In Lexington, Kentucky, coffee shop owner Rhett Constantine says his historic location—a late-19th century schoolhouse—also draws business.
“We’re really close to downtown Lexington, and there’s a couple Starbucks and some [other] big national chains downtown. But people find Old School Coffee and they think, ‘Wow, this is in a unique building.’”
Old School Coffee is one of a handful of businesses in the historic Dudley Square building, a public school built around 1881 that operated until the 1930s. The property was renovated into commercial space late in the 20th century, and when current owner David Burton purchased it in 2018, it was still in solid shape.
“The ceilings are 13 feet on the first floor,” Burton says. “It’s got a big, wide center hallway, a double staircase in the center of the building that goes up. It has an interesting feel to it.”
Old School Coffee can be found on the first floor, where the menu leans into the building’s educational origins: “School House #3” is a white chocolate–lavender latte, while “The Teacher” latte combines flavors of honey and vanilla.
“I didn’t have this dream to open up a coffee shop in an old school,” says Constantine, who started the business in 2019. “But this beautiful old school presented itself, and I kind of molded my branding around that.”
