COVINGTON, Ky. — A new cafe and coffee shop in Covington is set to offer quality coffee as it serves as a getaway that mixes the coziness of your grandma's house with just a touch of witchy cottagecore.
The Cauldron Cafe, located at 807 Madison Ave., is hosting its grand opening Sunday, Nov. 30. The cafe joins the bustling Madison Avenue business district in Covington, which has seen several nearby businesses open in the past year as well.
Cauldron Cafe was born out of husband-and-wife duo Brittany and Noah Markowich's love of coffee. The couple dealt with the loss of Noah's mom and brother in the span of a few months and found solace in an espresso machine they were given.
"We just fell in love with the process of making coffee," Noah Markowich said. "You can really go deep with it, with coffee that comes from different places, and having different flavors, and we really just got into that."
Through those deaths, the duo said they came to a moment in life where they needed to reevaluate what they wanted to do, which led them to conjure up the idea of opening Cauldron Cafe.
While the coffee shop has been in the works for a couple of years, it really took shape when the couple moved from the suburbs in Edgewood to Covington. Through sheer luck or maybe a little bit of the universe's magic, the couple saw the cafe's Madison Avenue storefront available directly across from their new home.
"We weren't really even ready to open our cafe yet, but we were like we should just poke around and see how much it is and see if we can make it work," Brittany Markowich said.
She said since they've both lived in Covington and begun opening Cauldron Cafe, the Covington community has been "beyond words welcoming." She also said the neighborhood feels like home — something that Cauldron evokes with its warmth.
The cafe is anchored by a large butcher block coffee bar at the front of the cafe. The cafe then opens up into a hodgepodge of wooden tables and chairs in every nook of the shop that are complemented by floral wallpaper and warmly lit lamps. The seating and cafe's atmosphere is inviting, something the Markowichs aimed for.
"We wanted it to feel like a hug, sort of like your grandma's house," Brittany Markowich said.
In terms of coffee, Cauldron Cafe is sourcing its beans from Methodical Coffee, a roaster based in South Carolina. The third-wave coffee shop will have all your coffee shop favorites, including drip and iced coffee, lattes, cortados, macchiatos, seasonal drinks, teas and even non-coffee options like hot chocolate and steamers. The duo is also making flavor syrups in-house.
For now, the cafe will serve Methodical's Blue Boy coffee, which Noah described as "very smooth and chocolately and easy to drink," but the duo said they may expand to have several different roasts eventually.
"We want to try and definitely hit on the people who like coffee and are kind of nerdy about that, but also people who just want a vanilla steamer for a little kid," Noah Markowich said.
To go alongside drinks, Cauldron will also have sweet treats and pastries from Covington's own North South Baking Company, which is located around the corner on W Pike Street.
Through Cauldron, the Markowichs are excited to create a community around their coffee shop, whether that means getting to know the names of regulars and chatting or simply serving up high-quality coffee to those who need a cup of joe before work.
"We want to ... just be really warm and inviting, just have somewhere where people can be comfortable," Noah Markowich said.
The Markowichs said that after things have settled and Cauldron has found its footing, they'd love to host events at the coffee shop, such as yoga classes and craft nights or even live music.
Cauldron Cafe's grand opening kicks off Sunday at 8 a.m.
The coffee shop will be open six days a week:
- Tuesday through Friday — 6:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.
- Saturday and Sunday — 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.
You can stay up to date with Cauldron Cafe here.
