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Welcoming coffee-cravers back to the well-known morning coffee stand is Juniper Kerr, proprietor of one of Dayton's newest enterprises, Columbia Compass Coffee. Its drive-up window is in the same location as the former Rooster's Brew, just west of town by the storage units.
DAYTON–It's been a few months in the making but last week, Wednesday, July 27, was the soft opening of Columbia Compass Coffee, one of Dayton's newest small businesses.
The coffee drive-through will be open from 5 a.m. until 1 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday, says Juniper Kerr, Columbia Compass Coffee's proprietor, and a 2021 graduate of Walla Walla High School and its partnership program with WWCC, SEATech Skills Center.
Columbia Compass Coffee succeeds Rooster's Brew, which was operated for 16 years by the late Judy Rowland, who passed away last March.
"I didn't know what I wanted to do in high school," the 20-year-old Kerr told the Dayton Chronicle in the aftermath of the drive-through's first day serving customers. "When I saw the chance for this opportunity, I look at it like it's business college, and I'll run it the best I can, brewing coffee, serving people and keeping people happy."
Kerr gets locally roasted coffee beans from Livit Coffee in Walla Walla, and they've given her a tutorial on working the espresso machine.
With the soft opening, Kerr isn't yet planning a grand opening, at least not until she gets some more mornings serving customers under her belt.
Lately, Kerr has been putting in long hours preparing for the July 27 opening, including installing a new espresso machine, renovating some of plumbing, and ordering and stocking new, fresh inventory.
Kerr is the daughter of Valerie Stephenson and Michael Kerr.
