On July 6, store manager Sydney Hazlewood of Baba Java Roaster & Cafe prepared a latte for a customer at the Hoover store. Baba Java will open its third location on Alabama 119.
Four years ago, Hoover residents Nathan and Wendy Parvin opened a new cafe in Riverchase called Baba Java Roaster & Café, and it’s now expanding.
The Palvins opened a second store in Montevallo in February and hope to open in late August or early September in a new village in the heart of the Meadow Brook strip (corner of Alabama 119 and Doug Baker Boulevard). Third Baba Java store.
The 2,200-square-foot store is located in the same shopping center where Burn Boot Camp opened in December. It will be slightly larger than the 1,650-square-foot Riverchase store, according to Brad Haynes, vice president of operations for Baja Java.
The new store will offer the same coffee and tea as the Riverchase store, but will have a new element. Meadow Brook Baba Java will team up with Popbar to sell popsicles.
Popbar has about 15 locations across the U.S., including one in Atlanta, but this will be the first Popbar in Alabama.
Haynes said Baba Java always wanted to be in the U.S. 280 corridor because that’s where he and his family live, as well as many of their employees and customers. Haynes said developer Jim Mitchell invited them to come to his shopping center and they really liked the place.
“We think this is a good way to get closer to 280 degrees, but not 280 degrees,” he said. “There are a lot of great customers here and we feel like we’ll have good business.”
Baba Java takes pride in the coffee they serve. Haynes said it is strictly a specialty coffee and not a regular commercial grade coffee, meaning it must receive a score of 80 or higher, with scores depending on how the coffee seeds are grown, harvested, processed, transported and stored. Most Baba Java coffees are rated 85 or higher, he said.
The store’s flagship coffee comes from Yemen, but other beans come from China, Ethiopia, Colombia, Papua New Guinea, Guatemala and Honduras, he said.
Baba Java originally roasted its beans in the store, but now most of the roasting is done in a warehouse in Pelham, Haynes said. The store was so busy that they decided to do most of the baking off-site, he said.
Haynes said Baba Java is also committed to ethically sourcing its coffee beans, meaning the farmers who produce the beans are well compensated.
“It takes a lot of work to grow coffee,” he said. “We’re very careful about who we buy from… The people we buy from do a lot of community projects to help local people, like building schools and wells and doing things for the community.”
Baba Java’s signature drinks are sold in traditional Italian sizes. Cappuccino – 6-8 oz, Latte – 12-16 oz, Macchiato – 3 oz, add a little milk.
Haynes said Baba Java tea is produced by Sachai Tea Co., which imports tea from India, and Huntsville-based Piper & Leaf, which uses tea grown in Alabama.
The store also sells some food items, including sweet scones from Highland Gourmet Scone and savory scones, cinnamon pancakes, sweet scones and croissant breakfast sandwiches from Copper Train in Alabaster. Michelle’s Chocolate Lab in Hoover serves coffee cakes, breakfast bars, puff pastries and Oreos.
Haynes said he’s not yet sure of the exact capacity at Meadow Brook, but it should be the same as Riverchase, which seats 48 people. Riverchase employs 12 people, some part-time, he said.
In fact, Baba Java has signed an agreement to build a fourth facility in downtown Birmingham, Haynes said, as part of the former Powell Steam Power Plant project. The store will be about 3,000 square feet, nearly twice the size of the Riverchase store, but likely won’t open until summer 2024, he said. It will also merge with Popbar stores, he said.
Developer JJ Thomas announced Aug. 14 that Baba Java and Popbar will also be coming to a new development called The Edge on Green Springs Highway in Homewood.
Editor’s Note: This article was updated on August 15th with news that Baba Java and Popbar are preparing to open a joint store in Homewood, as well as a store opening in Montevallo this February.