Columbus’ first queer-owned coffee truck opens on High Street

Tyrik Hutchinson-Junior
Thu, 07 Jul 2022 00:50:45 +0000
Arts & Life, food & drink, Instagram Page, coffee, coffee truck, columbus coffee, galaxy coffe truck, galaxy coffee, LGBTQ, lgbtq-owned coffee, Ohio, ohio lgbtq, ohio state, osu

Kels Wilson and Jevonna Morris? are the owners of? The Galaxy Coffee, Columbus’ first queer-owned coffee truck.
Credit: Courtesy of Jevonna Morris.

The Galaxy Coffee, Columbus’ first queer-owned coffee truck, offers a new atmosphere for coffee lovers.?

The Galaxy Coffee, located at 3282 N. High St., had its grand opening June 25 after two years of development and fundraising. With over 1,000 followers on Instagram and $18,000 donated for the food truck, The Galaxy Coffee has gotten a great amount of support from Columbus locals, which Kels Wilson, co-owner of the truck, said keeps them going.?

“It was really hard to anticipate how it was going to go, because we haven’t had any events or anything,” Wilson said. “It’s really different when you see actual people there.”

Working since 2020 to open the truck, the idea for The Galaxy Coffee started when Jevonna Morris, co-owner of the truck, and Wilson had a discussion about future plans while working at a coffee shop.??

“Jevonna actually hired me at a different coffee shop, and in the interview, she asked me where I saw myself in five years, and I said I would love to be able to open a coffee shop,” Wilson said. “When COVID hit, our store ended up closing down. We talked, and we were like ‘maybe it’s time to pursue this dream.’”?

Despite Columbus being home to an abundance of queer-owned businesses, The Galaxy Coffee is the first coffee truck of is kind, and is committed to building an inclusive space for members of the LGBTQ+ community and allies.?

Morris said the process of opening the truck was a learning experience.??

“With everything that could be thrown your way, you just don’t know until you’ve experienced it,” Morris said. “I like to joke that my resume includes basic plumbing skills and handyman skills now because we’ve just had to pick up every skill possible.”??

The Galaxy Coffee offers customers coffees, expressos, teas, vegan pastries and oatmeal. Morris said they wanted to have a diverse menu to offer something for every customer to enjoy.??

“We want it to be as accessible as possible for as many people as possible,” Morris said. “We have everything from Pop-Tarts to doughnuts to muffins, and we have items for people who might have other dietary restrictions.”?

Despite recently opening, Morris and Wilson have bigger goals in mind, and Morris said expanding the business is a big goal of hers.??

“I would love to expand our hours, especially in the fall when it gets a bit cooler,” Morris said. “I would love to expand and have maybe another person join us at some point here. Eventually, I would love to have a space where we can have events and regular meetups and hangouts.”?

When asked about future goals for The Galaxy Coffee, Wilson said they would like to give back to the community in the future.?

“We want to be able to host community fundraisers as well,” Wilson said. “We’ve talked about having fundraisers for employees who have worked for us or customers who come in and ask.”?

The Galaxy Coffee is open Thursday through Saturday from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m. The full menu can be found on The Galaxy Coffee’s website.??