LOVELAND, Ohio — Katie Butler’s old boss does not mind she started the same kind of business he groomed her in a few years back. In fact, he’s pretty happy for her.
“Well, they’re not our competition. And they still buy our
coffee,” said Tony Tausch, the owner of Coffee Emporium and arguably Cincinnati
foremost coffee expert, whose coffee shops are in Over-the-Rhine and Hyde Park.
Butler – who worked for Tausch for about eight years – just opened Mile 42 Coffee adjacent to the Loveland Hardware Store on Broadway Street in downtown Loveland. The store had a soft opening February 2, with a grand opening and ribbon-cutting Saturday. Mile 42 – which is named after the nearby mile marker on the bike trail – buys their roasted coffee beans from Coffee Emporium.
“I’m very pleased and happy for her,” Tausch said. “She
always kind of said that is what she wanted to do. I know she has some strong
ties to Loveland and she’s very family-oriented.”
Butler, who is the daughter of Loveland City Councilman Tim
Butler, stopped working for Tausch in 2014, when she reduced her hours to take
a full-time job with Givaudan, a food flavoring company (she is a 2007
University of Dayton graduate with a degree in food science).
While at Coffee Emporium she did more than pull shots and steam
milk, instead she learned the coffee business top-to-bottom, even going with
Tausch and his wife to El Salvador to meet the farmers growing the coffee beans
roasted in Cincinnati.
“I started out and thought it would just be a job,” Butler
said. “Since early on at Coffee Emporium I just loved being in a coffee shop. I
wanted one in downtown Loveland.”
Butler said in her home growing up coffee was a morning staple
for everyone, pretty much since she was a teenager.
“My parents are big coffee drinkers. Every morning when
people are home, that’s just part of growing up,” she said. “I’ve always loved
coffee.”
It took her a few years to act on her vision for opening a
coffee shop in Loveland. During strolls with her mother, Jackie, on the Little
Miami Scenic Trail, they’d plot out their idea which came about after not being
able to find a good cup of Joe nearby. About a year ago they decided it was
time to act.
“Walking down the trail, we planned it all out,” Butler
said. “There’s isn’t a traditional coffee shop in downtown Loveland. There
wasn’t a place for people to gather, meet friends or work. Now there is.”
Mile 42 Coffee is on Broadway Street in downtown Loveland, Ohio. Photo taken Sunday, February 16, 2020. The location is adjacent to Loveland General Hardware and part of the Eads Fencing property.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
The interior at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Linda Nielander, left, of Nashville, Ind. talks with her daughter, Jackie Walton of Loveland, at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Unidentified customer pours cup of drip coffee at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
From left: Ben Butler, Molly Hansen, Katie Butler.
Mile 42 Coffee owner Katie Butler talks to her employees at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
A person enters Mile 42 Coffee on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 in downtown Loveland, Ohio had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Courtney Murray of Boston visits Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020. She was visiting the area to pick up a puppy she had adopted. It was her second visit during her two-day stay. She said it was so good “that’s why I came back” as she prepared to head back to Boston.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Mile 42 Coffee is in downtown Loveland, Ohio. Photo of floor painting on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Owner Katie Butler steams milk for an espresso drink at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Mile 42 Coffee owner Katie Butler talks to her employees at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020. Cashier Molly Hansen, a student at Loveland High School, listens.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Ben Butler prepares an espresso shot at Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020. In the background is owner Katie Butler and far background is cashier Molly Hansen.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
Jencine Mackzum, left, with her husband, Joe Mackzum and their 2-year-old daughter, June, visit Mile 42 Coffee in downtown Loveland, Ohio on Sunday, February 16, 2020.
Mile 42 had their official grand opening the day before, but had been open during a “soft opening” since February 2.
(Photo by Joe Wessels/Loveland Local News)
As downtown Loveland started to experience a resurgence in
recent years – with the opening of Loveland Station and the remodeling of the
Bishop Building post-2017 fire – the timing seemed right.
“There’s just a lot more going on down here,” she said. “I
think if we weren’t going to do it, someone else was going to, and we really
wanted to do it.”
This is Tausch’s third employee to start their own coffee shop,
two locally and one in Deer Isle, Maine. He’s proud of that. He’s even prouder
his former employees with their own local shops come back to him to buy their
coffee beans.
“We love that our coffee is being sold with a further reach.
We trained them,” he said. “I would have been crushed if they bought someone
else’s coffee.”
He thinks Butler has what it takes to make it in the super-competitive
coffee business.
“We have delivered a lot of coffee to them already. They
have been even busier than they expected,” he said. “I definitely think (Katie)
will be able to do it. I think she will do a great job.”
Mile 42 Coffee, 133 Broadway Street in Loveland, is open 6:30 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; 7 a.m. until 5 p.m. Saturday/Sunday, with expanded hours expected this spring. (513) 900-9480. Visit www.mile42coffee.com for more information.
Long-time and award-winning Cincinnati-area journalist, radio show host, podcast producer and photographer Joe Wessels is the founder and publisher (and kinda the do-everything guy) of Loveland Local News. Previously, Wessels was the Cincinnati City Hall and Hamilton County reporter for The Cincinnati Post and a weekly columnist for Cincinnati CityBeat where he regularly broke news. Wessels moved to Loveland in 2014 and quickly realized Loveland would be a great place to fulfill his dream of creating his own online news and information publication.