Coffee is big business, with more than $10 billion in beans having been sold in the U.S. in 2019. So it makes sense that some well-heeled local javaphiles would want to get into the coffee biz. Two new ventures are backed by local athletes of note, and they’re bringing their competitive spirit to the game.
Keith Bulluck played linebacker for the Tennessee Titans for a decade, and he's still regarded as one of the finest defenders to ever don the two-toned blue. He was searching for a new investment when he met Rob Webb, the founder of Just Love Coffee Cafe. Intrigued by the vision and values of the brand, Bulluck signed up for a new franchise, now open at 401 Aspen Grove off of Cool Springs Boulevard in Franklin.
Bulluck isn’t just a silent investor in the Just Love Coffee McEwen location. You’ll know who the owner is when you walk in the door and see sports-page clippings on the walls and a huge Titans mural. Open from 6:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 7:30 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. on weekends, Just Love Coffee serves a full breakfast, brunch and lunch menu (the latter of which you could stretch to an early dinner).
Food offerings revolve around dishes that can be cooked on a waffle iron, ranging from waffled biscuits to a “spinach and feta womelette” to waffled sandwiches to hummus with waffled pitas. While that might sound more like dorm-room food, maybe they’re just trying to answer this eternal question. The coffee bar serves drip, specialty espresso drinks and teas, with future plans to sell bags of whole roasted beans as well.
Any running back who went up against Bulluck knew he could deliver a big hit, so perhaps Just Love Coffee Cafe will be another one.
Another former NFL player who you might not be familiar with is Andrew East. The Vandy grad played in the trenches as a long snapper for seven NFL teams. Some of those stints were very short tryouts, referred to as “a cup of coffee" in the world of sports, so it's somewhat appropriate that East has started up a new subscription coffee delivery service along with his wife, another athlete who you probably have heard of — former Olympic gold medal-winning gymnast Shawn Johnson.
The couple married in 2016 and now run a successful YouTube channel called The East Family — along with their latest venture UniQorn Coffee. When Johnson-East was traveling the world competing, coffee was a way to connect with home as well as something to explore as she discovered new cultures. With their new company, they encourage customers to take an online quiz to help discover their own personal coffee tastes and then match them up with one of their variety of custom roasts.
Believing that whole bean is the best way to express the essence of coffee, UniQorn currently only ships the bean and nothing but the whole bean. They do, however, have recommendations for grinders should you need them.
UniQorn coffee costs $20 a bag, and they’ll ship them on a regular schedule based on your stated consumption. (They joke on their website about using carrier pigeons to make deliveries, but that would have to be one brawny bird!) Users can adjust their delivery schedule on the website in case they’re feeling more need for speed in a particular month, or perhaps won’t be at home as much as they expected. Either way, thanks to UniQorn, that’s one thing you can scratch off your shopping list if you choose to.
