By Scotty E. Kirkland
They take coffee seriously at Mural City Coffee Co. Open since 2018, this espresso bar and roastery in historic downtown Dothan is a business and preservation success story.
The company takes its name from the many murals that adorn Dothan’s older structures, a project that began in the 1990s and sparked a downtown revitalization. There isn’t a mural on the side of Mural City Coffee Co.’s building. But, long ago, there used to be. In the early 20th century, a farming-supply and mercantile store owned by William Singletary and A.D. Whiddon originally occupied the space. A stylized mural advertising International brand farming machinery covered the side wall. In the mid-1930s, Archie Carmichael, Singletary’s nephew, purchased Whiddon’s share of the company. Thereafter, it became known as the Carmichael Building. Folks who grew up around Dothan in the 1980s and ’90s likely remember it as the home of Carmichael Electronics.
By the time Gina and Darrin Swan acquired it, the property had been vacant for nearly two decades. The Swans wanted it to become a southern anchor for Dothan’s ongoing downtown revitalization and a gathering place for young and old. The couple met while both were serving abroad in the U.S. Army. While overseas, they would frequent cafés in Germany and other European countries. Back stateside, the Swans dreamed of opening a place of their own where people could sit and sip. Good coffee, like good conversation, shouldn’t be rushed.
But that dream took work. The Swans acquired the Carmichael Building in 2016. Over the next 2 ½ years, they did most of the renovation work themselves, resisting all attempts by contractors to modernize the space, to cover up all its history with new material.
Renovating historic structures is expensive and time-consuming. They sold their house to fund the project.
Their son Zach — who now operates Mural City alongside his wife, Destiny — spent six months gently soda-blasting away the dirt and grime from the long-vacant building while preserving its character. The Swans then sanded and repaired the old floors themselves, taking care not to destroy the rough-hewn stories beneath their feet. They preserved the building’s vault, complete with a Singletary and Whiddon-branded safe, and transformed it into a reading nook. Near the counter sits an old rolling cart, an iron workhorse from the building’s earlier history. Today, it holds 50-pound bags of coffee beans from places like Mexico, Brazil and Papua New Guinea.
The imperfections of the bricks and floorboards tell the chapters of the building’s long life — and of the evolution of Dothan. From farming equipment to electronics to espresso. What a story this old structure tells. “We have exceeded our original vision,” Gina Swan says.
On a late-spring morning, the shop is filled with an eclectic mix of patrons. Moms with babes in strollers sip tall, iced coffees. A couple sharing a pot of tea occupies a couch near the welcoming and trendy Malm fireplace. Headphone-bedecked collegians with their noses in laptops and textbooks prepare for finals. Retirees gather around one of the large tables and reminisce. People are reading. People are writing. Somewhere in a corner of Mural City, someone no doubt envisions the “next great American novel.”
Baristas work the levers and gears of the large espresso machines and roasters as if they were parts of some otherworldly pipe organ. Within an instant, the brew is complete. For dine-in patrons, drinks arrive in hefty ceramic cups. Baristas pride themselves on their foam work, an artistic flourish as unique as a fingerprint.
Along the walls hang another coffee-house staple: pieces of local art for sale. Mural City also peddles high-end home brewing equipment with names like Chemex and Aero-Press. These aren’t exactly your grandmother’s Black and Decker coffee pot. But do not fret; Mural City offers training. Amid the branded coffee cups, T-shirts and other swag items, a cache of old LPs and cassette tapes are up for grabs, too — the Stones, David Lee Roth, Aretha. What was old is new again, a theme at Mural City in more ways than one.
Aesthetics aside, it’s all about the coffee at Mural City. Their beans are roasted on-site to ensure maximum quality. Food & Wine Magazine ranked them among the state’s best a few years ago. Lattes are their most popular drink option, flavored by a series of house-made syrups. Try the lavender or spiced brown sugar options.
The baristas don’t neglect the traditional brew, either. With their own roasters and a serious commitment to taste, Mural City’s drip coffee itself is worth the drive to Dothan. One popular variety is Aviator’s Blend, named as a nod to nearby Fort Novosel. The blend is a medium roast made from Colombian and Brazilian beans. An order of it arrives in a carafe with a warmed ceramic cup. Black is best, but the staff oblige requests for half and half.
The tea-drinking set won’t be disappointed, either. Mural City has dozens of loose tea options. They are arranged in big glass jars stacked seven shelves high. Nearby, a repurposed card catalog procured from the University of Georgia offers information and samples of them all.
Swan says there are big plans for the rest of the year at Mural City, including adding an in-house baker to expand their food options. Renovations are also underway for something new on the second floor, the completion of another vision of its founders.
There’s a lively din to a good coffee shop: The gurgle and hiss of the espresso machines, the mix of conversations, the back-counter lingo, vibey music punctuated by laughter and strikes from computer keyboards. Mural City is the kind of place where the time is always right for a fresh cup of coffee.
Mural City Coffee Co.
192 S. Foster St., Dothan, AL 36301
www.muralcityroasters.com
Hours: Closed on Mondays; 7 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday-Friday;
9 a.m. to 9 p.m. Saturday; 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday
