Eclectic, invigorating and rustic; warm, capable and oriented.
All words to describe Opelika's the Overall Company and its owners, Jay and Laura Pritchard - present from the moment you walk in the door.
If you're looking for the owners of Overall, look no further than the counter. Her name is Laura, and the man who hands you the coffee topped with the foam leaf is Jay.
The secret to creating a foam coffee leaf?
"A lot, a lot of practice," Jay said.
Six years ago in the same building, then called Historic Possibilites, an architectural element store, Jay met Laura. A year later, he proposed to her in the same store.
"He asked me to be his wife right over there," Laura said as she pointed to a spot a few feet from the counter. "That's kind of why we picked this place for our store."
Another reason they chose the location is because it was once an old factory that made Eagle Brand Overalls. Thus the name came to be.
"We wanted to resurrect the brand and market it," Jay said. "We wanted to create a sense of community and history and pay homage to something that was once here."
They wear aprons in tribute and hope to rewrite some of the great story this building holds.
The Pritchards have a passion for coffee and a passion for people.
"It's a labor of love," Laura said.
They are surrounded by family and friends in Opelika and live just a block down the road from their store in the Southside Historic District.
"We have always envisioned a community oriented life for ourselves," Laura said. "We wanted to create that kind of atmosphere for people who come in and spend time in our store."
Jay and Laura are the heart, soul and brain of Overall.
Jay focuses on the atmosphere and musical side of the store, while Laura works with people and helps things run smoothly.
Their celebration and appreciation of Southern food, culture and music is something they want apparent to everyone who visits the store.
"Before we opened I would walk around with my eyes closed and play music in the store," Jay said. "I pictured what I wanted it to be like for people and how it would fit into Opelika."
As for their spare time, the Pritchards said they're always thinking about the business.
They travel all over the country, to restaurants and shops from Chicago to Seattle, looking at how to improve.
The Pritchards said they like to center themselves around great people doing amazing things in interesting places.
Overall offers different varieties of music, and live bands frequent the store. On Saturday, March 8, Our Griffies, an Indie Rock band from Philidelphia, will play.
Jay said he tries to offer the bands that visit good food, a place to stay and a great experience.
The Pritchards describe their store as inspiring, inviting, laid-back and creative.
"It's always exciting," Jay said. "A lot of new things are happening here all the time. Running this business is the most blessed-pressed life you can live. Hard but exciting at the same time."
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