Popular Warner Robins coffee shop is up for sale. Dozens already interested in buying

A popular coffee shop in Warner Robins that got its start as a mobile espresso bar is up for sale.

Owner Sophia Smith announced on Facebook that she’s decided to close Little Light Coffee to focus on family and ahead of an inevitable move out of the area with her husband’s next military assignment.

“Watching our coffee shop grow from a humble neighborhood pop-up coffee cart in March 2021 into an award-winning, beloved community hub has truly been a dream come true,” Smith told her customers in the Facebook post. “Our last day will be Sunday, March 16th.”

In the same Facebook post, Smith also put the coffee shop up for sale, and by the next day, she’d already received interest from more than two dozen people about possibly purchasing the business.

“I’m excited to offer a community-minded individual the chance to build on our success and carry forward our legacy ... If owning a warm, turn-key local coffee shop that truly makes an impact is your dream, please reach out to me at sophia@littlelightcoffeeco.com,” Smith said in the post.

Smith told The Telegraph she’s optimistic about the sale of the coffee shop, which includes everything from its brand to coffee recipes to furnishings.

“We have a folder of like 25 people that are interested — which is crazy — and counting,” Smith said. “We’re in the process of just vetting at this point.

“I think for me, my priority is finding the right person — not just trying to, you know, collect a paycheck for a business. So hopefully, with a community-minded individual, they can really kind of take this strong foundation we’ve built and then scale it.”

Smith aims to make a purchase as seamless as possible for a potential new owner, including working with the property manager of the coffee shop’s leased space at 4027 Watson Blvd., Suite 220, in the Galleria Suites shopping center.

Smith was asked if she thought it’s possible for a new owner to come in quickly enough to continue the shop’s uninterrupted operation.

“Honestly, I don’t know,” she said. “I think I’m doing everything I can to really set it up as if someone’s ready to rock and roll on the 17th. So then it should be as simple as, like, OK, the keys are yours. Now, here’s everything.”

‘A coffee home’

A longtime dream for the California native, Smith started the business as a mobile espresso bar — setting up at farmers markets, Food Truck Fridays, school and business appreciation functions, neighborhood pop-ups and other events. She was also booked for weddings.

Her first event was the Open Air Health Fair in Perry on March 6, 2021.

A year later, Smith opened the storefront and created not only a cozy space but one of community in which she intertwined with her guests and developed close relationships.

“It’s not a coffee house,” Smith likes to say. “It’s a coffee home.”

During a recent visit, a steady stream of customers came into the shop. Some picked up a coffee to go, others stayed and chatted over coffee, while another stayed busy on his computer.

A collage of notes of appreciation, love and support from coffee shop guests fills a wall of the shop and offers evidence of those relationships.

Since she announced her decision, Smith has been inundated with well wishes.

“Sophia, you have done such an incredible job bringing the coffee community together and providing a space for friendships to happen,” Lisa Johnson said in the comments of the Facebook post.

“Military service is challenging but I thank you for your service as a wife and part of the military family. Thank you for being a little light in all of our lives the last 4 years! You and Little Light Coffee Co. will truly be stamped on our hearts and missed forever. ”

Hannah Peterson posted simply this after scrolling through the comments:

“Literally can’t read these without crying.”

The shop

The small shop includes comfortable seating for conversations, including a couch and living room chairs, for eating with tables and chairs, and for working or surfing the web on free Wi-Fi at a long table against a wall.

The menu includes a variety of coffee staples such as an Americano or cold brew, other beverages such a chai latte, specialty drinks such as a lavender honey latte, as well as sweet and savory treats of breakfast sandwiches and pastries.

The coffee shop also offers coffee flights that rotate monthly and are served only Wednesdays through Sundays.

Over just a few years, Little Light Coffee Co. has been voted among the top coffee shops in Middle Georgia and earned recognition from the mayor of Warner Robins.

Recently, the Georgia Association of Convention and Visitors Bureaus recognized Smith and Little Light Coffee Co. as a 2025 Bill Hardman Sr. Tourism Champion Awards winner for working “tirelessly to promote, protect, and strengthen Georgia’s hospitality and tourism industry.” She won the category for an individual in the private sector.

In 2024, Smith started the Middle Georgia Coffee Crawl in conjunction with other locally-owned coffee shops — an event that returned in 2025 and that she hopes will carry on in the years to come.

She’s also proud of the fact that Little Light Coffee Co. received a perfect score of 100 on every one of its state department of health inspections over the years.

Additionally, the coffee shop has a loyal fan base. Its Facebook page has more than 5,200 followers.

Smith shares the credit of the success of Little Light Coffee Co. with her staff and her customers. She hopes the community will come out and celebrate the coffee shop’s fourth anniversary over the next few weeks.

“Let’s really celebrate that no matter what happens, if someone buys, if they don’t, that you built this whole thing,” Smith said she told her staff.

Leaving the business she started from scratch is bittersweet for Smith. But she decided to do it now ahead of when her husband gets orders for his next assignment and of all that goes with a big move.

The couple also hope to start a family. They currently reside in Perry with their dog, Sasha.

“Growing up, I played softball, and there was always a quote that when you go into a game, you want to leave everything on the field so you never have to wonder if you would have done anything different,” Smith said.

“I really feel like, for this business, we’ve left it all on the field, so I’m pretty content being able to let this kind of tie the bow on it. I can’t look back and think of a single extra minute I could have devoted to the business, or an extra dollar I could have devoted to the business, or an extra ounce of energy.”