From school bus to shipping container, Jacksonville nonprofit creates coffee shops

When Ron Armstrong pondered the next step in his nonprofit mission to help Jacksonville's at-risk youth, he came up with an out-of-the-box answer.

Armstrong had already created jobs and a faith-based support system for them by opening Grounds for Grace coffee shops in a renovated school bus in 2020 and in a University Boulevard storefront in 2023. His third location will be in a shipping container, which is now being renovated.

"I was sitting around thinking about how to expand the mission on a grander scale," he said.

Armstrong hopes to expand his latest brainstorm across the country beginning with at least 10 sites in the Jacksonville area. "I'm trying to make that a new thing," he said.

The shipping container coffee shop is the latest initiative of a community service effort he and his wife, Caitlin Armstrong, began in 2018. After sponsoring several children through an international nonprofit, they decided to help local children instead and formed their own nonprofit, Sponsored by Grace. Research led them to focus on the 200-apartment Vista Landing community in the low-income and high-crime 32209 ZIP code area of Jacksonville.

In its past incarnation as Cleveland Arms, the community was troubled by daily disputes, fights and shootings. Volunteers for the nonprofit offer families a variety of programs, including mentoring, weekly empowerment classes for youth ages 5 to 16, Saturday family events, food distributions, emergency financial assistance and career preparation.

When the Pura Bean Coffee Co. in Jacksonville offered to donate its product to Sponsored by Grace, Armstrong had his first coffee shop idea. He transformed an old school bus into Grounds of Grace, a mobile coffee shop that provides work for youth in the troubled 32209 ZIP code, preventing them from "being hired by the streets," he said at the time.

Last year he added a storefront coffee shop. Between the two sites, he employs five youth and five adults. He plans to hire additional staff when the shipping container coffee shop is open.

Profits from the shops support the nonprofit, $12,000 in the last seven months alone. The multiple-venue effort is "going great, doing amazing things in the community," Armstrong said.

One of the youth he hired is Navadia Koepke, 18, who is a barista on the bus coffee shop. Two years ago a friend invited her to a Sponsored by Grace event.

"I fell in love with the mission and I was in need of a job," she said. "I have learned to be kind and patient with everyone who comes in because they aren't just there for coffee but also for the experience we give people. Our goal is to make the shop feel like a second home to everyone."

The job also "led me to Jesus and that was the most impactful experience I have ever had," she said. A recent staff trip to Orlando "felt like one big family vacation," the college-bound Koepke said. "I'm not sure where I would be without this job, but I do believe this is where I was meant to be."

Developers already using shipping containers

Shipping containers are being transformed into all kinds of residential and commercial uses, including apartments and Airbnb rentals in downtown Jacksonville. Across the country, they are the foundation for projects ranging from affordable housing in Decatur, Ill., and housing for the homeless in Atlanta to a mini-bar in Houston, according to news reports. And in Sheffield, England, a developer plans to use them for a "shipping container complex" that will feature a large screen, food vendors, bars and entertainment.

The 20-foot Grounds for Grace container was donated by Crowley, a major shipper at the Jacksonville port that supports Armstrong's nonprofit.

"Ron shared his vision for portable coffee shops around the community providing opportunities for youth to have employment while learning work-related skills," said Jim Bender, Crowley's corporate citizenship manager."Education is one of Crowley’s core philanthropic pillars and we saw this as a unique opportunity to support our local youth."

Crowley delivered the container to the parking lot of the Grounds for Grace storefront, where it is being renovated. The value of the container and free delivery total about $2,000, he said.

The company also provides human resources-related assistance for participants in the nonprofit's Empowerment Academy, which is a career-preparation program, and connects those interested in the maritime industry to jobs at the port or on the company's vessels, Bender said.

The shipping container now being renovated will have outside sitting to accommodate up to 10 people at a time. Inside, staff will serve up breakfast burritos, stuffed croissants and sandwiches, as well as grit bowls, parfaits and homemade Danishes and muffins from partner The Home Baker, Armstrong said.

He has not decided on its ultimate destination but is considering multiple sites in Jacksonville and St. Augustine. He hopes to open two more this year.

In 2021 Armstrong left his corporate job to build the nonprofit and coffee shops, while his wife works at The Church of Eleven22. Helping youth and adults who "need a lift up," he said, is now his life's work.

"For me, that's what it is all about, seeing lives impacted and changed through this coffee opportunity," he said. "Knowing if we can continue to keep going with the support of our community and city, maybe just one more person's life could be impacted."

bcravey@jacksonville.com, (904) 359-4109

To Learn More

To donate, volunteer or get more information, go to sponsoredbygrace.org or groundsofgracejax.com.

This article originally appeared on Florida Times-Union: Sponsored by Grace plans Jacksonville shipping container coffee shop