How Old City Coffee Cart Catering Began | Knoxville Coffee Cart Catering Story

Some businesses begin with a plan.

Ours began with a journey.

Long before there was a coffee cart rolling through Knoxville, before Pike House had chandeliers or velvet sofas, there was simply a man, a passport, and a growing love for coffee and people.

Greg Schmid, owner of Old City Coffee Catering, first discovered coffee not as a product, but as a culture. Through years of mission trips to South and Central America—especially Guatemala—he became immersed in regions where coffee is inseparable from daily life. There, coffee is grown along volcanic slopes, where rich soil and high elevations produce beans with depth, complexity, and character. Coffee wasn’t rushed or commodified; it was respected. Shared. Lingered over.

Those trips shaped more than Greg’s palate. They deepened his connection to the people, the land, and the stories carried in every cup.

While spending time in Antigua, Guatemala, Greg often visited a small local café called Fat Cat. It was unpretentious, warm, and deeply rooted in community. It planted a quiet idea—what if coffee could be a place, not just a drink?

That spark grew stronger as he visited coffee farms, watched the harvest, learned how beans were processed, and listened to the people who dedicated their lives to the craft. His love for the region was already there. Coffee simply became another expression of it.

The First Shop: Pike House Is Born

Greg’s first coffee shop opened on Tazewell Pike in the Corryton community of Knox County. That stretch of road gave the shop its name: Pike House.

The shop found its footing. It wasn’t flashy, but it was honest. For a few years, Pike House served its community well—until the world changed.

When COVID hit, small businesses everywhere were shaken. Pike House was no exception. Shutdowns hit hard, and then Greg himself contracted COVID. He barely survived.

That moment forced a reckoning—not just with business, but with life.

A New City, A New Chapter

After recovering, Greg made a bold decision. He moved Pike House to Johnson City.

At the time, the city had few independent coffee shops, yet it was growing rapidly. Greg found a location near ETSU, close to a large hospital, inside a mixed residential and commercial building. Students, medical professionals, remote workers, and residents flowed naturally through the doors.

The response was immediate.

Pike House became the local spot—a place where students could study all day, where freelancers set up camp, where conversations lingered. Business flourished.

And then something unexpected happened.

The Lair and the Lore

Without planning it, Pike House began to evolve its own personality. Johnson City has a strong culture of goth aesthetics, anime enthusiasts, creatives, and alternative communities—and they found a home at Pike House.

The study and work area, affectionately known as “the Lair,” took on a dark academia feel. Chandeliers hung overhead. Velvet sofas invited long conversations. Candles flickered. Old books lined the shelves. A fireplace anchored the space in warmth and mystery.

Somewhere along the way, Edgar Allan Poe seemed to take up residence. His presence appeared in old portraits, antique books, and curious artifacts from another era. No one quite knows how it happened—but everyone loved it.

Pike House became more than a café. It became a gathering place. A refuge. A stage for events, ideas, and community.

Fast Forward to 2025

Approaching retirement age—but not slowing down—Greg began asking a new question:

What else can this become?

That’s when the idea of a coffee cart was born.

The concept was simple and exciting: take the heart of the shop on the road. Bring craft coffee directly to people. Events. Offices. Gatherings. The freedom of movement. The intimacy of service.

Greg began researching, dreaming, and planning. Eventually, he made another full-circle decision—returning to Knoxville, where it all began.

Knoxville proved to be the perfect city for a coffee cart. Its corporate landscape, events scene, and community energy created endless possibilities. The cart was built. Social media launched. A website came together.

Old City Coffee Catering officially hit the streets.

An Unwritten Future

Maintaining Pike House in Johnson City while building something new in Knoxville hasn’t been easy. Pike House continues to do well, but Greg now finds himself pulled by two loves—the history and memories of Pike House, and the freedom and momentum of the coffee cart.

What happens next isn’t yet known.

Pike House may continue under new hands. It may evolve. It may one day close its doors. No decision comes without weight, emotion, and memory.

But some stories aren’t meant to end neatly.

This one is still being written.

To be continued.

Learn more about our coffee cart catering services in Knoxville.