Jittery Joe's Coffee is coming to Macon.
The Athens-based roaster and coffeehouse is the second new business to be located in Mercer Village, a recently restored development at Montpelier and Linden avenues across from Mercer University.
The first business, Ingleside Village Pizza, opened last week. Jittery Joe's is expected to open in August.
Both Jittery Joe's and Ingleside Village Pizza give off a college-town vibe that is important in developing the Mercer Village area, said Josh Rogers, director of the College Hill Corridor Commission.
The commission, formed as a result of a partnership between the city of Macon and Mercer University, has been working to redevelop the area across from Mercer for about a year as part of a plan to get students off campus and into downtown.
"Jittery Joe's is one of the few coffee shops that's college town tested because they've been so successful in Athens," Rogers said.
Six of Georgia's 10 Jittery Joe's locations are in Athens, which is home to the University of Georgia. The coffee chain also has a coffeehouse in Clemson, S.C., according to its Web site, www.jitteryjoes.com.
Like other Jittery Joe's coffeehouses, the Macon location will offer free wireless Internet and will receive its beans from Athens, where they are roasted fresh daily, said Kim Collins, co-owner of Family Beans Inc., which owns the Jittery Joe's Macon franchise in addition to one in Milton, near Alpharetta.
The coffee shop also will offer breakfast foods and a variety of scones, muffins and other pastries, she said.
The family's connections to Mercer, and the fact that two of the owners - Collins' in-laws - live in Macon, played a part in Family Beans' bringing the Jittery Joe's franchise here, Collins said.
"We also just appreciate what Macon is trying to do with the development of the downtown area," she said.
Other ideas for Mercer Village include a grocery store and some sort of cafe, although there are no specific plans in the works, Rogers said.
• Comment on this story at macon.com.
