Local coffee house Drinklings Coffee and Mugs has now reopened. Drinklings celebrated its grand re-opening in downtown Wilmore at 100 Rice St. on Sept. 25. with live music from Blake Jones.
Hundreds of people came, and some even “went out of their way on vacation to schedule trips [to Drinklings] for the grand reopening,” the Drinklings’ Facebook page said.
Drinklings was previously located at 325 E. Main St. in downtown Wilmore and called Drinklings Mugs. Founders and Asbury alumni April and Randy Hardman decided to move from their original shop to their new space several months ago.
Core values, they claim, drive Drinklings: the dignity of the person, imagination and fellowship, business as mission, dedicated work, creative work, an opportunity given, contiguous attention and stewardship of the earth.
“We really wanted a place where people could hang out and be cozy,” April said.
The new location holds an antique yet modern style with hangers and C.S. Lewis-inspired decor that fills black painted walls. Apart from the Lewis motif, another picture is of a pigeon reading a book with “pooping on people” on the cover.
Many people sit in the coffee house with their favorite drinks, enjoy conversation, work on laptops or read books. Ashley Green, an Asbury student, likes to do her homework while she drinks her coffee.
“This is the first time I’ve been here,” Green said. “They have good decorations, and the music is nice. The train is really loud, so there’s that.”
As a train runs directly through downtown Wilmore and in front of the main doors of Drinklings, the Hardmans claim the noise is another unique aspect of the coffee house and want to welcome more students like Green and citizens of Wilmore.
Drinklings is open weekdays from 7 a.m.-8 p.m. and Saturdays 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
