A dream connection

Coffee shop serves up lifetime goal, good food

Coffee Connections owner and operator Tommy Johnson makes another customer happy on a Saturday. (Photo by Marny Malin)

The phrase 'home cooking' usually reminds everyone of those wonderful meals that are shared with family and friends in an uplifting atmosphere; where only those certain specific touches in the food can be found and the air is peppered with warmth and sprinkled with laughter.

You need to look no further than Coffee Connections on the corner of 12th Street and Gunston Road to find home cooking, sandwiches, soups and savory salads, along with the room to relax and to relate with one another or mix and mingle.

Owner and operator Tommy Johnson created Coffee Connections to fill a void in his career and on base, become his own boss [a childhood dream] and deliver food he prepares with fresh ingredients daily, and coffee he buys and has roasted to his specifications.

He delivers it all with a smile, revealing his upbeat and positive attitude that has carried him through life. "Dust yourself off, pull yourself up and move forward" is one of Johnson's sayings. The former Army infantryman of 20 years isn't deterred by much and relishes a challenge.

He takes that same can-do attitude and says "I can make that" after tasting a new dish in a restaurant. "I love to eat and I'm always open to experiencing different dishes," Johnson said. He learned to cook from watching his mother and grandmother and appreciates food cooked with care. Johnson doesn't claim any specialties, he just likes to be creative.

That's why he has a specials board along with a regular main menu, sometimes he doesn't know what will wind up on the board. He uses his inventory and imagination.

All the food that he makes has to pass muster and he uses trusted, valued and jack-of-all trades employee Phillip Dunlavy as a taste-tester and for recipe ideas.

There is chicken salad with a dash of mustard, spicy tuna salad, collard greens cooked like his mother made them, freshly made coleslaw and cornbread to go as sides with slow, hickory-smoked ribs, beef brisket and Texas-style spiced sausage. It's all here on the menu or served up with lattes, espressos, protein shakes, Hershey's ice cream, cheesecake and pie. Not to mention the made-to-order breakfast bagels served anytime.

You can consume your menu choices in the former spacious bank building curled up on a couch, reclining in one of the over-sized stuffed chairs with a book, and at the café style seating indoors or out. Or, if privacy is preferred for a group, you can use one of the two meeting rooms that can be reserved.

Johnson is willing to accommodate any request or any combinations of condiments, just as long as the customer is happy. "Whatever way they like it is the way I will serve it up," he said.

Even if he laughs as he does it and tells one consumer "You ought to be ashamed of yourself putting ketchup on an Italian sausage, but I'll give it to you anyway." It's all in good fun as the satisfied diner is served with a 'thank you' and a smile.

In spite of closely located competitors, Johnson has been successful enough to embark on another food-oriented business adventure on the North Post in a small trailer stand located in front the Main PX. Smoothies, flavored ice drinks, all-beef hot dogs and sausages are being prepared. Ice, ice shavers and machines and ingredients fill the trailer.
Johnson takes pride in the home-made food he serves and knows that it isn't always easy with exacting preparation of some dishes and notes he has customers who keep coming back for the difference they find at Coffee Connections.

"One time I did not have enough time to make the coleslaw, I bought some at a store. They told me "This isn't your coleslaw. So, I stick to what works and that seems to keep them happy." Keeping this base happy is his goal. Johnson keeps it light, ever attempting to humor customers who order the same thing over and over, to try something new. It's the smile and the laughter that can be found here, not just the coffee that makes this a true connection.