At G’s, a Side of Coffee with Your Community
Ray Jones of G’s Shepard Springs Cafe might play the piano for you if you bug him hard enough, but he and his wife Gladys’ real business is building community.
With a full gamut of flavorful espresso drinks made with Boston Stoker beans, and a tasty, inexpensive menu of American and Mexican home-cooking, Ray and his wife Gladys “G” Jones have created an inviting space. The three-story building that houses G’s is tucked away from the main thoroughfare through Shepard Springs. It’s a perfect spot for a neighborhood hub, nestled in among schools, daycare facilities, churches and the branch library.
(When I found G’s, I was testing AV equipment in the Shepard Branch of the Columbus Metropolitan Library. I’m hosting a Columbus AMA workshop there April 30 on how to use AI).
“Welcome!” Ray said as I entered, “Is this your first time here?”
I felt flattered — he was clearly already a fan of The SkilletReport!
But I soon realized Ray gives all his customers the royal treatment — “Is this your first time here?” he repeated to a customer who entered while I scarfed some tasty huevos con chorizo.
Eggs and chorizo at G’s Shepard Springs Cafe
I chatted with some friendly nuns from the local neighborhood with whom I shared a Steubenville connection; a baker; another guy named “Adam;” a local accountant whose boss was ALSO named Ray Jones; some construction workers; and a mom who had just dropped off her kid at the daycare nearby.
I was only there an hour.
The congenial entrepreneurs gave me a full tour of the shop and meeting spaces, as well as the grounds where the couple will be installing a patio garden in honor of Ray’s late parents. G’s also has plans for a rooftop balcony and a musical performance program, currently under wraps.
“That’s off the record, right now,” Ray said as he dropped some names in the lineup of artists G’s plans to host for Taco Tuesdays during the summer. “Let’s just say, it’s not going to be your typical Tuesday/Thursday jazz set.”
I chatted with G, the cafe’s namesake and the brains running the kitchen, and found out she grew up in Guanajuato, Mexico. That meant I had to try the chorizo and eggs with avocado. It made me nostalgic for California; I’d pick up meat from the Mexican market in our San Clemente neighborhood and make my family chorizo scrambles like the dish I ate at G’s.
The coffee blends at G’s are the star, however. The espresso drinks are flavorful, non-fussy and keep you wide awake. (I’m so into espresso that I describe myself as a “coffee user,” more than a coffee drinker, so I know my way around a bean).
What’s Next for G’s?
G’s in Shepard Springs has had a long soft opening over the course of the last three months, but they plan to host a grand opening from 1 pm to 4 pm April 28 — an event where you might run into me representing The SkilletReport!
Also, just this month, G’s opened the only cafe in the John W. Bricker Federal Building downtown, making it their second location. Ray said the attorneys and federal workers there have already made the downtown location popular after going years without an in-house eatery.
The downtown location is open to the public, but as it’s in the heavily secured Federal Building, you have to go through metal detectors first.
