With trendy new café, Interstate 95 now runs through the heart of West Ashley
by Lorne Chambers | Editor
A couple years ago, Barak Cabba was driving back home to Charleston from a trip to Miami when a crazy idea popped into his head. Maybe it was all the espresso, or maybe, just maybe, the Moroccan-born entrepreneur was actually on to something big.
Cabba had worked in the food and beverage business for years, grinding away in the front of the house, back of the house, bartending, bar-backing, waiting tables, making sandwiches, etc. But it was a different kind of grind he was daydreaming about as he cruised north on Interstate 95. He was thinking about the coffee grind—those tiny, dark, roasted beans that make the world’s favorite beverage. He had just left South Florida and was feeling inspired by the quaint little coffee shops in Little Havana. He wanted to bring that vibe back to the Lowcountry. So on that nine-hour drive back to Charleston, Cabba concocted the beginnings of a plan that would consume him for the next several years and change the trajectory of his life.
He was not only going to start a coffee shop; he was going to start a coffee business. He named it Interstate 95 Coffee in honor of the roadway he was driving when the idea came to him.
“I realized that this business, the coffee business, was the business I wanted to be in,” says Cabba, who had worked in busy bars, such as Home Team BBQ and Bay Street Biergarten before starting Interstate 95 Coffee. He knew the bar business could be volatile and required late nights. Coffee shops by nature were much calmer, and he could close up at 4 p.m.
A self-described coffee snob, Cabba began roasting his own beans, doing small batch orders for friends out of his home. Then he realized that he could scale it a bit and start doing orders for local restaurants and retail spots. But then the pandemic hit and everything came to a halt. Cabba rethought his model and purchased a coffee trailer and started doing coffee pop-ups, mostly at local farmers markets around the Lowcountry, from Beaufort to Kingstree. Soon he became a regular vendor at the Sunday Brunch Farmer’s Market, held at the Pour House on Maybank Highway where Interstate 95 Coffee quickly built a loyal following with folks from James Island and West Ashley.
Then, in November of last year, the physical manifestation of Cabba’s dream became a reality with the opening of his first brick-and-mortar Interstate 95 Coffee shop at 1300 Savannah Hwy. He’s hoping it will not be his last. While that fated drive from Miami to Charleston was a long time ago, Cabba is still dreaming about coffee and what Interstate 95 Coffee could be. The actual I-95 doesn’t come through Charleston, but the name does lend itself to possibilities along the entire eastern seaboard, from Florida to Main.
Not one to put the cart in front of the horse, Cabba is first focused on creating a chic but welcoming neighborhood coffee shop here in West Ashley that offers something for everyone, including breakfast sandwiches, pastries, smoothies, and creative coffee concoctions, such as the popular Purple Heaven, which has house-made lavender simple syrup, cold brew, and a splash of coconut or the Strawberry Cold Brew Mocha or Honey Latte, which is made by mixing the honey and cinnamon into the espresso before adding the milk, a small detail, but something Cabba says makes a big difference in the end result. And Cabba is banking that it’s these little details that will give Interstate 95 Coffee an advantage over the big chains when deciding where to get your coffee in the morning.
The breakfast sandwiches are made with fresh ingredients and served on bread that was just baked down Savannah Highway at Ashley Bakery. The smoothies are made with fresh fruits and veggies, something that patrons of neighboring Pure Barre have really come to appreciate following a strenuous workout. On Saturdays and Sundays, Instestate 95 Coffee offers a limited brunch menu.
Cabba says he chose West Ashley for the café because the area is growing and changing and because of its proximity to the Sunday Brunch Farmers Market, where he had already built a loyal customer base. Earlier in 2022, he signed a lease for a space in the shopping center that houses Jimmy John’s and Mario’s Pizza along a busy stretch of Savannah Highway, in what was a former Metro PCS store. It was a blank canvas and had plenty of parking. Cabba hired his friend, an interior designer, and trusted her vision of transforming the space into a comfy but trendy café.
Now, the coffee was his area of expertise, and Cabba was very selective in choosing a local roaster. As a roaster himself, he was looking for specific things and found that Coastal Coffee Roasters checked all the boxes. They used the same beans that Cabba did when he was roasting at home, but they also had 15 different varieties and he just really jived with the owner.
“As soon as we get more established, I’d like to roast our own beans, but right now Coastal does a beautiful job for what we need,” says Cabba. Currently Interstate 95 is already canning their cold brew for sale in the café and at a handful of retailers in the area.
Just a couple of months after opening its doors, Cabba is already looking forward and exploring what Interstate 95 could be. He’s applied for a beer and wine license and has plans to open in the evenings for acoustic music and other entertainment, recognizing that the space could also be a de facto art space for musicians, artists, storytellers, and poets. He sees Interstate 95 Coffee as a place that has something for everyone.
Cabba says it’s important to not only have a menu that is accessible, but also to have prices that are accessible for the average person. As of late last month, Intestate 95 Coffee has began a special for Tuesdays and Wednesdays where you can get a latte of your choice and a bacon, egg, and cheese bagel for $8.
Interstate 95 Coffee is located at 1300 Savannah Hwy., Suite 3. It’s open 6 a.m. to 4 p.m. during the week and 7 a.m. until 4 p.m. Saturday and Sunday. For more information, call (843) 460-7335 or visit social media.
