Indah Coffee opens in Cottontown

Indah Coffee will hold a grand opening for its new coffee café in the historic Cottontown Neighborhood from 7- 9 p.m. on May 2.

Indah’s first retail location is now open limited hours — 7 a.m. to noon — Monday through Saturday in the redeveloped Dunn Electric Co. building at 2238 Sumter St. Starting May 1 hours will be 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Indah was founded by husband and wife Nick and Stefanie Hauser.

The special after-hours grand-opening celebration May 2 will feature music by Flat Out Strangers, a popular Columbia-based gypsy swing band. Coffee, beer and wine and some food items will be available.

Indah Coffee Co. offers espresso drinks, brewed coffee, nitro cold brew coffee, pastries, and freshly roasted coffee, as well as a beer and wine bar. Plans are to add fresh sandwiches and salads to the menu later.

The Sumter Street location also houses Indah’s commercial coffee roasting operation. The roaster is centrally located in the building and visible from the coffee shop. The coffee cafe also has a “cupping lab,” where coffee can be tasted and tested.

Indah started in 2010 at the All Local Farmers Market at 701 Whaley St., and relocated when it became the Soda City Market on Main Street. Indah will continue to be a presence at the Saturday market, Stefanie Hauser said.

The 12,000-square-foot building that is Indah’s new home was redeveloped by Cason Development Group of Columbia. The building also houses a second location for Circa Barber Shop.

Indah and Circa join other businesses including The War Mouth restaurant and the planned Cotton Town Brew Lab brewery, in a revitalized Cottontown commercial area. Cason Development Group also repurposed the building that houses The War Mouth at 1209 Franklin St.

“Cottontown has been so welcoming,” said Nick Hauser. “People have stopped in to say hello and look around. We already feel part of the great community that exists here.”

Indah, which means beautiful in Indonesian, was originally just a coffee roaster, but began serving fresh brewed coffee at the Saturday market in response to customer demand.

Customers always wanted to know, “Where is your retail shop,” Nick Hauser said. “Now we can tell them ‘Come see us at 2238 Sumter St.’”

Indah’s roasting operation has gone from a portable roaster at the farmers market to a commercial roaster supplying coffee to a number of area restaurants and stores including Motor Supply, The War Mouth, Rosewood Market and Earth Fare.

Indah Coffee Co., 2238 Sumter St., Columbia, SC 29201