The cart’s coming back. Meet the new owners of this little coffee shop in Warner Robins
When Jaimi and Kevin Norrell heard that their favorite coffee shop in Warner Robins was up for sale, they knew they wanted to buy it.
The couple have been regulars at Little Light Coffee Co. since Sophia Smith opened the storefront a year after launching a mobile espresso bar in March 2021.
The Norrells, who assumed ownership Monday, were drawn to the sense of community and fellowship at the small coffee shop nestled in Galleria Suites shopping plaza at 4027 Watson Blvd., Suite 220.
“I couldn’t imagine not having the fellowship and the love that people come in here and pour into each other,” Jaimi Norrell said of the couple’s decision to buy the coffee shop.
Community
True to that sense of community, three friends were at the coffee shop recently for their weekly Bible study while also enjoying breakfast pastries and a coffee flight.
“We just love it,” said Katie Edwards, who noted the cozy atmosphere and comfortable seating. “The girls all know our names and our coffees.”
Melissa Longaker was also in the coffee shop with her 2-year-old son, Nolan, for their weekly stop. She treats him to a cake pop after his nearby taekwondo class and often reads to him from the children’s books kept on hand at the coffee shop.
“We love it here,” Longaker said. “They’re so sweet to him even when he’s running around like crazy.”
Firm foundation
The Norrells said they don’t plan to change what’s proven to be a strong foundation for the coffee shop but only build upon it.
They’ve purchased the brand, all the coffee recipes, the furnishings — everything lock, stock and barrel — except for the space that’s leased. The lease transition was seamless, and they’ve kept the staff.
“I think this is great,” said Khalie Stewart, who’s been with Little Light Coffee Co. since the storefront opened in March 2022. “At first, I wasn’t sure if we were gonna stay open. But I’m so thankful that God worked his own way of making this place stay because otherwise I wouldn’t have known what Little Light means to me.”
What’s planned
The Norrells are considering expanding food options, which if proven successful, could mean an extension of operating hours. But for right now, hours are expected to remain the same.
The couple plan to start by adding burritos to the breakfast menu of pastries and breakfast sandwiches and see how that’s received.
They also plan to bring back the mobile espresso bar, a carefully curated coffee cart that Smith started her business with in March 2011 after moving to Perry in the fall of 2020 with her boyfriend, now husband. They’ll celebrate their third wedding anniversary on Dec. 3.
The Norrells plan to roll out the mobile espresso bar at weddings and other private events, and they plan to offer the coffee shop and its services after hours for private events.
Passing the torch
When Smith announced on Facebook in February that she was closing her beloved coffee shop to concentrate on family and ahead of an expected, inevitable move that comes with a spouse in the military, she also put the business up for sale.
By the next day, she’d already heard from more than two dozen people about possibly purchasing the business.
“When I posted, I already had an idea of what I was looking for, and with Jaimi and Kevin, they check all the boxes,” Smith said. “For me, I didn’t just want someone that can carry it forward.
“I wanted someone that had the energy and the innovative thinking and the wherewithal to be able to discern the core parts of the brand that have made it super special that can remain and are foundational to the brand and community building, but also take everything you’ve learned and the work that we’ve done to scale it and help it grow more than I would have been able to do with our limited timeline here.”
The Norrells’ “background in business and the heart they have for the community” were among the qualities that appealed to Smith.
Other endeavors
The couple own and operate Full Circle Health and Wellness, which offers holistic options for medically supervised weight loss, IV hydration and infusions, peptide therapy and more at 158 South Houston Lake Road, Suite 9, in Houston Commons in Warner Robins.
Jaimi Norrell is a nurse practitioner and nurse midwife. Their wellness business is expanding into Suite 5 in Houston Commons where they expect to offer a sauna and cold plunge in about a month, she said.
They have three other locations: two in Montana and one in Texas.
The Norrells also operate Hands of Grace Medical Clinic and Homeless Outreach, a non-profit ministry that began as a free medical clinic for those without insurance in Warner Robins and transitioned to a free mobile clinic for the needy and homeless that sets up in Macon.
The mobile clinic rolls into Carolyn Crayton Park, formerly known as Central City Park, the second Saturday of the month. With the help of volunteers, they provide a hot meal, free medical and dental care, and book bags with hygiene kits. They’re always in need of volunteers.
The Norrells have a philosophy of seeing a need and filling it. They saw people going without health care, so they created a nonprofit.
They wanted to start their own business, so they chose to open wellness centers that offer needed holistic options, and when they learned their community gathering spot was closing, they wanted to carry it forward.
For Smith, whose last day at the coffee shop was Sunday, letting go of the business she created, is bittersweet. But she’s confident she’s leaving it in good hands.
“That’s been really, really rewarding to feel like we did everything we could to set up this next chapter to be as successful as possible,” she said.
This story was originally published March 17, 2025 at 6:00 AM.