Of course Woodrow Jones was scared when his son Juan, then 16, underwent two open-heart surgeries and a heart transplant last year.
They’d lost Juan’s mother when he was just 4 years old, Jones said, and now as a single father had found himself praying for nearly 11 months that his son would make a full recovery at the University of Virginia Hospital in Charlottesville.
This year, Juan is 17 and playing football at his high school and Jones said he’s found relief but also how during that difficult time he could be surprisingly inspired.
“At the time when my son was sick, I saw the coffee bar that was inside UVA Hospital and I thought we should have one of those where I work,” he said. “I thought that’d be a good idea to open one to help with my son and the co-pays…just to get something started.”
Over the last 15 years, Jones has worked in positions ranging from administrative associate to operating room technician at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center and now is the proud owner of New Orleans Creole Coffee, an in-house coffee stand meant to serve the needs of doctors, nurses, patients and visitors alike.
“A lot of people can’t get to New Orleans so I brought New Orleans here so they could taste the outstanding coffee,” he said.
Jones cut the ribbon in a grand opening ceremony Dec. 17 and said he’s already set his sights on a future permanent location.
A native of NOLA, Jones moved to the area just three weeks before Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and said hospital patrons will now have access to plant-based chicory coffee — the brew typically preferred in New Orleans and most famously served with Beignets at Cafe Du Monde in the city’s French Market.
Jones said more than 20 different flavors of the coffee will be available two at a time with teas, lattes, macchiatos, espressos, and their featured specialty Bourbon Banana Frappuccino.
New Orleans Creole Coffee is open Monday through Friday from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is on the second floor of Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center, 100 Sentara Circle.
