While snow fell and temperatures dropped to new lows this week, patrons at the Olathe Public Library’s downtown branch had a new place to grab warm cups of coffee.
This wasn’t necessarily what Hermetheus Coffee’s start as a brick-and-mortar venture was supposed to look like, but owner Jason Scott said he’s still seen his fair share of friendly faces over the shop’s first week.
By the end of this year, Scott still hopes to have not one but two downtown Olathe locations. Another one — what he’s calling the shop’s “flagship” — that was initially supposed to open first is still in the works, a couple of blocks away from the library.
Hermetheus Coffee now open at 260 E. Santa Fe St.
- Hermetheus’s new shop opened at the front of the Olathe Downtown Library, just to the left of the main entrance.
- The space was previously occupied by another local coffee shop Sweet Tee’s, which operated there for a year and a half before closing in January.
- Hermetheus Coffee is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday.
The shop serves ‘fresh-roasted’ coffee classics
As of right now, the library spot serves a scaled-down version of what customers will see at the shop’s larger downtown location once it opens, too.
So far, the menu sticks to the classics: drip coffee, lattes, mochas and such.
Customers looking to brew coffee at home can also purchase Hermetheus Coffee beans from the shop.
Scott said he hopes to launch a loyalty program for regular customers to earn points.
The shop also serves some grab-and-go sweets like danishes and muffins.
“I like to think of this as almost a curated selection,” Scott said. “Even though the menu items are somewhat limited, we will rotate it a little bit so there will be a variety — probably on a bi-weekly or at least a monthly basis.”
The second location will open this summer
He and his wife, Faith Scott, launched Hermetheus Coffee as a home-based coffee roaster in 2020, selling beans online and at city events.
In the five years since, Hermetheus Coffee has become a popular vendor at the Olathe Farmers’ Market. Scott said customers will still be able to find them at the farmers market in addition to both of their new brick-and-mortar stores.
There’s a lot in store in 2025, Scott said.
Pending renovations, the shop’s “flagship” location will open at 101 S. Kansas Ave., this summer. (Scott said the goal is June, if all goes well with construction.)
“This library location was kind of turnkey and ready to go,” he said. “We could open the shop within a few weeks of giving (the city) the green light. So we just decided to go ahead and take that plunge.”
Between turning the Kansas Avenue location into a coffee shop and opening the library location, there has been a lot for Scott to absorb in the past few weeks. As such, he said it’s been difficult to fully process Hermetheus Coffee’s start of its next chapter.
But luckily, the customers that have come to know Hermetheus well over the past few years have helped drum up excitement.
“Overall, it’s been wonderful,” he said. “We’ve had so many farmers market customers that have come by and are excited to see the brick-and-mortar (version) of the little farmers market shop that they know.”
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