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The Coffee Shoppe, located in the heart of downtown Selma on Broad Street has captured the footprints of many for 13 years. 

Friday marked the official day that the renowned coffee shop opened, just 13 years ago in November 2011.

Over the years, the coffee shop has catapulted from a local community hub to a nationally known, state-recognized coffee shop that has become a major staple for residents in Downtown Selma. 

“It’s gratefulness that I feel,” said Jacqueline T. Smith, Owner and founder of The Coffee Shoppe. “I mean just being from Selma and knowing and seeing how many businesses don’t make it past those first three years, including those first hard seven years. When you decide you’re going into business, you have to go in with the mindset first. A lot of people go into business thinking that they are going to make it overnight, and the truth is you’re not. It’s a lot of sacrifice, a lot of time, and I put a lot of money in here. Plus, my family has supported me, the community has supported me, and so, I’m just grateful to be here 13 years later, as successful as I was, the day we opened.”

In honor of the coffee shop’s anniversary, a “love is brewing” event was held gathering the community together with free coffee and conversation. Later, Smith and other members of the coffee shop joined together and spoke with local radio station WHBB about the viewpoints of the shop’s anniversary and in between the hours of 9 to 11 a.m., the shop displayed discounted pricing for lattes and the frappes of their choice. 

“It’s been a blast these 13 years,” Smith said. “I would have never seen it coming. I had no idea I was just going to open this little coffee shop where I could serve coffee and muffins and just talk.”

“I love my community and I’ve been working in city government for the last 26 years, met a lot of people and soon enough, everybody knew me by my first name, and I just wanted someone back then that really just wanted to come, sit and enjoy a cup of coffee and a muffin.” 

Smith said her coffee shop has never been a little coffee shop in her eyes but a big blessing from God that she never dreamed of. 

“I always say, God’s plan for your life is much bigger than what you could ever dream of. And, I never dreamed of all of this.” 

Smith said not only does she appreciate the local support she gets from the community regarding her shop but said her shop supplies are community-driven as well. 

“I do business local. If you’re a local business in Selma, Alabama, it won’t take you long to learn that you need local support and you need to support local because we need that dollar to circulate through this community as many times as it can,” Smith said. “So, I have a local vendor that does cupcakes, supplies my coffee. When I first opened, I was buying coffee out of Georgia, so my coffee had to be shipped to me, which led to a three-day turn around after I roasted.”

Smith said soon enough, she became Ryan Bergeron’s first customer at Revival Coffee, which is located also downtown just after he opened in 2014, and said they are still community neighbors in business til this day.

“Joined at the hip, just right there for me, supplying my every need,” Smith said. “There’s also a local potter that makes my cups, mugs and I also have a local vendor that makes my T-shirts. I got my t-shirts right here at Salem Cotton House and Screenco and Blue designs make all of my signs that you see around the shop. So, my list of shopping local can go on and on.”

Smith said she is hopeful that her second location of the renowned coffee shop Reflections located just by the Edmund Pettis Bridge can one day have the same impact that the original location has had for 13 years on the citizens traveling up and down Broad Street. 

In honor of the success of Smith’s coffee shop, she was named Retailer of Year in 2019 by the Alabama Retail Association and was presented in April 2024, with a national Phoenix Award given by the United States Small Business Administration.