We’re going solar, baby!
If you really think about it, coffee is solar powered directly from its coffee farm source. We’re taking it a step further. We’re talking about our Coffee Roastery and Coffee House! Vienna Coffee Company's building on College Street in Maryville, Tennessee will soon operate completely with our new solar panels.
A Little Background
In 2023, founder John Clark applied for a USDA grant under the Rural Energy for America Program (REAP). The REAP program is designed to help agricultural producers and rural small business owners make energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy investments to lower energy costs, generate new income, and strengthen the resiliency of their operations.
With this grant, we received approval for solar panel installation for our Downtown Maryville location that Vienna Coffee Company has called home for over 13 years. While it has been a long process, we are now near completion. We were officially notified of our approval last September. However, the installation of the solar panels took place just this past April, which was very fitting for the celebration of Earth Day!
Partnering with a local TN company
If you frequent the Coffee House, you may have noticed LightWave Solar, LLC set up in our parking lot while they completed the installation. LightWave Solar is a well-established and trusted solar contractor with over 17 years of experience in our area. They actually helped TVA and the State of Tennessee develop their very first solar programs!
For VCC, the final puzzle piece is about to fall in place and our solar panels will go live at long last! We’re prepping for an early closure to allow for some final electrical work to be done in order for the installation to be complete.
Vienna Coffee House will be closing the cafe at 12PM EST, while the drive-thru will remain open until 1PM EST on Friday, June 14th, 2024. Our Roastery will be closing at 2PM EST. The Coffee House will resume normal business hours the following Saturday, June 15th, 2024 and our Roastery will resume their’s on Monday, June 17th, 2024.
As a company dedicated to sustainability, we are equally excited and proud of this project. It is such a significant step in environmental stewardship. We don’t limit it to just our green coffee. We want prioritize eco-conscious practices in as many of our operations as possible!
AT VIENNA COFFEE COMPANY…
Our dedication to ensuring that we are a market leader in craft coffee throughout the southeast dictates that we apply the same critical scrutiny used for our complete coffee lineup to any product we offer.
This commitment demonstrates our continued pursuit to provide craft coffee that enriches the lives of customers and producers alike by providing an experience grounded in excellence and hospitality. We custom pick our green coffee beans from regions across The Coffee Belt and always seek responsible sourcing from seed to cup.
Our roasting team ensures each bean varietal is roasted according to its characteristics to enhance its peak flavors. Vienna Coffee Company goes further by evaluating each varietal harvest through coffee cuppings to evaluate and adjust its roasting profile.
Explore our complete line of coffees online or stop by the Coffee House and let our baristas do the brewing for you. We hope that exploring what we offer (whether its organic, single-origin, a VCC custom blend or your favorite flavored coffee) continues your journey in discovering that “Great Coffee is an Adventure”.