Our Jackson Table: Summer 2019 Recap

This summer has been jam-packed of great meals, a lot of which were enjoyed at restaurants celebrating new locations. Get the scoop on where we’ve been, old and new, and what’s tickling our tastebuds right now.

Good Coffee Can Happen Anywhere

“We are ‘be the change you want to see’ kind of people. Ultimately, we can complain about what is not available to us in rural West Tennessee or we can choose to change it.” This is Katie Weatherford’s heart behind Retro Coffee Bar, West Tennessee’s newest coffee option that is on the move and popping up at events, weddings, and festivals. Based in Selmer, Katie and her husband Jake have teamed up with couple Matthew and Sarah Moore to create the delicious coffee they crave, without all of the hassle of attempting a full storefront in a small town.

Quality First: How UrbanHouse - The Venue Introduced Third Wave Coffee to Henderson

“third wave coffee.” noun. 1. The most recent cultural phenomenon in the history of the coffee industry and consumption. Comes after the first wave of coffee, which included “growing coffee consumption exponentially,” and the second wave of coffee, which began to “define and enjoy specialty coffee.” 2. Purchasing coffee due to its “origin and artisan methods of production.” 3. A movement aspiring to produce the highest quality of coffee possible at every level while pleasing and intriguing the coffee consumer. “UrbanHouse.” noun.

Local Business, Global Impact

Martin, Tennessee, is a town with a population of around 11,475. It’s known for its annual Tennessee Soybean Festival and for the University of Tennessee at Martin. If you drive down University Street, you’ll go right through the university, pass by Sammie’s (an aptly-named sandwich shop), and mosey by several boutiques and small shops. It’s a small, charming place. Locals support the UTM Skyhawks and the Westview High School Chargers and eat at The Grind.

To Serve with Love

I’m sitting by myself, the steady thrum of others’ voices around me, and I’m looking at a white sign with neat black lettering: “WHERE HOT COFFEE AND WARM CONVERSATION FLOW.”I’ve got the hot coffee part—it’s steaming pleasantly in a glossy brown mug—and I can hear the groups talking around me. There are some college students in the corner of the room. (I can tell they’re in school because of their tired eyes trained on the laptops perched in front of them, even as they continue to hold conversation with each other.)