This Columbus coffee shop in a new location serves as a ‘little gateway’ to the city
Sydney and Chris Helms grew up in Smiths Station.
Chris was a musician in the U.S. Air Force for four years, and Sydney opened a hair salon, Sydney’s Shoppe of Beauty, in Phenix City.
While running the salon, Sydney rented out space for a former business partner to start up a small coffee shop, The Mustard Seed.
When that business partner moved on, they sold The Mustard Seed to Sydney. After Chris returned from serving in the military, he became more involved in running the coffee shop.
The couple rebranded The Mustard Seed as The Seed and created their own menu. Over a year ago, they seized the chance to open The Seed in downtown Columbus at The Rapids on Front Avenue.
During the next eight months, it became clear The Seed, growing in popularity, was quickly outgrowing this space. That’s when they were presented with the opportunity to move The Seed to a nearby location at 33 W. 14th St., directly across from Hotel Indigo.
In February, The Seed began serving as a gateway to Columbus for guests at Hotel Indigo, while offering live music and lunch to visitors in downtown.
More than just coffee
Despite being a coffee shop, Chris said, The Seed has plenty of food.
“We serve a lot of guests at lunch,” he told the Ledger-Enquirer. “I think that’s where a lot of our traffic came from. But then they find they really like the coffee as well.”
Some of their popular lunch items include the pimento BLT, Chris said, and the homemade chicken salad served on croissants or sourdough bread.
They also offer bagels, salad and avocado toast, he said.
The Seed’s coffee is a blend of Colombian and Brazilian coffee, Chris said, and is roasted by Gypsy Goat Coffee in Columbus.
Along with the coffee, the shop’s matcha is a featured menu item. During the month of March, The Seed has offered a special menu called Matcha Madness, which includes drinks like the Full Court Spritz, Lucky Charm Latte and the Golden Bracket Matcha.
Joining the coffee scene in Columbus has been a great experience, Sydney said, and they enjoy how the local shops support each other.
“We are Columbus people,” she told the L-E. “We live in the historic district. We love our town, so we frequent all of the shops.”
Travelers and jazz
Being near Hotel Indigo makes The Seed like “a little gateway into Columbus,” Chris said.
“People come out that door, right there, and they come in The Seed, and we’re the first folks from Columbus that they get to talk to,” he said.
Many guests stay at the hotel because of the walkability, Sydney said, and they can easily walk to Broadway from their location.
They never realized so many visitors come to Columbus, Chris said.
“We had people in here from Britain who own real estate here that were checking on it,” he said. “We have soldiers’ families that come to their graduations from all over the country.”
Employees of big companies like Aflac or Synovus also visit, Chris said.
“We really do meet awesome people,” he said.
It’s important to the couple that customers are met with a friendly face, good coffee and a pleasant environment, Chris said.
“Anybody can come to The Seed and hang out with us,” he said. “We look forward to it. All are welcome here.”
They have created niches in the shop where customers can find comfortable seating at couches and tables to hang out or get work done, Sydney said.
“I want you to feel like you’re in your living room and you’re comfy,” she said.
Chris, who is a professional jazz musician and plays the saxophone, enjoys that The Seed is able to host live music. The shop has hosted the Columbus Jazz Society, he said, and they are looking forward to hosting more events. People interested in attending should follow The Seed’s social media.
“We’re really excited about all the live music that we will be able to have here at The Seed,” Chris said.
