Photo by Sarah Finnegan
Current O’Henry’s Coffee owner Randy Adamy, left, and O’Henry’s Coffee founder Dr. Henry Bright pose together in the original O’Henry’s location in downtown Homewood. The O’Henry’s Coffee in Highland Park, located at 2915 Highland Ave., opened in December 2013.
Most of the time, owner Randy Adamy said, local coffee lovers think O’Henry’s Coffee is a lot bigger company than it actually is. In fact, it’s still very much “a family affair,” he said, with only five locations in total.
“We’ve just been here for so long. … We are still pretty much a small company, mom and pop,” Adamy said, which is how he plans to keep it.
The O’Henry’s located at 2915 Highland Avenue opened in December 2013, so the shop is about to celebrate five years of business, right on the company’s tail end of various 25th year celebrations this November. For the anniversary, the company has been collecting stories of O’Henry’s patrons and sharing them, in addition to a specially-made anniversary brew that can be bought in-store.
“I feel like over 25 years, the atmosphere and sense of community and hospitality that we try to provide our guests is something to be proud of,” said Director of Wholesale Mike McElwain, who created the anniversary brew.
The local coffeehouse has also been making an effort, Adamy said, to connect and share their story with customers this year.
The original founder of O’Henry’s, Dr. Henry Bright, first opened the coffee shop in November 1993 after 30 years as an orthodontist. Adamy said Bright always had a love for coffee, and there were very few specialty coffeehouses near the Birmingham area when Bright began researching production, roasting and beans in 1992 to open one of his own.
“His wife and his family loved coffee, and he had a little espresso machine at home when nobody did,” Adamy said. “Dr. Bright was all about relationships with people. He wanted people to come to his coffeehouse and meet and talk.”
Bright took extensive notes as he tested coffee brews and began to buy beans from all over the world. In November 1993, he opened the first O’Henry’s in Homewood.
O’Henry’s quickly became a local legend, and Adamy bought the business and its associated roasting company five years later. Bright spent over a year working meticulously with Adamy to show him how to run the company. To this day, their families remain friends.
“I love the concept. I love what Dr. Bright stood for and stands for,” Adamy said.
Adamy and his wife still run the company and though his daughters are now nurses, they come in once a week to bake for all the stores. Over the course of November, O’Henry’s will continue collecting patron stories to share its history. To learn more, go to ohenryscoffees.com.
