The smell of freshly roasted coffee will soon be joining the sights and sounds of downtown Auburn.
Mama Mocha's Coffee Emporium and The Hound are working together to open a second location for the local coffee shop.
The new shop is set to open on the first week of August, just in time for summer graduation and for students returning for the fall semester.
Mama Mocha's co-owners Sarah Barnett and Maddie Wilder are looking forward to expanding to a new location.
Wilder said that they wanted to be downtown and The Hound approached them with the opportunity.
"We are very excited to be partnering with them," said Matt Poirier, co-owner of The Hound.
"We are frequent customers of MM and a couple months ago we were in there getting coffee and overheard them talking about a second location on North College."
Poirier said the owners of Mama Mocha's were smart and hard-working and created a great product.
"We have had the space in the back that has been underutilized and figured it would be a good match," Poirier said. "It seemed like a win-win for everyone."
Though they will share the same building, the two businesses will not be run the same.
"The Hound and Mama Mocha's are separate businesses and will be operated as such," Poirier said. "They will have a separate entrance on Tichenor Avenue. They will be open much earlier and will not stay open as late."
The Hound already produces most of the baked goods that are sold at the original Mama Mocha's location in the back of The Gnu's Room, and the two businesses are looking forward to increasing their collaboration.
"Only food made by The Hound will be sold at the new location," said Wilder.
Some food at the Gay Street location will come from places other than The Hound.
"One added benefit of having Mama Mocha's in our back room is that we will be able to expand our coffee options for our customers during our very busy weekend brunches," Poirier said. "French press brewed coffee and all the espresso drinks that the town has come to love."
The owners of Mama Mocha's are set to take over the lease after The Gnu's Room closes. The bookstore announced their closure several months back, but gave no definite date for when the closure will actually occur.
"We're planning to change the lighting and add some couches inside the building," Wilder said. "We want a very casual atmosphere here."
The coffee at Mama Mocha's is roasted on site. Beans come from South and Central America from companies like Royal Coffee, Ally Importers and Thrive Farmers Coffee.
Barnett was unhappy working at her previous coffee shop, so she decided to open Mama Mocha's.
The Hound was opened by husband and wife team Matthew and Jana Poirier. The building is the former location of The Olde Auburn Ale House.
Wilder said there will be a fundraiser Saturday, July 20, to help raise money to keep The Gnu's room afloat.
The Gnu's Room became a nonprofit business back in 2007 when owner Tina Tatum took over.
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