About the Ohio Coffee Trail
The Ohio Coffee Trail was created from a simple idea:
every community has coffee shops, and those coffee shops tell the story of the place.
They are often the first stop when you arrive in town.
The place you meet a friend before heading out of town.
Where you wait in line on vacation before the day begins.
Where you ask what to see, where to eat, or where the locals go.
Where students do homework, professionals hold meetings, and travelers pause long enough to feel grounded.
Coffee shops are not just businesses.
They are gathering places.
They are conversation starters.
They are part of the heartbeat of local economies.
The Ohio Coffee Trail exists to celebrate that.
Why Coffee?
Across Ohio’s towns, counties, and Main Streets, locally owned coffee shops quietly play an outsized role in community life. They support local jobs, create welcoming spaces, and serve as informal hubs for connection, creativity, and commerce.
Because coffee shops exist in nearly every community (large or small) they offer a natural entry point into exploring a place. They are often where visitors first experience the culture of a town and where locals return day after day.
The Trail uses coffee as the common thread to highlight the people, places, and small businesses that make Ohio’s communities worth visiting, supporting, and returning to.
Ready to get started? Visit a participating shop near you to pick up your official OCT passport, collect stamps, and discover hidden gems across the state.
The trail is growing every week...come explore with us from the very beginning.
Our Purpose
The Ohio Coffee Trail is a newly forming nonprofit initiative currently in beta. Our goal is to showcase Ohio’s local communities by connecting travel, tourism, Main Street districts, and small businesses through the shared experience of locally owned coffee shops.
Rather than focusing on one destination, the Trail encourages exploration across counties and regions, inviting people to discover Ohio one stop at a time.
This is not a ranking.
It’s not a competition.
It’s not about being the “best.”
It’s about being part of the place.
What the Trail Represents
The Trail is designed to support:
- Local travel and regional tourism
- Main Street districts and downtown revitalization
- Independently owned small businesses
- Economic development through community visibility
By highlighting coffee shops as entry points into a town or region, the Ohio Coffee Trail helps tell a broader story, one rooted in local pride, small business resilience, and the everyday moments that connect people to place.
More Than Coffee
At its core, the Ohio Coffee Trail is about recognizing the spaces where life happens.
The places where:
-
trips begin
-
conversations unfold
-
ideas are formed
-
communities gather
We’re here to celebrate those places and the people behind them.
More than coffee. It’s place, people, and story.
Where We Are Now
The Ohio Coffee Trail is currently in beta, with participating shops and counties being added thoughtfully as the Trail grows. As a new nonprofit initiative, we are building this project intentionally, prioritizing community alignment, local partnerships, and long-term sustainability over rapid expansion.
The Trail will continue to evolve through collaboration with coffee shops, chambers of commerce, tourism organizations, and Main Street programs across Ohio.