In the middle of Richmond, Kentucky, you’ll find a coffee shop that has seemingly sprouted its way up. Tucked between a nail salon and a beauty supply store, Brewtanicals is a unique cafe that doubles as a plant lounge, housing troves of rare houseplants to marvel over as enjoy your drink.
But Brewtanicals owner, Stephen Greasor, hasn’t always loved coffee. He laughed as he described his first experience with coffee as a teenager. Working for a roofing company, he tried the end-of-the-day breakroom brew that made him swear coffee off entirely. That vow lasted until 2018, when he got his first Keurig, quickly followed by his first pour over set-up, which was quickly followed by his first espresso set-up.
And when COVID hit, like most of us, Stephen needed a project. Luckily for Richmond, it was perfecting the art of all things coffee. However, it would be a few years before the idea for Brewtanicals fully took shape.
With a newfound love for quality coffee, over the next few years, Stephen enjoyed traveling and sampling local coffee shops around the country. A friend had also introduced him to the world of plants, so he was also spending a lot of time exploring botanical gardens and arboretums. As his job at the Bluegrass Army Depot started to wind down, he began to think of what was next, and what he could bring to his community.
Building A Business
“One day, I just woke up and said, ‘I want to open a coffee shop,’” Stephen said. “I’ve always wanted to start a business, but it never presented itself until that moment.”
After that day of clarity, it was on. He began to look at spaces, pull together funds, and research the basics of business. In late 2024, with the perfect space leased, and flexible financing from the Mountain Association, Stephen started the build-out phase.
Credit: Richmond Register
“I wanted to create a place you don’t expect. Somewhere you can come in and forget your everyday problems, and sit and relax.”
And that he did. Almost all of the work in the perfectly curated, moody yet vibrant space, he completed himself — from redoing the ceiling, the drywall, the paint, to installing the flooring and building the bar. He hunted through thrift stores for the right decor and Facebook marketplace for the right furniture. All while, keeping dozens of plants carefully tended.
As with any good remodeling project, there were a few setbacks in his timeline, but finally, in August 2025, Brewtanicals opened its doors. Stephen said every bit of the hard work over the last year has been worth it.
“One of my favorite things is to watch how people come in and just naturally strike up conversation with each other,” he said. “It makes my day to see people connect and pause.”
Building Community
Community and collaboration is at the heart of his mission as a business owner. They’ve partnered with Golden Leaves from Richmond on a special Rescue Blend tea that sends $1 from every purchase to the humane society, and Stephen personally drives extra pastries and goodies to Madison Home, a local shelter, on his way home.
And in just the first three months of opening, they’ve hosted local musicians, a poetry night, and have plans to add yoga and meditation sessions. Stephen has also partnered with the fellow shopping center businesses to offer customer discounts for supporting other businesses in the complex.
He said great mentors from regional coffee shop owners, like Leestown Coffee House in Lexington, City Roastery in Georgetown, and Hazard Coffee Company in Perry County, have helped him troubleshoot equipment and cheered him on. Business experts from the Kentucky Small Business Development Center helped him through the planning process, while Mountain Association’s Lending Team worked with him on the flexibility he needed in a payment schedule to get his doors open and get business built up.
“I couldn’t have done it without that flexibility, it feels like you all are really here for small businesses and what we need.”
In the future, Stephen said he hopes to offer coffee workshops, plant exchanges, and more. But for now, he is trying to pace himself and enjoy that the shop is already exactly what he envisioned—a little oasis from the hectic world.
Follow along on the Brewtanicals journey here: https://www.brewtanicalsky.com/
