Cuppa comfort

Nina Bradley doesn’t give up easily. After the coffee shop she managed closed more than a decade ago, she wasn’t discouraged. Instead, she made plans to open her own place one day.

“My husband and I bought all the equipment from the other shop, and we stored it in our basement until I could find a location,” the McCreary County native says. “Then, in 2014, I opened Bradley’s Gourmet Coffee & More. I’ve had it ever since.”

To be fair, Nina has not just “had” the shop — she’s made it a hit. Every day, hundreds of loyal customers flock to the business for its handcrafted espresso-based drinks. The menu includes everything from hot, frozen and iced coffees to smoothies, teas, Italian sodas and energy drinks, along with a few baked treats. Sam Tapley, manager of Bradley’s, says the overall favorite is Bradley’s Signature Mocha, a white mocha with caramel drizzle around the cup.

“Some of our regulars will drive from about 20 minutes away,” Sam says. “They come from towns that already have coffee shops, but they like ours enough to drive out of their way.”

Beans and bean bags

A big part of the shop’s success is the coffee itself, Nina says. “The company I get my coffee from is called Crimson Cup out of Columbus, Ohio,” she says. “They’re not a franchise, but they buy, market and roast their own beans. They have the best-tasting coffee you can find just about anywhere.”

Even the energy drinks supplied by the company are made from green coffee beans, she says. “I didn’t really want to add energy drinks, but I liked the idea that they came from a coffee bean.”

And while Bradley’s Gourmet Coffee & More offers drive-thru service, there’s also an inviting in-store space for customers to work, gather and relax. “We have seating areas with couches and a love seat and end tables and things like that,” Sam says. “It’s a good place for people to do their office work or whatever they need to do. We also have a table for kids and bean bags and little espresso machines, so they can pretend to make coffee.”

The big boom

Nina moved to the current location on U.S. Highway 980 after spending about eight years in a smaller, mostly drive-thru spot. “It’s not always been like this,” Sam says. “When I first started, it was just Nina and me. Then we hired another person, and it was just the three of us for a few years.”

But when the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, the business grew quickly. “It exploded,” she says. “I guess it was because people had nothing else to do but go get coffee. Then they realized how good it was, and they spread the word. COVID did the exact opposite for us as it seemed to do for so many other businesses.”

The Highland Connection

Today, the shop employs about seven people in addition to Nina and Sam. The staff also makes sure to keep an excellent internet connection, so they can offer free, high-speed Wi-Fi and take online payments. “About 80% of our payments are online,” Sam says. “We offer Apple Pay and Cash App, and our debits run through Square, which is online. So, if our internet is down, our customers can’t use cards. That’s why we have Highland now. It’s just much better internet service than our previous provider.”

As the business continues to grow, Nina hopes to offer more services for the community, including more fresh and homemade baked goods, as well as a coffee truck to cater various events and meetings around the region.

Whatever happens in the future will depend on the needs of the people they serve, Nina says. “When people ask me about the business, I tell them it’s not about making money,” she says. “It never has been. It’s always been about bringing something new and good to our community — something for the people of Whitley City and McCreary County to enjoy. It’s a beautiful place. It’s our home, and we love it.”

Published with permission from HTC.