Kava Haus features a full coffee bar, made from scratch scones and artisan-style breakfast and lunch items.
Owner Ellie Smedley said while the negotiations with the city took almost a year, the process overall was “pretty seamless, because they want us to succeed as well.”
According to city documents, the Xenia Station building was designed to have a food service tenant in the western portion of the first floor, to both benefit park users and enhance security. City staff made multiple requests for proposals for the spot over the past few years, but “a lease did not materialize” until talks began with Kava Haus.
Credit: Natalie Jones
Credit: Natalie Jones
“We had a couple meetings, and just really spitballed ideas and just kind of snowballed off of each other, just to see what the city was looking for exactly and seeing if it was something that worked with what we do,” Smedley said.
The cafe’s wide selection of beverages includes drip coffee, lattes, cafe mochas, flat whites, cappuccinos, americanos, frappes, espresso and cold brew. Chai, loose leaf tea, matcha, Italian sodas and smoothies are also available.
For the satellite location, Smedley said their menu will still have the full coffee experience but will have a larger focus on kid-friendly, non-caffeinated drinks for the families that come through the park and bike path. They are also looking at adding soft-serve ice cream and milkshakes, as well as “grab and go” food items.
The plan is for the satellite location to operate seasonally, from May to about October, Smedley said.
Brad and Tricia Heys, the founders of Kava Haus in Wilmington, opened their second location in Xenia in 2022, and Smedley and her husband Mark took over the Xenia location in January of 2024. Since then, business at the cafe has been growing, with year-over-year business on a steady rise, she said.
“(It’s) been just growing, which is so amazing. That’s obviously what you want to see when you own a business,” Smedley said. “We are very blessed.”
The city council approved the Xenia Station lease Thursday.
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