SHELBY — Ohio winters are cold. Hence, working in a 1973 Nomad travel trailer in frigid temperatures is less than ideal.
With the inevitable plunging of temperatures approaching, Lynnette and Dustin Shepherd were preparing to wrap up the season for Nomad Coffee, the husband and wife’s business.
Insert Gary King, owner of Black Fork Brewing. King’s Shelby brewery and taproom has been a hit since it opened near the end of October 2023. Over the past two years, King has made several efforts to curate an inviting atmosphere for friends, families and visitors from around the state.
The Shepherds have made Black Fork Brewing’s parking lot one of their normal locations for business during the warmer months of the year. Lynette Shepherd said King inquired about what happened to Nomad during the winter.
“We have to shut it down and move indoors,” she said. “Last year we just closed.”
An opportunity for growth spurred King to see if Nomad would want to operate out of Black Fork Brewing over the winter, an offer which was gladly accepted.
“It takes years to build a reputation and it takes five minutes to kill it,” King said. “I wanted to make sure when we invited somebody else into our space, it was somebody that was like-minded, hardworking, a business owner that really wanted to make it work.”
The Shepherds, along with their business partners Andrea and Adam Dallas, check those boxes.
“I’m hoping that their (Nomad’s) business grows and that they’re very successful in here,” King said.
The partnership is also an opportunity for Nomad Coffee customers to be introduced to Black Fork Brewery and vice versa. It’s also a chance to show folks the atmosphere of the brewery and taproom, King said.
“If they (people) can come into it as a coffee shop and see that it’s not that dark, spooky, threatening place, maybe they’ll come back as a customer of mine,” he said.
How Nomad Coffee was created
The Shepherds launched Nomad Coffee in June 2024 with their close friends Andrea and Adam Dallas.
“We couldn’t have done it without them (Andrea and Adam Dallas),” Dustin Shepherd said.
Lynnette Shepherd and Andrea Dallas both work jobs in education and decided to create their own opportunity for summer work.
“I owned a 1973 Nomad travel trailer,” Lynnette Shepherd said. “It needed renovations and we decided that we’d just take a leap and turn it into a coffee shop.”
During warmer months of the year, the trailer usually rotates between three locations in Shelby during weekdays — Black Fork Brewing, OhioHealth Shelby Hospital and the Central Ohio Industrial Park.
On weekends, Nomad frequents different festivals and sporting events.
“It’s been a lot of fun going different places and meeting different people,” Lynnette Shepherd said. “It’s been a blast.”
Having a mobile business has been a benefit to Nomad’s exposure, the husband and wife agreed. Its also led to partnerships and collaborations with other businesses in the food truck industry.
Nomad sources its coffee beans from Ashland’s Goldberry Roasting Company.
“They (Goldberry) are absolutely wonderful people who we just adore and aspire to,” Lynnette Shepherd said. “We couldn’t have done it without them.”
King said the fact Nomad sources it’s coffee from Goldberry was the icing on top of the partnership, specifying the quality of its beans.
The Shepherds and King also value the mission of Goldberry’s sister company, Coffee Growing Community, which helps coffee-farming families and their communities in the Sierra Norte de Puebla region of Mexico.
“Every bit of coffee that we buy is giving back and doing something good,” Lynnette Shepherd said, adding customers are helping with that initiative as well when they buy a drink.
Why coffee?
Lynnette Shepherd said she has always loved going into coffee shops because it’s the perfect atmosphere to catch up with friends and family.
“When my grandparents got together with their siblings the house just smelled like coffee and that means someone is coming over and we’re going to get to visit,” she said. “We just thought coffee would be probably the most marketable.”
Nomad does offer several non-coffee beverages as well.
The husband and wife said some of their best sellers are Nomad’s specialty lattes, including the sasquatch and snickers lattes.
“We try to keep a pretty diverse menu of different flavor profiles,” Lynnette Shepherd said. “We’ve got fruity, chocolatey, caramel, spice. We just try to appeal to all sorts of different tastes.”
Nomad also offers special seasonal options. The coffee business currently operates out of Black Fork Brewing from 6:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday through Friday.
Lynnette Shepherd said she highly values the ability for Nomad’s customers to now share a cup of coffee face-to-face, something which is a bit more difficult when serving from the trailer.
“I think coffee is an awesome modality for that and now we have the space to provide that,” she said. “I think that’s what makes communities stronger. I think it’s what makes family and every sort of relationship stronger.”
When the weather warms back up, Lynnette Shepherd said Nomad Coffee’s goal is to run both the coffee trailer and its operation inside Black Fork Brewing.
“That’s our ultimate goal,” she said. “With this being completely new for everybody, we’re kind of feeling it out for now.”
Black Fork Brewing business hours
- Wednesday and Thursday: 2 to 10 p.m.
- Friday and Saturday: 2 to 11 p.m.
- Sunday: 2 to 8 p.m.
The power of partnerships
Along with Nomad Coffee, Black Fork Brewing also made space for Mama’s Pizza back in 2023. Mama’s was previously located in a small building on the current property.
“We made them (Mama’s) a space, a really nice space for them to continue their business which only accented and helped build our business,” King said. “I think this (partnership with Nomad) will do the same thing — helping each other.”
King said he’s had conversations with Mama’s about the possibility of offering a breakfast menu — which could include items like sweet pastries and breakfast pizza.
Black Fork Brewing and Nomad Coffee are also partnering for an upcoming Black Friday event called “Kegs and Eggs.”
Both businesses will open at 6:30 a.m. on Nov. 28 to provide coffee, breakfast and lunch to local shoppers. Marketside Grill will be preparing the food offerings.
