Jeremy, his wife Sarah Gonske, and Candace and Wes Lambard opened Luv Coffee on March 1, 2021, in Woodforest’s Pine Market.
“We saw a need and said, ‘Hey, how can we participate in that?’” Jeremy said. “A lot of times in the U.S. we suffer from what I call depraved indifference, where if it’s not at our doorstep, we don’t interact with it.”
With a desire to care for orphans in Haiti, Jeremy said this led him to approach the owner of CoreLuv, a mission organization that cares for orphans in Haiti and India, about being a part of the nonprofit’s mission.
“[The founder of CoreLuv] goes, ‘10 years ago, we were at the point where ... we were going to open a coffee shop. I would love to be a part of a coffee shop, and I love the fact you want to use Luv Coffee,’” Jeremy recalled.
Sarah said she hopes the store is not only a coffee shop, but also a conversation starter for the mission behind the business.
According to the owners, 50% of all proceeds are donated to CoreLuv.
“I hear people talking and engaging about the orphan crisis, which wasn’t really a topic in our community before,” Wes said. “It’s really nice to see that transform.”
The coffee shop offers traditional espresso-based drinks as well as blended and iced coffees. The shop also offers merchandise and food items, such as pastries and sandwiches.
The owners said they hope to one day import their coffee from Haiti. They also said they would like to see Luv Coffee expand to other communities to raise awareness and transform Haiti through their mission.
“[Luv Coffee] was born about the hope of restoring Haiti and just providing the exposure of the orphan crisis and supporting that financially,” Jeremy said. “This isn’t going to restore Haiti; it isn’t going to bring back all of the coffee farms to Haiti, but it’s a start, and maybe we could do one [coffee farm].”
Luv Coffee
820 Pine Market Ave., Ste. 100, Montgomery
936-588-6462
www.luvcoffee.org
Hours: Mon.-Fri. 6 a.m.-6 p.m., Sat. 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Sun. 7 a.m.-3 p.m.
