Smalley Coffee features great coffee and simple pleasures

Josh Premuda tells everyone thank you as they leave the window of his newly opened business, Smalley Coffee.

It’s a bit of gratitude to the customers who are making his 10-year idea to fuse his love of simplicity, style and coffee into the timeless appeal of a 1966 Airstream Overlander a reality. The happy customers taking a moment to visit and enjoy a fresh cup of coffee are the crema at the top of cup.

Folks passing by the silver bullet parked around the corner from Ben Franklin on Newton have been scratching their heads for the past few months. It is an unusual concept for the area, serving coffee from a camper, but one that permeates in the coastal coffee cultures.

“I think some people thought Les Lorey [the owner of the building where the camper sits] might be living in it,” Josh said. “I didn’t really tell people what exactly I was doing.”

Skepticism will likely turn to dedication as coffee lovers find it easy and delicious to stop by for quick pick-me-up on Jasper’s north side near the former location of the popular café, Sozo. “The most important thing to me in the first two weeks was we get the product right,” he said. “I want people to stop here every morning, make it part of the routine.”

It wasn’t easy to open. The Airstream was found in Owensboro while Josh was searching for a good cup of coffee. His father-in-law towed it up to Jasper. “I would show you the before pictures but …” Josh trailed off. “I gutted the entire thing. The only thing that has really stayed is the exterior.”

It is a simple set up at this point. Josh and his two employees serve coffee, specialty drinks and a few snack items from walk-up and drive-thru windows in the converted Airstream. He’s only been open a few weeks and the menu is simple, but he plans to add iced coffee drinks, smoothies, and wraps or sandwiches later. “We just started and, you know, I didn’t want to be overwhelmed,” he said. Josh also works full time for Kimball.

It was rather difficult for Josh to go through the red tape to open the new business on North Newton. “It took some time to try to figure out what this is,” he explained. “Is this a building. Am I a transient merchant? I had to call the state several times and work with the city. I’ve had several meetings with the mayor and Darla Blazey [Director of Community Development and Planning].”

Since opening, the cold, hard winter has given way to warmer weather and Josh has added some outdoor seating and decorations to the front of the shop. He’s thinking of putting down a swatch of indoor/outdoor carpet and a couple tables and chairs soon, but for now stools and a bar will suffice for the walk-up customers.

He took a lot of time finding the right roaster. But found his perfect cup from Terra Haute roaster, Rex Roasting. “I really like what they offer,” the coffee snob explained.

Smalley doesn’t have anything to do with the size of his wheeled café. It comes from his mother’s side of the family. “I named it Smalley in dedication to my grandfather, Wayne Smalley. He operated a diner in Horton, Mich. before he left for WWII,” he said. “He passed away as I was renovating the Airstream. I’ve tried to build Smalley with the same values he had.”

Josh and his wife, Meghan (Hochgesang), and their three-month old daughter, Hazel live in Jasper.

Smalley Coffee, 2955 Newton Street, is open from 6:30 to 11 a.m. Mondays through Saturdays. The shop’s number is 812-482-2442 and can be found on Facebook here.

“I don’t know if I have a grand plan,” Josh said. “This has been fun to start. I hope it lasts and becomes an establishment here.”