“Hamilton’s been on the rise, and continues to grow,” said Amy Hepburn, a former teacher of 18 years. She said it’s important to not only open but expand in the city. “We just saw all the tremendous growth, and we saw all the changes the community was trying to make. We saw great things happening.”
She admits she and her husband were nervous about opening in Hamilton because of its former reputation, but when they saw the revitalization that’s happened over the past dozen years, they were sold. They said “it’s important” to invest in this rebirth of Butler County’s capital city.
“I feel like we’re part of the growth of the city,” Amy Hepburn said. “People have really supported us, the community is behind us.”
The Hepburns, who have two children, Grace, 15, and Lukas, 12, said they are interested to see how Biggby’s west side store assimilates into the community, which is surrounded by neighborhoods and schools. Amy Hepburn said the opportunity to purchase the building at 1440 Haldimand Ave. “presented itself” just as they were getting requests for a coffee shop on the city’s west side.
Stand-alone coffee shops have percolated into Hamilton in recent years, with Biggby Coffee, The Fringe, and soon-to-be Starbucks, but it started with True West in the 300 block of Main Street in Hamilton’s downtown. The Hepburns are supportive of all the coffee shops in the city, they said.
City Manager Joshua Smith said he’s “appreciative” of Biggy’s two locations, and this expansion adds to the strength of Hamilton’s continued growth of small businesses.
“True West has been our coffee anchor in the city for the past decade, and their belief in Hamilton provided a path for our new generation of small businesses,” he said.
The two Biggby locations are expected to serve different types of customers, the Hepburns said.
“I feel like the High Street location is for people more in a rush,” said Amy Hepburn. “Over here, it’s more of a community feel. It’s walkable to the communities behind us, it’s a good opportunity with all the schools around us.”
But the Hepburn’s ultimate goal with all four stores ― which also includes one in Loveland and one in Montgomery ― is to build people up.
“We’re really into core values, and building a workplace where people enjoy coming to work, and customers enjoy coming,” she said. “We want it to be a positive environment. My main goal is to hire people to work with us so that we can empower and build up, and help give them the life that they want, kind of like what we’ve been able to do with us.”
Biggby Coffee’s locations at 1055 High St. and 1440 Haldimand Ave. are open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Sundays.
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