Popular coffee shop in Harrisonburg gets new owner
Hailey Rogers, a former manager at Shenandoah Joe, was given the opportunity of a lifetime shortly after informing the previous owner that she and her husband would be relocating to North Carolina.
“He said, ‘How about you buy the shop and then stay here?'” Rogers remarked. “I thought, ‘Oh my goodness, I was completely unprepared for that.'”
Rogers adored the concept, but it wasn’t enough to convince her to remain in Virginia. With the new lifestyles that people have been experiencing since the pandemic, Rogers and her husband determined that she could work remotely and run the shop from home, as long as the drive was not prohibitively long for her to make when she was needed at the shop.
Although the transformation occurred overnight, all the small details – such as the new signs – gradually trickled in.
“On November 15, we changed our name from Shenandoah Joe’s to Coffee Hound,” Rogers explained. “There was no downtime, no shut-down. We closed as Shenandoah Joe on Sunday and reopened as Coffee Hound on Monday morning. It was a very gradual transition because the signs remained and a lot of things remained the same.”
Rogers stated that she is mindful of the community’s love and support for Shenandoah Joe. Apart from the name, she altered numerous details.
“The previous owners had an excellent business model. Everything they did here worked extremely well, and I saw no reason to alter what everyone in the community was already accustomed to,” Rogers explained.
However, Rogers made one significant change to the menu in response to popular demand.
“We slightly altered the menu,” Rogers explained. “We added matcha, which was a request from students in particular.”
Rogers stated that one thing that will never change at Coffee Hound is that it will always be a product of Shenandoah Joe.
“Shenandoah Joe coffee will always be served,” Rogers stated. “I believe it is the finest coffee. It’s fantastic. It is what the community is accustomed to, and I would never wish to deprive them of it.”
When it came to the new name, Rogers desired something that reflected her vision for her coffee shop, which is a place where people can come to drink coffee, pet dogs, socialise, and simply relax.
“All right, Coffee Hound,” Rogers explained. “I suppose it has a double meaning in that it is dog friendly, and a coffee hound is someone who enjoys coffee.”
