Dr. Jones Miller is too much of a people person to spend his retirement sitting on a porch in a rocking chair.
After about a year at home, the retired obstetrician/gynecologist had had enough.
His daughter had a suggestion for him.
“She said ‘you love coffee. Why don’t you see if you can get a job as a barista?’” he said.
He knew exactly where to find that barista job — Buona Caffe — a spot he’s frequented.
Pat Curry, who along with her husband, John, own the coffee shop on Central Avenue, said they’d been having a hard time finding good employees during the pandemic, and Miller came along at the right time.
Miller said he figured “they’re a small business, and they are probably hurting for people.”
Miller doesn’t have transportation issues, need childcare or have to work around a class schedule, which are often obstacles.
He started at the shop in June and has learned to create java specialties.
Curry said the timing was right to hire him.
“Prior to COVID when things were normal, I don’t think we would’ve talked to Jones. We had lots of staff,” she said.
Before Buona Caffe, Miller spent 37 years in LaGrange, Ga. delivering babies. He moved to Augusta in 2015 and has taught at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University.
His career required lots of coffee over the years, he said.
“When I got up at 2 a.m. to deliver a baby, they had the coffee waiting for me,” he said.
He could down multiple cups of coffee and still go back to sleep when his work was done.
His love of coffee began as a young boy.
“My parents were coffee drinkers. My dad — he drank it black,” he said. “John and Pat have taught me the finer points of coffee.”
Curry said they were a little apprehensive at first. Miller has a professional background. At Buona, the employee uniform is a T-shirt usually paired with jeans. Sweeping floors and taking out the trash are routine parts of the job.
“Working up a sweat is part of the job,” she said.
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But Miller doesn’t mind working up a sweat and said he’s enjoyed his few months on the job. Before he became a doctor, he did various types of jobs.
The one thing he said he still needs to work on is his speed in getting the orders with all their extras down, and he’s not always sure of frequent customers and their “regular” orders. And when things get busy, Curry said, other staff members band together to get the job done.
“The pace and the multitasking are the hardest things,” he said.
Not only can Miller whip up a mean cup of coffee or a espresso or cappuccino with all the flourishes, but he loves to bake.
“I make a German chocolate cake from scratch that’s to die for,” he said. “I also make a lemon blueberry cake, but you need fresh blueberries for that.”
Miller is still enjoying his retirement, but he’s also enjoying the human interaction. He’s even met some of his former students who’ve come by for a cup of coffee. And he said he’s gotten to know some of the shop’s more frequent customers.
Charmain Z. Brackett is the Features Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach her at charmain@theaugustapress.com
