Luverne community members celebrated  the official opening of Grit & Grind Coffee’s new franchise, a mobile operation servicing Crenshaw County, at a ribbon cutting ceremony on May 30.

The event featured samples of drinks beside the trailer, allowing attendees to taste test some of their flavors and coffees. 

“I was honestly overwhelmed with how many people showed up,” said Amber Hawsey, one of the franchise owners. “We have just felt extremely loved ever since we came here and I’m extremely grateful for that.”

Grit & Grind was also open for business during the ceremony, allowing attendees to purchase full-sized drinks of the samples provided, as well as other items shown on their menu. 

The co-owners, Amber and Jared Hawsey, opened the franchise a month before the ribbon cutting and have served at multiple events throughout Crenshaw County and in Andalusia. 

Before owning this franchise, Amber and Jared Hawsey owned a mobile food trailer in Andalusia, launching the mobile operation at the same time as Eric and Destiny Rowell, who started parent company Grit & Grind Coffee. 

“I reached out to Eric and said, ‘Hey, we’d love to take you guys out for dinner one day,’ and that was around a year and a half to two years ago,” Jared said. 

Amber and Jared Hawsey leased out their mobile trailer businesses, and decided to join the Rowells and purchase a franchise in Crenshaw County. 

“It was Amber’s idea actually, we were driving through one day, going to Troy and she asked, ‘Why don’t we do a grit and grind trailer in Crenshaw County?’” Jared said. “I texted Eric, and [said], ‘Hey, dude, I got an idea. Let’s get this trailer started right away.’ And, we did, and the rest is history.” 

In the future, the Hawseys hope to add on to their franchise by expanding their menu and adding on to their trailer. 

“Our ultimate goal is to have a beautiful, nice building that you’ll want to come and sit with your family for breakfast, grab a coffee in the afternoon, maybe even have a bridal shower or a baby shower or something like that,” Jared said. “But it takes time to build up to it. But with support like this, I really don’t think it’ll take as long as we anticipated.” 

Grit & Grind Coffee can be found in the parking lot of the Luverne Veterinary Hospital at 918 South Forest Avenue in Luverne, and is open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Monday through Friday, and from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturdays.