A Tallahassee military and law enforcement veteran opened his new family business over the weekend. Tom Flanigan reports the Ground Ops eatery offers freshly roasted coffees and made-from-scratch baked goods.
Chris Smith, who worked for the Leon County Sheriffs Department after serving in the U.S. Navy, says his enterprise has a prime directive.
"Ground Ops is a roastery and bakehouse, so everything is baked fresh in-house every day."
The coffee, he said, comes only from farms that are owned by women and offer healthcare and education to their workers. The green beans are freshly roasted and ground every day. Smith's son Conner takes care of that and his wife Shannon lends a hand with marketing and promotion.
"We're just excited to bring this to Tallahassee. There's really nothing like it in this town," she exclaimed.
The store location is also unique, sitting on the high-visibility corner where Thomasville Road veers off from North Monroe Street.
