Mia Piccola, a local coffee vendor, recently partnered with Southside Garage in South Knoxville, using the location as a permanent storefront to sell coffee during the day.
The owner and operator of Mia Piccola, Nathan Kitner, is a Knoxville native with a long history in the industry and a rich love for coffee.
His love for coffee runs deep and he mentioned how important the drink and coffee shops have been in his life.
“I’ve met some of my best friends hanging out in coffee shops. Also, I’m a bit of a nerd, and enjoyed getting into something where there is a lot of science and math and the other hyper fixations that come with coffee,” Kitner said. “But I think the community and the people I’ve met have kept me in the industry.”
Kitner, who was deeply involved in the Knoxville coffee community before he moved, touched on how it feels to be back home now that he is running Mia Piccola.
“It’s been really cool. I had hoped to do well, but I didn’t necessarily expect the support I’ve received this far,” Kitner said. “Coming back and being able to tap in and reconnect with the coffee community that already exists here is really cool.”
Kitner spoke more about the somewhat humble origins of Mia Piccola and what it was before moving into Southside earlier this month.
“I moved back home to Knoxville and I started off with a mobile coffee cart,” Kitner said. “It was more approachable with the budget and everything. It also gave me the flexibility to try out different parts of town to see where the most demand would be for coffee.”
His experience and commitment to creating quality coffee resulted in a number of repeat customers who asked him to come to South Knoxville.
Mia Piccola launched their storefront on Jan. 2, with Kitner detailing what made him explore this option.
“People asked me to come to South Knox, so I contacted most people on Sevier Avenue. Southside Garage had a mutual interest in having a coffee purveyor on their property,” Kitner said. “I moved a trailer here to start to see how things would go and things went well so I moved inside.”
Things have been going well at the new location, too. Kitner highlighted just a few of the successes that Mia Piccola has had in its short time being open.
“It’s gone better than I could’ve imagined. We’ve had a couple of sell-out weekends already. We just continue to order more stuff and continue to sell more products,” He said. “Things have been going great.”
Kitner also mentioned the impressive synergy between Mia Piccola and Southside Garage’s bar, noting that the venue offers a place to socialize or study almost all day.
“It’s all shared seating with Southside Garage, and they’re open late as well. Especially on Thursdays, Fridays, the weekends, I close but usually the bar is opening at that point,” Kitner said. “Once you’re here, you can post up and really get some work done.”
Students seem to be enjoying the new storefront. Jim Brown, a senior studying kinesiology, noted some of his favorite aspects of Mia Piccola.
“The atmosphere is really nice for studying, and I thought the espresso was one of the better ones I’ve had in Knoxville,” Brown said.
More than anything, though, the new location provides a consistent location for people who love Kitner’s coffee to stop by and grab some.
“It has made it a lot easier for people who like my coffee to find me,” Kitner said. “People get into a routine with coffee, there’s a consistency that comes with it, and it’s just easier for people to stop by now.”
Kitner detailed his hope that Mia Piccola can act as a safe space for people to enjoy high-quality coffee, study and socialize.
“I want to offer a space where people feel comfortable to enjoy coffee and that can sort of be an integral part of the community,” Kitner said. “I want people to know that we are accepting of all walks of life and that we want to serve great coffee. Something I would love is to be known as the friendliest shop.”
Kitner also has plans to use the new storefront to host some events that he hopes will bring some brightness to the weekend mornings.
“The one thing on the radar right now, once it warms up a little bit, we really want to do outdoor morning DJ sets on the weekends. Just bringing some lively energy into the mornings, especially on the weekends, is something we want to bring to South Knoxville.”
Students can also expect to see continued collaborations with the Knoxville Vintage Market.
If you need a cup of coffee or are interested in attending one of the events, you can stop by Mia Piccola at 1014 Sevier Ave. or visit their Instagram.
