A crowd of passersby stopped for a drink at Moons Root Coffee trailer Saturday morning. The trailer, which will eventually become a drive-thru off Spring and Elm Streets, sits outside Moon Nayyef’s artisan shop.
Photos by Mackenzi Klemann | The Lima News
LIMA — For weeks, Moon Nayyef has been selling lattes, cold brews and custom, handcrafted sodas from a trailer parked at the corner of Spring Street and Jameson Avenue.
The Moons Root Coffee trailer, now open from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. on weekdays and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturdays, arrived in Lima in January.
There, passersby can order coffee or custom sodas that look like cocktails, without the liquor, or take a seat inside Nayyef’s studio and artisan shop, located a few steps away from the trailer.
The drinks are only available in one size, but that’s because Nayyef wants to keep things simple.
“This is a neighborhood spot,” Nayyef said on Saturday, when Moons Root formally opened to the public.
“We want to talk to you,” she said. “I want to make you a latte in two minutes and chat.”
The menu is simple: Lattes, drip coffees, Americanos, cold brews, caramel macchiatos and herbal teas, along with a variety of handcrafted sodas and children’s drinks.
But Nayyef makes her own syrups using natural ingredients and herbs like lavender, which she sprinkles into lattes and espressos, she said.
The studio itself is stocked with locally made products, from candles and soaps to hand-woven wall art and canvases, some of which were painted in Nayyef’s studio in the back, which is open for creators to use.
In the back, Nayyef organizes children’s workshops where children can learn how to make lotions or slime, and Nayyef is planning a spring festival, the LOL Festival, to showcase Ohio artisans and musicians.
“We want to reach out to all the creators, all the people who thought that maybe their product wasn’t big enough, just to say, ‘Hey, we’re here. We’re local. We like supporting creators,’” Nayyef said.
Eventually, the coffee trailer will become a drive-thru off Spring and Elm Streets, Nayyef said. But for now, it sits on the corner of Jameson, welcoming drivers and passersby to drop by for a drink.
