Jan Henry’s grandchildren join her every Tuesday for lunch at her coffee shop, Caffeine Addicts in Ringgold. From left are Victoria Lawson, Caleb Lawson, daughter Candi Lawson, Zachary Lawson, Nichole Lawson, Sarah Lawson and Henry.
Photo by Hannah CampbellBoynton resident Jan Henry presides as queen of caffeine at her coffee shop in downtown Ringgold – a favorite after-school hangout for students, meeting place for book clubs and a summer job for her five grandchildren.
“Now everybody up and down the street, we’re just like family. And the customers, they’re like extended family,” said the Caffeine Addicts owner.
She admitted she’d begun to miss her young crowd in the evenings during Christmas vacation, but now her living room-style section’s plush sofas are full of kids calling her “Ms. Jan” again.
“I just like to be around people,” Henry said. She said she thought the shop space was too big when she opened in 2007, but “You can always find a corner to get off by yourself in if you want to.”
She’s even thought of a kids corner to relieve chatty moms.
Henry roasts beans from Brazil, Colombia, Ethiopia and other countries in-house with her gourmet roasting machine, a process documented by one local student over six weeks for a photography project.
Customers have begun ordering her roasted beans by the pound to brew at home.
Henry’s grandchildren, the Lawsons, join her at Caffeine every Tuesday for lunch, a menu boasting soups of the day like Brunswick stew and tomato bisque plus sandwiches filled with her homemade grape-nut chicken salad, tuna salad with apples, egg salad or pimento cheese.
For more information find Caffeine Addicts on Facebook or call (706) 935-3355.