Aviatori Coffeehouse has opened at 311 N. Logan Ave., with both the name and décor reflecting the owners' love of flying. Joe Coppick and Juliana Turchetti Coppick have backgrounds in aviation.
“We are both pilots; we used to be crop dusters and got a job in Astoria. I fell in love with a historic house in Havana,” said Juliana Coppick.
Joe now works as an aerial firefighter while Juliana is a ferry pilot, but the couple also started a business importing coffee beans from the region of Brazil where Juliana was born and raised. “We buy coffee from farmers we actually know and have visited,” said Joe, “then we roast the beans in Havana.”
Their online business, Aviation Coffee, wholesales coffee nationwide but the couple decided to take it a step further with a retail location.
In March, the couple purchased the property from the estate of Tony Leone, the proprietor of the Pasfield House who died in February 2021. His grandfather originally built the home in 1918, although it had been vacant for several decades before Leone began renovations with the intention of opening a coffee shop called Innkeeper’s Café.
Leone had furnished the interior with artifacts he collected over the years showcasing Illinois and Springfield history, although the Coppicks said their purchase of the real estate did not include the décor, which was sold separately by the estate. Instead, the couple decided on an aviation theme. “There are so many other places in Springfield doing Lincoln stuff, we wanted to be a little bit different,” said Joe.
Juliana said that in addition to cosmetic changes, they added a drive-thru and a seating area.
In addition to coffee, the business offers pastry items. The Coppicks have partnered with Three Twigs Bakery to provide baked goods, although some specialty Brazilian items, such as pão de queijo, a popular breakfast and snack food, are made onsite.
Aviatori Coffeehouse is open Monday through Friday, 7 a.m-2 p.m. and Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
