‘Worth it all.’ Saying goodbye to a popular Warner Robins coffee shop & café

When Jaimie Miller and Victoria Harris opened Between Friends Coffee in Warner Robins in August 2016, they were the only independent coffee shop in town.

Bare Bulb had closed, with the two friends purchasing some of the former coffee shop’s equipment to build their own coffee shop from the ground up — installing plumbing, electrical, painting, you name it.

“It was a completely empty building,” Miller said. “Filled it with a lot of things over the 10 years and filled it with a lot of love.”

Nestled at one end of a small shopping strip anchored by a convenience store and gas station near the intersection of Ga. 96 and Lake Joy Road, their literary‑themed coffee shop and café evolved into an event space and bookstore as well.

“We always say that you can get coffee anywhere,” Miller said. “What you came here for was the experience, was the sense of community, and the ability to, or the opportunity to slow down for a little bit, you know, in our hectic lives, in our hectic world and just take a few minutes and savor a nice treat and drink some coffee and just relax for a few minutes with the people who cared about you.”

Saying goodbye to Between Friends Coffee

Saturday, Between Friends Coffee closes after a 10-year run as the friends zero in on their publishing company, Between Friends Publishing, which supports independent authors. Miller is a writer and editor, while Hawkins is a graphic designer and artist.

The women had hoped that Between Friends Coffee would remain in operation under a new owner, but the deal fell through.

“Now, we’re kind of piecemealing everything out and selling everything that we’ve worked so hard for — for 10 years,” Miller said. “But I look over, and I see, you know, one of our regulars right there who comes in every day, and I mean these are people that have literally become family.

“And I know that’s so cliché, but it’s true, and these are people that we will continue to have relationships with outside of this, and without the coffee shop, there are literally, thousands of people that we never would have met, and so, it’s worth it … It was worth it all.”

Kyle Crawford, the customer Miller referenced, said he first started coming to Between Friends Coffee simply because it was near his home.

Crawford kept coming because everyone who works at the coffee shop was nice and easy to talk to while the space itself was inviting. A lover of books, he also liked the literary vibe.

“It’s kind of sad to see them going, you know,” Crawford said.

The women are also volunteers with the Warner Robins Little Theatre, with Miller initially “begging” Crawford to audition for a play she was directing. He did, which led to more stage appearances, and now he’s also on the board of directors. Miller is the vice president and Hawkins is head of publicity for the nonprofit community theater.

“We never would have had that connection without this shop, and the community would be at a loss, because he’s such a wonderful person to have on your team,” Miller said.

Also, Miller and Hawkins started the Middle Georgia Lit Fest in 2017, hosting the first one with 15 authors at Between Friends Coffee. Working in conjunction with the city of Warner Robins and Visit Warner Robins, the women expect to continue to co-host the annual event that drew 200 authors to the North Houston Sports Complex in Warner Robins in February.

Miller also invited artist Nicholaus Kyle Crawford, the grandson of Kyle Crawford, to participate in the Middle Georgia Lit Fest. The younger Crawford set up a table and painted. He also sold his work.

The end of a chapter but not the end of their story

Like finishing a chapter in the book, the closing of their coffee shop is not the end of the story for Miller and Hawkins.

The friends plan to keep the Between Friends Coffee social media accounts active to share all the duo have coming up, including a new cookbook.

“We have decided to release a cookbook that has every single one of our recipes, drink and food, in it,” Miller said. “So, all our award-winning recipes, all of our secret, homemade family recipes will be out at the end of June.”

Miller and Hawkins also plan to start a podcast and hopefully have meetups at local places.

“We’ll still be out in the community,” Miller said.

For the past couple of weeks, the friends have put items up for sale from the coffee shop, including some 500 mugs. Less than 30 of those mugs remain up for grabs.

Customers also have been coming in to wish them well.

“We have a guest book over there that everyone’s signing,” Miller said. “We’ve not been able to read it yet. So, looking forward to that.”

Liquidation sale & ‘thank you to every single person’

Monday, Between Friends Coffee is having a liquidation sale from noon to 6 p.m. at which ‘’everything must go.”

The sale includes kitchen and operation-critical equipment, waffle irons, tea pots and such, framed photos of authors, books, all sorts of wall art with sayings such as “Coffee and friends make the perfect blend,” bins of Christmas ornaments and other holiday decor, and more.

If anything is left over after the sale, Miller and Hawkins may be reached at 478-951-6172, by email at hello@betweenfriendscoffee.com, or through their social media accounts.

“Hopefully, people will just stay in touch as well, because we’ll keep all of those,” Miller said.

Additionally, the MOMS Club of Warner Robins Community Pantry, also known as a blessing box, that sits outside Between Friends Coffee, will need a new home. Community members donate food to the pantry, with items free to those in need.

Also, the Little Free Library that sits outside the coffee shop will be relocated.

“Thank you to every single person over the past 10 years who believed in us, supported us, encouraged us, came in here,” Miller said. “And also thank you to the people who didn’t believe in us because that made us want to try harder.

“It’s been a really cool experience. 99% of the people have been wonderful and that fraction amount of people who weren’t, it still made us realize that what we were doing was a good thing.”