KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Whether it’s the magic on the keys as customers play the piano, the twinkling lights hanging from the ceiling of the main sitting area or the owner’s infectious spirit, there’s a reason people are pouring into The Empty Cup.
It’s a coffee shop on a mission.
“The Empty Cup is an empty space meant to be poured into, and then you take it when it's full, or whatever it has in it, and you pour it out onto others,” explained the coffee shop’s owner Coby Mott.
As a mother of four, Mott was inspired by her own journey to open The Empty Cup eight years ago.
“Three of my four children came home through adoption, and people will come up to you and say, ‘Gosh, we'd love to adopt, we just can't afford it.’ What we do is we pay all of our bills, and then anything leftover goes to adoption and foster care support,” Mott said.
From helping families with foster care and adoption services, to donating diapers, wipes and formula, supporting local nonprofits, or even simply buying someone’s coffee, The Empty Cup is overflowing with generosity.
“The community that it's opened up is far larger than I ever dreamed it would be and far more beautiful,” Mott said.
But like many business owners in East Tennessee, Mott’s dream came to a halt last month.
“I think it's pretty safe to say that if you are a local business, in Knoxville, or in the Knoxville area with the snow and the ice, it is a, it was a huge hit for us all,” Mott shared.
With snow and ice covering the roads and parking lots, The Empty Cup closed its doors for eight business days.
A broken boiler and alarm system only made matters worse and pushed the nonprofit to the brink of closure.
“And then you think, ‘Okay, well, maybe it's been a good run,’ but then, you know, you just get encouraged by these folks that said, ‘We love this place,’” Mott said.
An online fundraiser is now helping save Mott’s dream. More than 140 donations have been made.
“It's not about the number, it's just about looking at the names. And most some we know and some way don't,” Mott said. “This place has introduced me to people that I would have never met just on my day-to-day, and I feel I feel full and blessed. Our cup overflows, you know, it overflows."