By Rachel Broadway
Poppy & Co., a boutique and coffee shop, recently opened at Friendly Shopping Center, a great option for exhausted college students to get the energy boost they need. Poppy & Co. offers a quaint family-friendly environment for individuals of all ages, creating a community-like atmosphere.
A delicious and more affordable option compared to most local coffee shops, Poppy & Co. also offers loyalty punch cards. The loyalty punch card includes a 20% discount on the fourth drink and a free drink on the eighth. Poppy & Co. offers a wide variety of options for everyone, including over 50 different syrup flavors as well as providing gluten-free, dairy-free and sugar-free options. The small business is run by Julie Summers and her dad, Phil Stanton.
Established in 2015, the business was originally branded as Southern Julep. Summers’ small business started as a senior project on the “effects of social media marketing.” Originally starting as pop-up shops then evolving into a small storefront in Downtown Eden, N.C. During the height of the COVID pandemic, the business grew by approximately 33%, prompting a remodel of the space. However, it was still too small for what she needed.
Two-and-a-half years after opening her first storefront, Summers moved to a new location just around the corner from her original boutique. This new location was much larger, just under 10,000 square feet, of which over half was used for the store. About four years later, Summers wanted to expand her store space. Without wasting space, Summers wanted to open either a wine bar or a coffee shop. After much discussion, thought and prayer, Summers found a sign that said, “all things are possible with a cute outfit and coffee,” and she took it as her sign to open the coffee shop. In late 2023, the coffee shop was born, initially established as Sunday Morning Coffee. The purpose was to create a place of community and fellowship, like that of a Sunday morning, and it did just that.
After stagnant growth in Eden, Summers planned to move to a building for sale in Reidsville, N.C. During the process, many stumbling blocks and brick walls occurred while planning the move. Then Summers was offered a once in a lifetime opportunity when the leasing manager of Friendly Center reached out to her, something that does not occur often. While the newest location at Friendly Center is not as large as the previous building, Summers accomplished her dream as a younger woman of opening her storefront at Friendly.
With crafted espresso drinks, Poppy & Co. offers regular and decaf, hot and iced, lattes, frappes, as well as their own signature drinks. Aside from coffee, they offer fruit smoothies, chai, refreshers, hot chocolate and lotus energy spritzers. Popular drinks include Cowgirl Coffee, a delicious espresso-based coffee blending maple, honey and cinnamon, often served with oat milk; Cherry Limeade, a delectable cherry limeade spritzer; Brown Sugar Pop Tart, a scrumptious espresso-based coffee with toasted white chocolate blended with brown sugar and cinnamon, mimicking that of a brown sugar pop tart; Bahama Breeze, a lotus energy spritzer blending coconut, lime and blue curacao; Cookie Butter, a delightful espresso-based coffee mimicking that of a Biscoff cookie; Sunday Sunset, a lotus energy spritzer, a delightful melody of flavor consisting of strawberry, pineapple, and topped with fresh orange juice.
You can sip and shop at Poppy & Co. located at 3118 West Friendly Avenue, beside The Cheesecake Factory, a short seven-minute drive from campus, at any time during their business hours Monday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
