Has it really been nearly 10 years since Honey Moon Coffee Co. debuted? Husband-and-wife owners Zac and Jessica Parsons have expanded beyond their original cozy corner on South Weinbach Avenue into four shops manned by 80 employees selling globally influenced products. The duo shares what keeps them going — it’s not just caffeine — and connected to each other.
When you think back to the versions of yourselves who opened Honey Moon Coffee Co. 10 years ago, what surprises you most about who you are today?
Jessica: I’m surprised we made it. [laughs] Ignorance is bliss. We definitely went into it with just rose-colored glasses. We had no idea how difficult it was going to be.
Zac: But there was a little bit of a stubbornness and a “stick-tuitiveness” that revealed some things to both of us about our characters. And because we were in it together, that pushed both of us to show up for the other in ways that allowed us to make it through some really challenging times.
Jessica: Being a married couple, running a multi-store business, there are days where I’m having a breakdown and then he’s completely calm. [Laughs] And then there are a lot of days where he’s more worked up and I’m completely calm. We kind of play that role for each other. If we see the other starting to have a little meltdown, we’re like, “OK, we got this.”
Zac: We joked about it, but it also ended up being true that we were both divorced and we started the business together before getting married. And so it was almost like, if we can make a small business partnership work for a couple of years, then perhaps our marriage … we’ll have a good shot. And so it was a little bit of a training ground for our marriage. We didn’t get married until a couple years into doing the business together.
Honey Moon has been the site of several love stories, including yours. How does it feel to know your business has played a significant role in shaping others’ lives?
Zac: That’s honestly probably the most gratifying part of it when we have rough days or tough days or is-it-worth-it days. There’s a mantra that I’ve been really encouraged by lately. It’s “create things that create things.” From the beginning of the first location, we are creating a space for others to come and fill. So, whether it’s with the name, or just the coffee shops being a good place for first dates or proposals, it is very affirming.
If you could build a Honey Moon satellite shop anywhere in pop culture, where would it be?
Zac: We took a post-COVID trip to Hawaii and had a great experience with the culture there. And because of the time change, we were there early in the morning. We ate more breakfast in Hawaii than we do in the Midwest because of the time change. And so we imagined, if we were to do something like that …tying it into the TV world, the TV show “Lost” was also filmed in Hawaii, which I know was a mysterious island, and they probably didn’t need a coffee shop, but —
Jessica: Hey, everyone needs coffee. [laughs]
Who is more likely to change the music in the shop? Who has stronger opinions about merchandise?
Zac: I’m the music person.
Jessica: And I’m the merch person. We’re both actually highly sensitive to walking into the shop. If the playlist ends and it’s ultra silent, we’re both, like, jumping on it very quickly. We know our business is how you make people feel. We understand that it matters.
Zac: It’s one of the most important things to me about the vibe that’s set.
Name the best coffee you’ve ever tasted.
Zac: Mine is Ethiopian Yirgacheffe.
Jessica: King Arthur Geisha, which is Colombian. We tend to like sweeter, fruitier because we drink a lot of coffee… and it’s got a lot of fruity tones. That’s not everyone’s preference, but we tend to like those.
What do you do together for fun?
Zac: I think hiking has probably been the biggest thing that we’ve done consistently. It’s nice because it lends itself well to traveling and exploring. When you’re on a coffee farm, you’re going up mountains. We tend to go to Angel Mounds, and that’s our special place. We enjoy spending time together just for the sake of that, but it’ll often be an intention behind the beginning of the hike, like, what do we need to kind of work through? And we found that, just walking together, moving forward together, puts us in a good head space to solve something or move it a little bit closer to completion.
Jessica: But I’m uber competitive, and we like to play pickleball, too.
Zac: [laughs] Yep. Pickleball has been a new one that we’ve enjoyed, as well.
If your relationship had a house roast, what flavor notes would define it?
Jessica: Spicy.
Zac: Some sort of spicy notes, yeah.
Jessica: We’re very different, but the longer we’ve been a couple, we’ve gone from being single origins [laughs] to, like, a house blend where we’ve taken on more of each other’s care. Zac was always the risk-taker, and now I’m like, “Oh yeah, we could probably do that.” And I’ll just jump in.
Zac: She’s definitely the risk-taker at this point.
Do you have a morning coffee ritual at home?
Zac: We have a routine. The night before, I will grind the coffee, prepare the filter, have the water ready, and have it in the machine. She wakes up before me — the machine is Wi-Fi enabled — so she can wake up, grab her phone, hit “brew coffee,” crack her knuckles, dust the cobwebs off, and then walk into the kitchen to be able to serve that for herself. … In the next 30-60 minutes, I’ll eventually wake up and send her a text, and then she will bring me coffee in bed.
Jessica: We’re black coffee drinkers. We have a Chemex, we have an auto (coffeemaker), we have an Aeropress, we have pour over. But for our utilitarian get-up-first thing, we’re just going to our drip coffee machine.
What is a small daily habit that keeps you grounded?
Zac: Honestly, our coffee ritual is designed for that. I know that at the end of every day when I’m out of gas, there is something I can do to show her that I love her by grinding this coffee and preparing it. And she knows that there’s something she can do for me because I am just not as much of a morning person as she is and I appreciate her bringing that to me in bed. And I feel like that grounds me.
What’s it like on the grind as a coffee shop owner? In this Evansville Business Q&A, Zac and Jessica discuss why they partner with coffee growers around the globe, what’s coming at Honey Moon, and how they’ve evolved as business owners
