Coffee shop owner follows dream
Continental Coffee Jillian Boozer (middle), with employees Emily Harrelson and Dana Dowdy.
Young businesswoman Jillian Boozer decided to follow her dream of owning a coffee shop at the age of 19.
Continental Coffee, which opened on June 1, is the culmination of years of saving, planning, learning and hoping by Boozer, who created her business plan at age 16 and remained determined to turn her plan into reality. With a little help from her family and PNC Bank, Boozer, a life-long Madison resident, is now finally able to share her passion for coffee with the community she loves.
“Everyone always told me growing up to make your passion your career, and coffee is my passion,” Boozer said. “I figured, what better way to share my passion for coffee than to start my own business? I wanted to bring my own flare and my own passion to the city of Madison. All we have here is basically Starbucks, and I wanted to have something home-grown where I can share my own recipes.”
Despite Boozer’s relatively young age, she has already had extensive experience in the coffee industry. Boozer grew up roasting coffee in her home with her family, and she also has worked at Atlanta Bread and drive-through coffee shops in California while she was going to Coffee School there.
Coffee School is a month long program that teaches students the ins and outs of working in the coffee business and of opening a self-owned coffee shop, Boozer said. She took classes at the Women’s Business Center of North Alabama to prepare her for owning her own business.
“It took about two and a half years, from the idea of opening Continental Coffee to opening the doors,” Boozer said. “I couldn’t have done all this without my family. Usually, parents these days are like ‘go to college and do this or that’, but my parents told me to follow my dream. They told me to do what I want to do, and what I want to do is coffee.”
She admitted there was difficulty in finding the perfect location and convincing people to believe in the legitimacy of her dream, despite her age.
“People tend to look down on you because of your age,” Boozer said. “People will tell you, ‘that’s a good dream, but you’re so young.’ It’s been hard to get support from people at times.”
Continental Coffee provides a unique experience to customers, Boozer said. They serve everything from smoothies to gourmet coffee to deserts, which means that there’s something for everyone. The shop also hosts open-mike nights on Fridays and Saturdays for local musicians, plus has rooms available for rent to facilitate meetings in a relaxed atmosphere.
“Business so far has been really well,” Boozer said. “We’ve already got some established regulars. We’re friends with all our customers, so people like to come in and talk with us. We’re the friendliest baristas in town.”
With so many businesses to choose from, some people might wonder- why coffee?
“It’s the personality really, since everyone has their own specific drink they like,” Boozer said. “The regular customers know what they want, and their eyes light up when you already have it ready for them. Coffee is an indulgence and people are really serious about it. You can make their personality types to their coffee.”
Boozer’s personal favorite drink is the “mojo risin’”, a drink featuring brown sugar, cinnamon and caramel that she created in California.
Although it hasn’t been an easy journey, Boozer has learned a lot, she said. Being a young businessperson is especially challenging, but it’s equally rewarding, according to Boozer.
“If I could give any advice to another young person thinking of starting their own business, I would tell them to stay strong,” Boozer said. “Don’t let any road blocks or obstacles get in your way. When they do and you feel like you can’t do it, stay strong and keep going back to your business plan. Find your support system and look to them for encouragement when you feel like you can’t do it anymore.”
Continental Coffee is located at 7663 Hwy 72W in Madison.
