New Ownership brewing for Hometown Coffee & Tea

Jake and Holly Bailey handed over the keys to Hometown Coffee and Tea to Dustin and Lisa Hudson, who plan to run the beloved coffee-and-lunchtime hangout on Main Street with the same menu and family-friendly atmosphere – and perhaps a few tweaks down the road.

The Hudsons closed on the business on April 24 after spending a couple of weeks training in the kitchen with Holly and her staff who will stay on to help the new owners run it. The Hudsons also purchased the building next door to Hometown from the Baileys and plan to open a dinner venue sometime down the road, Sgt. Hudson said.

The Enterprise caught up with the families last Sunday when they gathered at Hometown for a group photo and a staff meeting.

Enterprise: What’s going through your mind right now?

Dustin Hudson: We’ve lost it [laughs]. It’s gonna be a new family fun-filled adventure. It’ll be Lisa and our daughter-in-law Niki and our son Tucker [running the cafe] - kind of new friendly faces here. I’m going to be more in the background doing my other work [with the Olney Police Department]. We are excited. We are thrilled. It’s going to be chaos but it keeps a hometown staple alive and running and owned by hometown people.

Enterprise: Are you making any additions or changes to the menu or the business itself?

Dustin: A steak sandwich! I gotta have meat. It won’t be anytime soon. It will be when we get our feet wet. Once we get used to the way it runs then we’ll look at adding a couple of new menu items. Probably within six months, there will be an addition next door. That will be a diner menu - if you want a steak or a pork chop or a chicken breast or a beer or a glass of wine. We are going to try to transfer the family-friendly Hometown environment over there. Basically, when the coffee shop closes at 5 [p.m.] that will open at 5 and stay open until 9 or 10. We are still working out the kinks here before we take on another project.