normal’ coffee shops that serve subpar syrups and coffees,” he said. “We are passionate about our ability to work with small farmers in other countries where we source our beans from.
“And, we are passionate in not just serving customers an incredible cup of coffee or pastry, but in giving them the experience of coming in to spend time in our beautiful space.”
Reaves explained the business project was started at the very beginning of Macon’s downtown revitalization and he wanted to invest in a place for the community hoping other small businesses would follow.
Today, Taste & See supports several local and world-wide organizations and is even the hub, where the lights are controlled, for the downtown Christmas lights in December.
“We are involved in the Christmas light extravaganza and support several mission organizations in Macon and all over the world,” Reaves said. “We have a ministry board in the coffee shop that lists all of the organizations that we support and give to.”
Reaves said he is grateful for all the people he’s met through his business and loves hearing their life stories.
“I have always been a people person and have always loved meeting new people and hearing of their journeys in life,” he said. “It does our hearts good when we hear of people letting us know that they enjoyed their time in the shop - we live to serve.”
Taste & See Coffee Shop & Gallery is located at 546 Poplar Street in downtown Macon and can be reached at 478-238-5191.
The shop is open Tuesday through Thursday from 7 a.m. to 6 p.m., Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. and Saturday from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.
For more information, visit the Taste & See Coffee Shop website.
