Lexington, KY - If the formula for a successful life is good character and sound business skills plus a philosophy of inclusion and family priorities, Jim Davis is so there. Davis owns Common Grounds and two other coffee houses, an espresso and coffee repair business service and a consultancy service.
A native of Long Island, New York, Davis is "northern by birth, not choice, southern by the grace of God." He spent seven years in the military and is a Desert Storm veteran. After his service, in 1995, he was director of operations for Graeter's Ice Cream, taking the Lexington store from $200,000 to $2 million in annual sales in just a few years. By 2003 he had the opportunity to purchase his own establishment, Common Grounds, which has been around since 1992. Davis and his wife, Michelle, who is the accountant/bookkeeper, and a friend of theirs who "helps out here and there" bought The Hub Coffee House & CafĂ in Danville in 2005, and opened Main and Maple in Nicholasville in April '08.
"Our mission is to be a safe place where people from all walks of life can come in and enjoy great food and drink, friendship and community," he said. "Everything we do is governed by that."
Davis learned through trial and error that not everything works everywhere, after opening and closing Lock and Key in Georgetown. "Coffee is like wine," he said. "It's cultural. Not everyone is familiar with the nuances of coffee. You have to educate them." He has been around the food industry since he was 13, washing dishes and learning to cook.
Weekend breakfast is a big deal at the Nicholasville location; an extensive menu of food works well in Danville. "Here at Common Grounds, people want drinks and atmosphere," he said. The Davis stores don't serve alcohol, in keeping with the mission of everyone being welcome. "A lot of younger people couldn't come in the door," he explained.
Common Grounds seats up to 80 people through several rooms on two floors. The building, on the corner of East High Street and Grand Boulevard, dates back to the 1940s. "We like older buildings, main streets and corners," said Davis.
"We come across a lot of people that have a romantic notion of what a coffee shop is," he said. He consults with new business owners who want to open a coffee shop or coffee house, helping them understand cash flow, taxes, human resources and other business principles. Davis defines a coffee "shop" as having fewer than 20 seats, typically open morning and afternoon. A coffee "house" has more than 20 seats and is open morning to night. Common Grounds is open 7 a.m. to midnight every day (8 a.m. on Sundays), with live music on Friday and Saturday nights. The Nicholasville and Danville coffee houses are also open seven days a week.
People come to a coffee house for different reasons: for the atmosphere, for the food and Fair Trade organic coffee, to be part of a community, to be anonymous, to access the Internet on their laptops. "It appeals to the extrovert and introvert," said Davis. "I think all extroverts have a little introvert in them and all introverts have some extrovert in them."
The 45 employees at the three Davis coffee houses are "the right mix of college students and townsfolk" and are encouraged to contribute ideas. Guidelines for their attire allow them to be expressive. "We like people to be who they are with certain guidelines to follow," said Davis. "We think people enjoy that. It helps for better retention."
Photographers come around several times a year to immortalize patrons on the walls of all three locations. Each store has an art coordinator to support local artists, whose work is displayed for two months at a time. "We like helping artists and having unique stuff on our walls," said Davis. Each piece has to be framed or canvassed; no nudes allowed. "I don't want to explain to my 5-year-old what that body part is."
Davis believes the more you give, the more you get back. "We try to be very good businesspeople," he said. "We don't give away the farm, but we don't sweat the small stuff." That includes offering a bottomless cup of coffee and not charging for extra cream or syrup. "Life's too short to be difficult."
A natural entrepreneur, Davis enjoys experimentation, going out on a limb and taking calculated risks. "I believe you try 100 things and keep the 10 that work."
To learn more about Common Grounds visit www.commongroundsoflexington.com.
Kathie Stamps is the co-founder of www.ISBO.biz, an online directory of independent/small business owners.