The people have spoken and Seymour Johnson Air Force Base has answered; SeyMo Joe to Go is open and ready for business.
“A coffee shop closer to the flightline and to the new Kiddy Hawk has become a large request,” said Jessie Walker, 4th Force Support Squadron Three Eagles Golf Course manager. “The Airmen and their families spoke up, and the base found a way to make it happen.”
Making it happen took a lot of effort from multiple squadrons on base.
The building being used to house the shop was transported from Colorado to the base. Once it got to Seymour Johnson AFB, the work began.
“We needed to refurbish some of the building when we received it,” said Dwight Young, 4th Civil Engineer Squadron deputy chief of operations. “Getting the building up to operational standards, preparing the area, and ultimately placing the building where it needed to be had to be done quickly and accurately.”
The 4th CES had to pour the foundation, bring electricity and water to the building’s location, add sidewalks, and reseal and repaint the parking lot, all before they started to work on the structure itself.
The building, aside from needing to be touched up on the outside, needed to be worked on by nearly every shop within 4th CES.
“HVAC, structures, electrical systems, equipment shop, and water and fuels systems maintenance all did a great job in getting this going,” Young said.
Capt. Christina Mattison, 4th CES operations flight chief, also commented on the ability and progress the 4th CES made along the way.
“I am incredibly proud of the work my Ops flight has done to make sure this coffee kiosk is done right,” said Mattison. “Our normal workload did not change, we still had to accomplish our normal mission of emergency work, preventative maintenance, and corrective maintenance during this time. However the shops stepped up and ensured the normal work got done and the coffee shop was successfully installed. This flight never ceases to impress me.”
Once the building was put in place and connected, Team Seymour members from 4th FSS took over.
“My assistant manager, Gloria Black, and our food and beverage supervisor, Jillian Sullivan, basically coordinated everything on our end,” Walker said. “They did the interviews, hired the staff, trained them up, and ordered the equipment and the products we’re selling.”
After they cleaned the inside from top to bottom, installed the equipment and passed the health inspection, Black said they were able to do a few dry runs before serving their first customer.
“We have bagels, various cream cheeses, protein packs, juices, and of course regular and frozen coffee,” said Black.
Sullivan added some of the coffee is roasted in Durham in an effort to help support local businesses. To be as ecofriendly as possible, all of the cups, lids, and sleeves are 100 percent compostable.
To support the customers who walk to work instead of drive, the shop also has a walk-up window and some picnic and bistro tables.
“To help save on paper, we have a digital rewards program through the app LoyalZoo, where customers can earn free drinks,” Black said.
Black added after the first month, the top 20 percent of customers will get special incentives, such as being able to try a new drink before it’s publicly available.
Because it’s not a large scale coffee shop with a certain menu and strict rules, the shop will get the chance to experiment with new flavored drinks.
“We’ve already created a delicious hazelnut hot cocoa and a cinnamon toast crunch flavored coffee,” said Sullivan. “We’re excited to have this shop and excited to be doing it for the Airmen. They deserve it.”