Today we’d like to introduce you to Luminary.
Hi Luminary, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
La Terza Artisan Coffee Roasterie has been a specialty coffee roasting company producing some of the best coffee in Cincinnati for over 20 years. We have spent this time growing our company and nurturing local small businesses and coffee shops that buy our wholesale beans on their journeys. It had always been a dream of ours to open our own brick-and-mortar shop, but we were waiting for the right time and place.
In 2022, the former owner of the College Hill Coffee Company, a coffee shop in College Hill that has been in operation for about 40 years with three different owners throughout that time, decided she was ready to retire. She began to look for the next owner of the coffee shop, someone who she knew would carry the torch forward with the same values of community that have been alive in that space for so long. La Terza was approached with the opportunity, and we knew that the stars had finally aligned.
In 2023, Luminary by La Terza, the coffee shop sister company to the original roasterie, was born. Luminary now operates as a full-service coffee shop in the heart of College Hill. In addition to serving exceptional coffee, we bake homemade pastries and offer a variety of light bites such as soups, sandwiches, quiches, and salads.
Our mission is to create a welcoming space for neighbors to gather, relax, and connect. In service of this, we curate local art exhibits, host live music events, community art workshops and gatherings, sell handmade crafts and gift items, and provide a book/game lending library as well as a kids/family corner and more.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
All journeys come with bumps in the road! We choose to see all of our struggles as opportunities to learn and grow. One of the biggest challenges we face is carrying the weight of having inherited a business that has been a cornerstone in the community for so many years. This is a great privilege and a great responsibility, and we try to honor the legacy of those who have come before us while also carving out our own niche for how we want to move forward.
We also strive to remind ourselves of the importance of patience and taking one step at a time. We believe in growing our business in alignment with our capacity to do things well. Our first and biggest priorities are serving phenomenal coffee and ensuring we provide stellar customer service to create a welcoming environment. We have so many ideas and goals for additional things we can do. We dream about expanding our food menu and developing relationships with local farms and other vendors. We dream about hosting monthly open mic nights, music every weekend, and so much more. But we have learned that when we try to do everything at once, we do it all in a pretty mediocre way. When we get one thing right and then build upon it, we are able to achieve success with balance and integrity.
Thanks – so, what else should our readers know about Luminary by La Terza?
Luminary by La Terza is a coffee shop and sister company to the original roasterie, La Terza Coffee. Luminary now operates as a full-service coffee shop in the heart of College Hill. In addition to serving exceptional coffee, we bake homemade pastries and offer a variety of light bites such as soups, sandwiches, quiches, and salads.
Our mission is to create a welcoming space for neighbors to gather, relax, and connect. In service of this, we curate local art exhibits, host live music events, community art workshops and gatherings, sell handmade crafts and gift items, and provide a book/game lending library as well as a kids/family corner and more.
We are a minority-owned business, and ensuring that ALL people feel welcome in our space is of utmost importance to us. We hire most of our staff from the community in which we are located and partner with local bakers, makers, photographers, women’s groups, schools and religious organizations, and more.
Our tagline is, “A brighter community starts with great coffee,” and our name, “Luminary,” means both a source of light and someone or something who inspires. We seek to embody all of these words by doing so much more than just serving coffee. We have only been open for 6 months, but we have already hosted film screenings on black fatherhood, wellness events for women, open mic nights, community baby showers, listening sessions, Business Association meetings, book clubs, knitting groups, and more. We cannot wait to build more relationships and collaborate with partners across our community as we grow.
What makes you happy?
Sipping coffee with the sun streaming in through the front windows of Luminary, our families, spending time outside in nature, live music, & getting lost in a good book.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.luminarybylaterza.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/luminarybylaterza/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/LuminarybyLaTerza
