“We’d been working in music forever, since we moved to Tennessee, which is now 29 years ago,” Susana Allen said of herself and her husband Alex who owns The Fainting Goat Coffee Co. in Spring Hill. “With all the changes in music, and what we went through with the digitalization of music, we knew that we needed to find something else.” So after owning a couple of businesses in the past, they realized that the one thing the community of Spring Hill where they reside was missing {at the time} was a coffee shop.
Every time they drove by the white house that now is home to The Fainting Goat Coffee Co., Alex would comment on how it was such a great location and a business needed to move in there. So when it became available for rent, the Allens did just that and opened their doors in October 2017. “That place just called us,” says Susana. “It was just one of those steps that you take that is very, very scary but we just felt compelled to go for it.”
When it came to choosing a name for their coffee shop, they wanted something representative of the area and since fainting goats are native to Tennessee, they thought it would be a fun moniker.
“The other reason is in the eighth century there was a goat herder named Kaldi and he had goats,” explains Susana. “The goats would go eat these red berries that they found and then they would become jumpy. Kaldi decided to test the berries and he himself also felt a lot more energetic. Kaldi took the berries back to the monastery where he lived and the monks thought they were evil, so they threw them in the fire. But it started smelling so good that they decided to steep them and then brew them and it turned out that it was coffee. So it’s said that goats discovered coffee.”
At The Fainting Goat Coffee Co., the Allens want to not only bring people together but also teach everyone from newbies to coffee aficionados about the art of coffee. “Our biggest thing is community and to make specialty coffee less intimidating,” says Susana.
What sets The Fainting Goat apart from other coffee shops is its creative and whimsical specialty drinks. From paying homage to the classic “Back to the Future” trilogy with the Doc Brown drink to a customer favorite blend of cayenne and Mexican chocolate dubbed the "Nacho Libre," and even a nod to Taylor Swift’s recent song “Lavender Haze” with a blueberry Cuban drink called the Swift, their menu is full of imaginative beverages.
“When you call yourself The Fainting Goat Coffee Co., you’re not going to take yourself super seriously, which are our personalities in our family anyway,” explains Susana. “We’re just easy-going and fun and we love pop culture. We love things that we grew up with that are nostalgic.”
They’re now known for their Star Wars-inspired “May the Fourth” drinks that are featured items on their menu during the month of May. What started with a Baby Yoda-themed drink lovingly named Baby Goda has grown into inventing a new Star Wars character-themed drink that gets “goatified” every year including the pecan caramel flavored Wookie and an iced cherry blossom drink called The Child.
The coffee shop also offers their made-from-scratch empanadas—with both sweet and savory varieties—all-day breakfast burritos and many baked goods made in-house.
When asked about her favorite part of the job, Susana can answer without hesitation.
“The people. I love people,” she exclaims. “I love our employees, and I love being part of a community. I love walking around and talking to people. I’ve made great friendships with our customers. We’ve been out here for five years and I just love the connections that we’ve been able to make in town.”
To learn more, visit Tfgcco.com.
Susanna and Alex Allen are former music industry personnel. Susanna was a singer-songwriter and Alex worked as a producer and recording engineer. They left the industry to open The Fainting Goat and are continually eager to serve the Spring Hill community.
“Our biggest thing is community and to make specialty coffee less intimidating.” - Susanna Allen