After Hurricane Idalia delayed opening, Red Owl Coffee hits the ground running in Macon

People started lining up for Red Owl Coffee Company’s grand opening in west Macon-Bibb County at 5:15 a.m. Saturday even though the store didn’t open until 6.

Amanda Geckeler, owner of the Macon Red Owl, said the grand opening was phenomenal, and customers continue to flood the coffee shop for delicious brews.

“It went fantastic. We had such a turnout, more than we even really were ready for,” she said.

Having more customers than expected is a good problem to have, Geckeler said. The first Monday and Tuesday the coffee shop was open, Geckeler said people were streaming through the restaurant and drive-thru from the time they opened at 6 a.m. to around 11 a.m.

Geckeler asks that people have patience with them over the next couple of weeks because they just opened and are working out the kinks.

“We have had very, very awesome customers. Everybody’s been super patient from what I saw,” she said. “It’s funny because we’ve only been open four days now, and we’ve had several customers that came to the Grand Opening have come every day. They love the product, and that makes me so happy.”

The quality of the product is one of the main reasons Geckeler said she wanted to invest in Red Owl Coffee Company, a Valdosta-based franchise. Geckeler, who lives in Valdosta said her and her husband, Anthony, came across the coffee shop there, loved the company and wanted to get involved.

“We do absolutely everything, even pulling the espresso shot, by hand, and so all of that is for quality. So again, we’ll get all of the speed down, but everything that is put into this company is quality and just customer service,” she said. “I’m hoping that it’s going to be the neighborhood coffee shop for that area of Macon.”

The original opening date for the store was Sept. 2, but due to Hurricane Idalia, they had to delay the opening for a week, Geckeler said. The week before the original opening date the last thing they needed before their final inspection was the sign for the building.

The company that was supposed to install the sign was located just outside of Valdosta, and they were supposed to install it the Wednesday the hurricane hit the area.

“This whole area was without power for days, and so it affected them being able to bring the signs, and so without the signs, they wouldn’t complete our inspection, which allowed us to get the certificate of occupancy, and you cannot open the doors until then,” she said.

Although they had to push the opening a week, Geckeler said the coffee shop has had a huge volume of customers in the first few days.

“We’re hiring more staff. We’re working extremely hard to get everything in place to be able to serve everybody and get them out timely. Of course, that is definitely going to be our motto and what we do on a daily basis, but... the volume has been incredible,” she said.

Those interested in applying to be a barrista can submit an application on Red Owl Coffee Company’s website.

Lisa Douglas, a customer who ordered the Caramel Dolce, a blend of caramel and white mocha, first tried Red Owl in Tifton and said it was great.

“I love Starbucks, but I like these guys better,” she said. “I only live 10 minutes from here, so I’ll probably stop by as often as I can.”

Kimberly Collins, who ordered a coffee with caramel and dark mocha, lives in Indiana, but she was in Georgia visiting family and decided to stop by to try the new coffee shop.

“I actually really liked it because it’s not super sweet. I guess there’s different types of coffee drinkers. I like just regular coffee the way it tastes without creamer and sugar. So this one was nice, because even with the flavorings, it’s not sugar overload,” she said.

Her daughter was sipping on a strawberry, mango smoothie with spinach, which Collins said she liked, but Collins also said she wasn’t a picky eater.

The coffee and more

I also tried Red Owl’s coffee at the grand opening and a few days later. I am very particular about my coffee, so much so that I usually make my own coffee at home so I am not disappointed. I find a lot of coffee shops fill their cups with so much sugar and sweetener that you can’t even taste the coffee.

That is not the case for Red Owl. My first trip there I ordered a Double Agent, a coffee with dark and white mocha, lightly flavored, and it was excellent. The coffee breaks through the chocolate flavoring and leaves you with a smooth taste.

Another pet peeve of mine at coffee shops is the temperature at which they serve hot coffee. I have the patience of a small child and will promptly scald my mouth as soon as I receive a coffee.

The temperature of the coffee I received at the grand opening was perfect. It was hot enough that it remained warm until I finished the drink, but it did not burn me when I eagerly gulped down my first sip without thinking.

As someone who doesn’t like super sweet coffee, I typically don’t order frappuccinos, but I was intrigued with Red Owl’s guilt-free options, which is a frappuccino with no fat and low sugar.

I doubt anyone can tell the difference between the guilt-free option and the regular frappuccinos. It was basically like drinking a milkshake, and as you can see from the photos, I drank a lot of it before our photographer has a chance to take a photo.

If frappuccinos are your thing, this guilt-free option tastes just as sweet as the real thing.

In addition to coffee, Red Owl offers a variety of food options including breakfast sandwiches and bowls, muffins and bagels.

The only food I’ve tried at Red Owl is their toasted blueberry bagel with cream cheese. The bagel was overflowing with blueberries and toasted perfectly. Red Owl also offers smoothies.

For those who do not like coffee, Red Owl has it’s own line of energy drinks called Hoot Energy. Geckeler said they will be able to start serving their Hoot Energy Friday.