LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Heine Brothers' Coffee now has 17 locations spread out around Louisville, and Wednesday morning they celebrated their newest one right in the heart of downtown at the PNC Tower.
"I believe that if we're gonna be able to act on the opportunities that are coming our way and take care of some of the issues here in our community, we're gonna need a strong heart of our city." Mike Mays, Heine Brothers' president and co-founder.
The company has been doing business in Louisville for 27 years, and currently has over 250 employees.
"When you think about iconic businesses in Louisville, Heine Brothers' jumps right up to the top," said Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer.
Downtown Louisville was hit hard when the COVID-19 pandemic began. With businesses shutting down, there were fewer workers downtown during the day. Despite the challenges, Heine Brothers' survived the height of the pandemic.
"Really it was the good fortune of coffee being considered an essential service and having a bunch of drive-thru's that put us in a position to make it through the most difficult part of the pandemic," Mays said.
The company is a founding member of the Louisville Independent Business Alliance, which aims to preserve the unique community character of the Metro Louisville area by promoting locally-owned, independent businesses and educating citizens on the value of purchasing locally.
They're also founding members of Cooperative Coffees, the world’s first fair-trade green coffee buying cooperative, which imports high-quality, organic green coffee from small-scale farmer organizations to build long-term relationships and foster fair and equitable trading practices.
Mike Mays said he is very confident in this new location and is looking forward to seeing how this can further impact the community. He's hoping more people will return to downtown soon for work, where a fresh cup of coffee will be waiting for them.
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