Two years in the making
Ingram opens The Reef coffee shop in West End Center
When Hurricane Cycles owner Andrew Ingram first opened his cycle shop in October 2023, he said, “this space here was too good not to do something with it.
“A coffee shop was, by far, the favorite of the options,” he said.
So, Ingram recently opened The Reef, a business separate from Hurricane Cycles but in the same space. While now open, he said Tuesday, Dec. 2, will be its grand opening.
“It’s been incredible,” Ingram said. “The bike shop has absolutely thrived. It’s been an unbelievable experience getting to serve the community here. Very positive.
“The success of the bike shop is what’s allowed us to launch the coffee shop,” his second business, he said.
“Now, we’re adding more options to serve the Farragut community,” he added.
Since the infrastructure already was in the space, “we had the stuff, we had the bar … it allowed us a lot easier runway to building a coffee shop,” Ingram added.
Customers’ feedback has been “five-star reviews so far,” he said.
Still, “we’re in soft launch right now, so we don’t have a lot of customers yet,” Ingram noted. “We are doing all of our marketing to get people to know that we’re here.”
In serving his customers, “we are partnered with Vienna Coffee in Maryville,” he said. “Since we buy coffee fresh, made to order, the beans are roasted 48 hours after they arrive at our shop, so we have the freshest coffee you could possibly get in Knoxville.
“I believe in supporting small business and local businesses,” Ingram said. “We exist to support as many small, local businesses as we can.”
For example, “all of our coffee cups are ceramics handmade by a local pottery artist, going by Sundial Pottery,” Ingram said. “She’s a local girl who does incredible artwork.”
To go along with the coffee, Reef Coffee has partnered with The Pink Apron, a small start-up founded by University of Tennessee students to provide pastries.
He also has a local organic farm share, from which “you can pick up fresh produce here at our coffee shop, directly from the farmer,” he said.
Additionally, “I have a local floral design artist, Lauren Design Wreaths (who does floral arrangements for the shop),” Ingram said. “We are also partnering with a professional photographer, Thomas Marley, whose company is Captive Media.
“He gets paid to travel all over the world to take photos of professional race teams, and he has brought back some travel photography for us that really enhances our outdoor experience for our customers,” he said. “You can buy his work through Reef Coffee.”
Ingram also has signs made by Feral Wraps, a small Maryville company.
The coffee shop will open 7 a.m. and close at 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday, and be closed on Sundays.
However, “that is subject to change after the grand opening,” Ingram said. “We’re testing the waters, figuring out works best to make decisions all the way up to Dec. 2. After that date what we decide will be the formula from that point forward.
The bike shop hours will remain from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday.
