Ollie’s is a coffee shop. It’s not a café, it’s not a diner; it’s a coffee shop. The owners are very adamant about this fact.
When Jefferson residents Ralph and Vicky Jones think about their new business on Washington Road in Jefferson across from the Jefferson Village School, they picture a place where people can come in and sit for a while. They hear people gossiping and talking about the weather.
“We want to go back to the way life used to be,” Vicky Jones said.
One way they plan to bring out the old days is to let regular customers bring in their own coffee mugs to leave at the shop, Vicky Jones said. However, in a nod to modern technology, the Jones offer WiFi access for their customers.
Named after the Jones’s border collie, Ollie’s opened on March 16. They are open from 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
For now, they serve breakfast foods and sandwiches. They hope to start serving pizza once they get settled in, Vicky Jones said.
“There’s been quite a bit of excitement about our sticky buns,” Vicky Jones said. “Everybody loves sticky buns.”
For years the Joneses have wanted to own their own coffee shop. Ralph Jones ran a lawn care business and Vicky Jones ran a daycare center.
It was hard to leave the kids behind when she closed down the daycare, but Vicky Jones was ready for a change.
“Seven years was enough,” she said, “It was time for me to get back into the general population – talk to some people my own age.”
They hope that running the shop will be a chance to meet people and give Jefferson something they think the town needs.
“We’re going to be very laid back,” Vicky Jones said. “If people want it, we’ll try to give it to them.”
