Short Sleeves Coffee

05/28/2026

staff film scans
saturday, may 16th, 2026
short sleeves 1 yr bday party

mostly post-rush hysteria but with access to a camera.

05/21/2026

KICKFLIP MULE

new short sleeves summer drink

took a moscow mule
flipped it

espresso instead of alcohol
kept the lime
added some orange
finished it with ginger beer (made right here in AVL)
for a lil extra kick
topped with a big ol’ mint sprig and some orange zest

bright, juicy, a wee bit spicy, dang refreshing

lands clean

we’ll be flipping this one all summer

05/20/2026

People won’t remember what you gave them, what you said to them, or even what they drank.

But they’ll never forget the way you made them feel.

Over the past year, we’ve talked about that idea constantly as a staff.
We’ve trained baristas that way.
We’ve designed our space, our menu, and even our seating around that thought.

Thinking we were the ones creating that feeling.

Turns out, it’s been you guys all along.

From the beginning, we’ve always said that coffee is simply a vessel for fighting loneliness in Swannanoa.

What we discovered this year is that we probably needed that just as much as anyone else.

Because what made this place special was never really the drinks.

It’s been the people.

And honestly, that’s probably why this place exists at all.

When you get into a commercial lease, before signing, common business advice is to sit out front and count the cars that drive by and the foot traffic within the area.

We did that before signing.

And, well.

By every logical measure, this was a big time terrible idea.

But deep down, we had this gut feeling all of that would eventually change — and those stats didn’t really matter.

Man, I’d love to go back in time with these photos and show ourselves then what we see now.

One year in.

Thank you, Swannanoa — for making sure we never forget the way you’ve made us feel.

05/14/2026

Woah now.
This Saturday.
2 days from now.
We’re throwing our 1-year anniversary birthday carnival.

We’re not zero anymore!

It started as a joke—
“We’ve done a museum, a holiday & a spring market… maybe we need a carnival?”
…and then somehow:
Friends who are actual magicians + set designers showed up with a whole haul

We borrowed some wild festival games
Rented a bounce house
Started dreaming up some very fun drink specials

And… then, well….
We accidentally made a full-on mini-carnival.

Early critics are saying:
“this is excessive”
“should someone stop you”
“this is no longer a normal coffee shop event”

Yea.

Happening this Saturday.
And you’re invited.

Here’s a glimpse:
– The craziest merch we’ve ever made
– Some really really fun drink specials that even babies would like
– Ridiculously good carnival themed pastries from our bakery friends
– Bounce house + slide that’s shaped like a ferris wheel
– Petting zoo (we’re the kid who got a pony for her bday)
– Crafts, piñatas, bubbles (the giant kind, obviously)
– Carnival games, face painting, Live music
– Balloon animals (by me, Daniel… manage expectations)
– Fresh lemonades with a yum new flavor
– 2 new single-origin coffee drops
– And honestly… just come appreciate the decor

OK that’s it.

This Saturday - May 16th - 9am–5pm

Step right up!

05/11/2026

04/28/2026

This ceiling doesn’t get much attention.

But when we first got the keys, it was covered in what felt like 100 years of soot.

There wasn’t an easy way to clean it—so it meant hours on a ladder, scrubbing every board by hand. Slow, messy work. The kind where you start questioning why you’re even doing it.

Then came replacing a few boards and trying to match everything back together. We wanted to keep the original character, so I even brought a piece of the old wood to the paint shop to get the stain as close as possible.

And then…staining it all by hand. (Huge thanks to Sully, Bailey, Hunter, and Harrison for jumping in and helping get it across the finish line.)

Why do I tell you this?

Because there were a lot of moments where it felt like way too much effort for something no one would ever notice.

And now—it’s one of my favorite parts of the shop.

When I look up, it’s a simple reminder:
the work that feels the most invisible
can end up being the work you’re most proud of.

Anyways…not trying to turn a ceiling into a life lesson.

But maybe it kind of is one.