A coffee shop and casual dining restaurant are among the tenants who could soon be moving into the Evans area, right behind the new Columbia County Performing Arts Center.
The zoning application will soon be reviewed by the Columbia County Planning Commission, but property owner and orthopedic surgeon John Bojescul is anticipating success. In fact, he’s already got one tenant planned — himself.
He and his colleagues plan to open the main business proposed for the site – a coffee shop and roastery.
“My daughter got a degree in healthcare but didn’t like it. She said, ‘Dad, I just want to do coffee,'” Bojescul said. “My colleague Jeremy Jacobs said his wife’s dream was to own a coffee shop. So, that’s when the coffee shop idea came about.”
Bojescul said he met with a franchise coffee shop but decided that he and his colleagues could do it better. As a result, Goat Kick Coffee Co. was born.
“Goat Kick is from a legend of an Ethopian goat herder who noticed his goats eating from a cherry plant and his goats became very energetic, dancing and kicking,” he said. “And a kick is also a shot of espresso, so that’s how it came about.”
Bojescul said they’ve already begun roasting their own coffee and handing out samples to family and friends to gather feedback.
The coffee shop also will include (pending approval) an active roaster to show visitors how the coffee is made.
Besides the coffee shop, the rezoning request proposes a 3,000-square foot casual-dining with table service restaurant that has a patio and 6,000-7,000 square feet of retail space for an additional business or two.
Easement issues will be addressed when the rezoning application is reviewed by the Planning Commission, but Bojescul anticipates minor retooling will get the plans pushed through to the full commission for eventual approval in December 2021 or January 2022.
The matter would have come up sooner, but the full proposal encompasses one larger parcel of land (1.08 acres) and a smaller parcel (about a quarter acre), but the submitted rezoning request only includes the larger parcel. So, the proposal has to be rewritten slightly and resubmitted before coming before the Planning Commission.
Chris Farrow of Sherman & Hemstreet said Bojescul bought the property for the coffee shop but wanted to enrich the surrounding area by adding the other businesses to the proposal.
“We are pushing hard for approval, and so far, the county seems very receptive of what we want to do there,” Farrow said. “We’re excited about the location near the Performing Arts Center and Lady A. This coffee shop will be a flagship location with plans to expand throughout the CSRA.”
The application will be reviewed before the Planning Commission in December pending the completion of the rewritten proposal before the Planning Commission’s feedback is passed to the full Commission.
Tyler Strong is the Business Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at tyler@theaugustapress.com
