Coffee Underground, located on the Strip, is Knoxville’s newest cozy cafe. Students are encouraged to come and work or hang out with their friends while sipping on some drinks. The cafe is owned by Kelly Ellenburg and managed by Nayeema Hoffman, two individuals who are passionate about bringing positivity to the community.
“We’re trying to create a space where people can connect with each other and with the community at large,” Ellenburg said. “We’re really just expecting to engage folks and create partnership and good customer experiences.”
The team at Coffee Underground plans to use the shop to boost a passion for social justice. They are passionate about diversity, community and social issues. They even have a community room for people who want a safe space to hang out.
“We want to let our values be known,” Ellenburg said. “We value inclusion, kindness, understanding and appreciating differences. We are hoping to engage different organizations that are focused on community issues. Could be anything from homelessness to food insecurity. Even things like crochet workshops … people who are crafting but are also sharing each other’s company and common experiences. We want to be a place where people can really feel safe and understood.”
Coffee Underground also comes with a host of unique menu items, such as the pumperpickle – a sandwich with pumpernickel bread served with turkey, melted cheddar, stone ground mustard, mayo and a “smattering of pickles.”
“The pumperpickle just kind of came out of my experimenting with sandwiches at home,” Ellenburg said.
She also encourages customers to try the waffles and pastries at Coffee Underground.
“Our waffles are really wonderful,” Ellenburg said. “We’ve worked really hard on the recipe for that. For a time, we are going to have a pumpkin spice waffle with pumpkin pie in the batter itself. Our pastries are also homemade. We have excellent strawberry cake and yummy cookies.”
Hoffman, the manager and first hire of Coffee Underground, is also dedicated to the shop’s objective of bringing social justice to the community. As the only Black barista in the many shops they have been employed at over the years, diversity is extremely important to them.
“I hope that we can be a place that bridges gaps between a lot of different communities,” Hoffman said. “Fostering and strengthening community relationships and the pursuit of social justice mean a lot to me. We just want everyone to feel supported, cared for and seen.”
Starting a new coffee shop comes with difficulties, especially in a big city like Knoxville. Figuring out finances, how to get customer support and finding employees are all challenges that new businesses face. Despite these challenges, though, Ellenburg and Hoffman still very much enjoy running Coffee Underground.
“The most fun part is being able to create something to bring to the community,” Ellenburg said. “We try to make it really special and try to make people’s lives better by being here. We’re really a team, and it has been so much fun to work together.”
Part of creating Coffee Underground was also finding a source to provide their coffee.
“Our coffee comes from Counterculture,” said Ellenburg. “They are a roastery out of Durham, North Carolina, and it’s excellent coffee. They are highly focused on ethically sourcing their coffee beans.”
Staying consistent with their values extends to the employees of Coffee Underground as well.
“When it comes to our employees and coworkers, we would like them to know that they are being taken care of, and we don’t want them to feel like they’re being taken advantage of and exploited,” Hoffman said. “We put a lot of energy into making sure what we do is sustainable because burnout is serious – something we are really trying to avoid.”
It is not every day you get a small business so dedicated to the pursuit of social justice. Coffee Underground is close to campus and open to all. More information about Coffee Underground can be found on their website.
