Coffee drinkers in Greenville, South Carolina have more than one reason to enjoy their favorite beverage. Those who patronize the city’s Liquid Highway coffee chain have the satisfaction of knowing that their purchase is helping to save lives.
The concept, founded ten years ago, was purchased in 2006 by husband and wife team Ricky and Theda Vaughan. The Vaughans made the purchase as a means of generating money for their private foundation, Touch the Ground. All of Liquid Highway’s after-tax profits go to the foundation, which supports charitable organizations around the world.
With a desire to contribute even more to their foundation, the Vaughans expanded the concept from two to four locations. Today, their son, Dwain Waller, serves as Liquid Highway’s chief of operations; his wife, Keeli, is director of public relations.
Not only do the Vaughans and their family have a passion for helping humanity – they also have a passion for great coffee. The concept, which now has four locations in the Greenville area, offers a wide range of select coffees from countries around the world, including Nicaragua, Bolivia, Ethiopia and New Guinea. Each coffee variety is carefully chosen from among several of the nation’s top-rated roasters and ground in-house daily.
“It is our goal to always provide the highest quality coffee we can find,” said Keeli Waller. “We constantly rotate through single origin coffees. At any given time we can have between 20 and 25 different coffee selections. Although our focus is on medium roasted coffees, we do offer a few darker roasts for the more traditional coffee drinkers.”
Liquid Highway’s menu starts with the perfect cup of black coffee and goes uphill from there. Espresso shooters share the menu with a range of latte, cappuccino, tea and more.
The company’s popular line of specialty drinks was developed by Dwain. Most of them begin with an espresso base and include such creations as the Sticky Bun Turbo, a blend of hazelnut, caramel and cinnamon, and the One Way, with caramel, white chocolate and toffee flavors.
Also on the menu are a range of frozen smoothies and Italian sodas as well as muffins, scones, croissants, biscotti, cookies and nutritional bars. A line of gelato and sorbetto selections is available, each made with all natural ingredients; flavors include Tahitian vanilla, banana caramel praline and blackberry zinfandel.
All of the company’s new stores, confirmed Waller, will be within a five-hour radius of Greenville. “Our plans for expansion include 10 company-owned stores per year until we have reached 40 or 50,” she said.
Although the two original Liquid Highway locations offer double drive-through windows with no walk up service, future stores will offer both. “Our original concept was to focus on the drive-thru aspect of the industry, but since opening a few cafés, we’ve found it much more beneficial to our mission to be able to have more one-on-one time with our customers,” Waller said.
Growing at such a rapid rate can be a challenge, Waller asserted. “Because of that, it is tough finding the right employees and maintaining a high level of quality at each location, she said.” The company has implemented new procedures to ensure a consistent finished product at every store.
While Ricky and Theda spend time traveling and working with organizations that Touch the Ground supports, they remain involved with the vision and growth of Liquid Highway. Dwain oversees day-to-day operations with the help of a strong corporate team and talented managers.
Recently, Ricky and Theda visited a children’s feeding program in Columbia, which is supported by Touch the Ground. “Their stories of how many children came out to receive the food were incredible,” said Waller. “Almost all of them ate only a few bites and then wrapped the remaining food back up. Food is so scarce in this part of the world that these children have grown up only receiving one good meal a week, which is provided by the feeding program. They have quickly learned to only eat a little of the “good meal” and either save it for younger siblings or have a little each day of the week instead of eating only once.”
Ultimately, the success of Liquid Highway means aiding humanity and saving lives around the world. Touch the Ground currently supports medical clinics, schools, orphanages, feeding programs and long-term local and foreign missionaries in 27 countries. Their goal is to touch each of the world’s approximately 194 countries.
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