By RON FIELDS
JC Post
What started as a home renovation turned into a "labor of love" for two Junction City couples — Paradox Coffee & Bistro, which opened its doors Feb. 26.
"We relocated to Junction City about eight years ago," said Tiffany Nacarato. "We fell in love with Junction City and decided to make it our home. We absolutely love it here."
Originally from the Wichita area, Tiffany Nacarato is a doctor working in Salina and her husband, Teran, is a physician in Geary County.
"We had an older home and decided to renovate it. We hired DM Construction and got to know Derrick Melton and his wife, Tammy," she said.
Derrick and Tammy Melton — city clerk for Junction City — are both lifelong residents of Junction City.
"When you love something, you want to see it grow," Nacarato said. "We looked around and tried to see what Junction City needed and it was a coffee shop. We had a couple of chains, but nothing that seemed like it was Junction City's own."
The idea for Paradox was born when the building at 419 Washington, formerly Liberty Tax, went on the market in 2022.
"This building just kind of spoke to us," she said. Again, DM Construction took on the renovation project and the partnership between the Nacaratos and Meltons was born. "Derrick and his crew did an amazing job and created just the vibe we were looking for — a home for everyone, a community space."
But the new partners envision more than coffee at their establishment — and recognized the importance of sourcing as much locally as possible, down to the furniture purchased at a Junction City retailer and a local rancher who sells beef, pork and eggs at the shop.
"Local supporting local. It's kind of our unofficial tagline," Nacarato said. "Everything you see in that shop comes from Kansas. ... This is how we make sure everything is the quality we want it to be and add that extra hometown touch. ... (We) scoured social media, buy-sell-trade pages, Google looking for local vendors and asking 'Who doesn't have a storefront who needs one?' "
The coffee originates from Reverie Coffee Roasters in Wichita.
"My husband and I don't drink coffee," Nacarato confessed, "but my husband kept saying 'You don't have to be blind to sell glasses.'"
The Nacaratos and Meltons had a blind taste test that included coffee from Seattle and Maine.
"Reverie was hands down the No. 1 vote," she said. "Reverie came up and trained our staff on exactly how to grind the beans, how to add the flavorings together to get the best taste. They really helped us on how to pair everything together. ... It's the personal touch of 'Locally sourced.'"
The challenge of operating a small business with full-time jobs is made easier by the fact the couples "divvy up roles" - and hired an excellent staff of 12 full- and part-time employees.
"They're so friendly. That's our No. 1 review is how friendly our staff is. ... When you build a strong team, it all works," she said.
"We needed all four of us, but we also really, really love what we do outside of the coffee shop. We just committed to each other and constantly engaged with it without it distracting from our jobs," Nacarato added, noting that working full-time and running a small business "are not mutually exclusive concepts."
The reception by the community already has the Paradox partners eyeing expanded hours and unvieling its catering menu.
"It's a labor of love we hope continues to pay off for everybody, the community, the staff," she said. "It's more than a coffee shop. It's a community space."
Currently, hours are 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday. For more, visit the Paradox website.
Updated 9:30 a.m. Saturday to clarify the Necarato's places of employment.