Liberty Square coffee shop opens on one corner as it waits to move to another

Hammerhand Coffee was just weeks away from opening in Liberty Square’s renovated Bedinger Building.

Then the building collapsed in May and was later demolished.

The coffee-shop partners quickly regrouped. They set up a coffee cart and held pop-ups to continue to promote their brand in Liberty. In August, they signed a short-term lease for a smaller spot on another corner of Liberty Square.

Hammerhand Coffee opened Oct. 6 at 22 N. Main St., in the former Jeanne’s Lamp & Mission Furniture space.

The space features large windows on two sides, some with brightly colored stained glass squares at the top, along with original wood floors (circa 1886) and a 15-foot ceiling.

It offers North Carolina’s Counter Culture Coffee, as well as coffee from Lee’s Summit’s Post Coffee Co. Drip coffee sells for $3.25. Hammerhand also sells whole-bean coffee and it will grind the beans for its customers.

It is currently featuring Counter Culture’s Finca Kilimanjaro, which is described as coming from Kenyan-variety coffee trees imported and planted on a volcano in El Salvador, making for a coffee that is “syrupy sweet with notes of clementine and tropical fruit.” But Hammerhand purchased only a pound and will most likely sell out of the Finca before the end of the month, even at $7 a cup.

Its fall seasonal latte flavor is a house-made caramel sauce with cinnamon, ginger, cardamom and cloves described as being “like fall in a cup.”

Partner Alex Merrell worked as a barista at Ultimo Coffee in Philadelphia for several years to see if he wanted to make coffee shops his career. He liked the atmosphere and trying the different coffees. And they served as popular stops on dates with his now wife, Morgan. The couple returned to his hometown of Liberty a year ago to raise their son, August.

Merrell took on two silent partners in the coffee shop. Together they came up with the name Hammerhand, with Merrell picking it for a minor character, Helm Hammerhand, in “Lord of the Rings.” But his partners point to the American folklore figure, the steel-driving John Henry who, by some accounts, “died with a hammer in his hand.”

Hammerhand Coffee also is more automated than many area coffee shops, Merrell said. Its Linea PB’s espresso machine has a built-in scale for more exact measurements. It also has a Seraphim automated pour-over system.

Sasha’s Baking Co. provides cinnamon rolls, muffins, scones, cookies and granola for yogurt parfaits. Hammerhand also plans to soon offer “coffee mocktails,” replacing the alcohol in classic cocktail recipes with coffee.

Hours are currently 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday. It is closed Sunday.

Starting Friday, hours will be 7 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday.

Once a new building goes up on the former Bedinger site, maybe in about a year, Hammerhand will relocate to a larger space there for “better foot traffic and visibility.”

“We also want to do more things like artisan toast,” Merrell said.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 4:23 PM with the headline "Liberty Square coffee shop opens on one corner as it waits to move to another."