Early Bird Gets the Coffee

Urban Market Tri-Cities had their grand opening in Johnson City, Tennessee, and Early Bird's Coffee Company served the masses.

Above: Owner and operator of Early Bird's Coffee Company, Mark Walters serves a variety of coffee and tea at the entrance to the grand opening of Urban Market Tri-Cities.

Coffee and Cafes of the Tri-Cities is a broad beat; however, focusing on the quirks and unique coffeeshops allowed me to hone in on Early Bird's Coffee Company. This coffee company is not your brick and mortar coffeehouse, instead they come to you.

Early Bird's comes to local business launches, school events, ballgames and farmer's markets to bring coffee to the community. When researching for what events to attend, I knew I wanted to follow this coffee stand and gather information.

Before going, I formulated questions and an outline to follow. I also prepared a game-plan: arrive and take notes on who attended the event, go inside and take a look around, gather my senses, order a coffee, ask the questions, and be on my way. It was time to follow through.

When I entered the boutique, I noticed an upscale atmosphere filled with young women and older couples. Urban Market sells clothes and accessories for all ages. After perusing, I made my way to Early Bird's and began to order after waiting in a long line. I wanted to keep it brief, for there were many people behind me demanding coffee. My questions surrounded their mission as a business, why they decided to support and serve at this event, and what the best beverage is.

Mark Walters, owner and operator, was elated to serve me coffee and some answers. While making my vanilla chai latte, he was happy to answer my questions and more. After gathering all I needed, Walters was happy to pose for a quick photo and sent me on my way.

After this event, I was sure to gather information on Urban Market Tri-Cities and check out their social media. I also checked the social media of Early Bird's to see any updates on the event. I followed up to my notes and organized the information I gathered to make the writing process easier. Also, I was sure to research a traveling coffee company of the Tri-Cities and they are the only coffee company to do this. And then it was time to start writing.