By Michael Butler

There is a new business in Tallassee for coffee enthusiasts. The Coffee Cow is serving hot and cold coffee drinks and ice cream shakes, all made with Blue Ribbon Dairy milk.

Blue Ribbon Dairy owner Michaela Wilson decided to open her second business to fill a need for coffee lovers on the go.

“I grew up on a dairy farm,” Wilson said when she opened Blue Ribbon Dairy in 2018. “Blue Ribbon Dairy was Lott Dairy Farm. C.D. Lott was my grandfather. His dad built our milk parlor in the mid-1940s and milked cows here. Then my granddad milked cows here when I was growing up as a little girl. When I was in the first grade, mama trusted him enough to keep me during the summer and I was able to learn. Milk is a passion of mine. Dairy cows are a passion of mine.”

Mornings come early in the dairy business, so the new venture works for Wilson, who regularly rises at 4:30 to tend the cows. The Coffee Cow opens at 5:30 every weekday morning and 7 a.m. on Saturdays.

“Dairy farming is a 24-hour-a-day, seven-day-a-week job. There’s just nothing like it,” she said. “Pamela Price has been with me for almost five years. She is at the coffee shop daily, while I’m overseeing operations at the farm. We work together at both places to get the job done.”

The Coffee Cow has two drive-thru windows for those traveling in either direction down Gilmer Avenue. The building adjacent to the Tallassee Shopping Center at 604 West Roosevelt Street, was originally a Bank of Tallassee branch location and most recently home to Grumpy Dog.

“We’ve been open a full week and the community support has been great,” Wilson added. “We are excited to offer something the community needed.”

The business has partnered with Mama Mocha’s Coffee Roastery in Opelika. In addition to specialty drinks, BRD ice cream will be sold at the Coffee Cow, plus hot chocolate and flavored milk.

“We (also) offer specialty drinks such as energy drinks using Red Bull. We will offer a variety of Blue Ribbon Dairy ice cream by the scoop or pint in the near future.”